Letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Sydney Octavius Chase (April 5, 1923)
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Sydney Octavius Chase (April 5, 1923)
Alternative Title
Chase Correspondence (April 5, 1923)
Subject
Windermere (Fla.)
Chase, Sydney Octavius, 1860-1941
Chase, Joshua Coffin, 1858-1948
Citrus fruit industry--Florida
Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)
Citrus--Florida
Description
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Joshua Coffin Chase and Sydney Octavius Chase. Topics discussed in the letter Joshua's recommendation to discontinue the Chase Brand of citrus in favor of the Isleworth Brand.
Chase & Company was established by brothers Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company was known mainly for its agricultural interests and maintained a series of citrus groves throughout Central Florida. The company was based out of Sanford and became one of the city's largest employers into the early twentieth century. By 1886, the Chase brothers purchased several citrus groves to expand their business, including Isleworth Grove in Windermere, Florida. Isleworth Grove covered a total of 1,300 acres along the Butler Chain of Lakes. Between 1894 and 1895, Central Florida was hit by several freezes and most of the citrus crop was destroyed. Chase & Company did not grow citrus crops again until 1904 when Joshua came back from an extended stay in California. Between 1894 and 1900, different types of pesticide equipment was created, including equipment driven by steam, machines, and horses.Randall Chase joined in the family business soon after his brother, Sydney Chase, Jr., did in 1922. Randall became the president of Chase & Company from 1948-1965. The Isleworth property stayed in the Chase family until 1984 when Franklin Chase, the son of Sydney Chase, sold the property to famed golfer Arnold Palmer.
Chase & Company was established by brothers Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company was known mainly for its agricultural interests and maintained a series of citrus groves throughout Central Florida. The company was based out of Sanford and became one of the city's largest employers into the early twentieth century. By 1886, the Chase brothers purchased several citrus groves to expand their business, including Isleworth Grove in Windermere, Florida. Isleworth Grove covered a total of 1,300 acres along the Butler Chain of Lakes. Between 1894 and 1895, Central Florida was hit by several freezes and most of the citrus crop was destroyed. Chase & Company did not grow citrus crops again until 1904 when Joshua came back from an extended stay in California. Between 1894 and 1900, different types of pesticide equipment was created, including equipment driven by steam, machines, and horses.Randall Chase joined in the family business soon after his brother, Sydney Chase, Jr., did in 1922. Randall became the president of Chase & Company from 1948-1965. The Isleworth property stayed in the Chase family until 1984 when Franklin Chase, the son of Sydney Chase, sold the property to famed golfer Arnold Palmer.
Creator
Chase, Joshua Coffin
Source
Original letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Sydney Octavius Chase, April 5, 1923: box 49, folder 20.84, Chase Collection (MS 14), Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Date Created
1923-04-02
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Sydney Octavius Chase, April 5, 1923.
Is Part Of
Chase Collection (MS 14), box 49, folder 20.84, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Isleworth Collection, Citrus Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Referenced By
Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
175 KB
Medium
1-page typewritten letter
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Chase & Company Office, Jacksonville, Florida
Chase & Company Office, Sanford, Florida
Isleworth Grove, Windermere, Florida
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Entire Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase, and the children of Randall Chase.
Rights Holder
The displayed collection item is housed at Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.
Contributing Project
Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida
Digital Collections (UFDC), University of Florida
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
Source Repository
University of Florida, Special and Area Studies Collections
External Reference
Warner, S.C. "Development of Marketing Citrus Fruits in Florida." Florida State Horticultural Society vol. 36 (1923): 198-200.
Hopkins, James T. Fifty Years of Citrus, the Florida Citrus Exchange: 1909-1959. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press: 1960.
"Joshua Coffin Chase (1858-1948)." Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Copyright 2012. http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=960.
"Sydney Chase Sr. (1860-1941)." Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Copyright 2012. http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=600.
Transcript
Chase Correspondence, Box 49, folder 20.84
Jacksonville, Fla.
April 5, 1926
Mr. S. O. Chase,
Sanford, Florida.
Dear Syd:
ISLEWORTH: Note with interest what you say in reference to the use of the Chase Brand at Isleworth.
You arranged, yourself, for the use of the Chase Brand at Isleworth. The writer was not in favor of it as he felt that the Isleworth Brand stood well in the auction markets and it was hardly fair to pack all of the good fruit under the Chase Brand and the balance of the fruit under the Isleworth Brand.
Naturally we do not want to put up at Isleworth any fruit that is not equal in quality with the Isleworth Brand. Neither is it fair to the Chase Brand at Isleworth to put up under the same brand inferior quality at Manatee or anywhere else. This is bound to be done as no two groves in any one district even produce equal quality of fruit.
The writer believes that the best thing you can do is to discontinue the use of the Chase Brand at Isleworth and get right back to the Isleworth Brand unless you feel that we have already damaged the standing of the Brand by putting up under it inferior stuff.
You were the one that instituted the Chase Brand at Isleworth, and it is up to you to discontinue its use if you do not consider the experience has been a success.
Yours very truly,
Jacksonville, Fla.
April 5, 1926
Mr. S. O. Chase,
Sanford, Florida.
Dear Syd:
ISLEWORTH: Note with interest what you say in reference to the use of the Chase Brand at Isleworth.
You arranged, yourself, for the use of the Chase Brand at Isleworth. The writer was not in favor of it as he felt that the Isleworth Brand stood well in the auction markets and it was hardly fair to pack all of the good fruit under the Chase Brand and the balance of the fruit under the Isleworth Brand.
Naturally we do not want to put up at Isleworth any fruit that is not equal in quality with the Isleworth Brand. Neither is it fair to the Chase Brand at Isleworth to put up under the same brand inferior quality at Manatee or anywhere else. This is bound to be done as no two groves in any one district even produce equal quality of fruit.
The writer believes that the best thing you can do is to discontinue the use of the Chase Brand at Isleworth and get right back to the Isleworth Brand unless you feel that we have already damaged the standing of the Brand by putting up under it inferior stuff.
You were the one that instituted the Chase Brand at Isleworth, and it is up to you to discontinue its use if you do not consider the experience has been a success.
Yours very truly,
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
1-page typewritten letter
Collection
Citation
Chase, Joshua Coffin, “Letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Sydney Octavius Chase (April 5, 1923),” RICHES, accessed May 23, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/2701.