Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce, a Texas rancher and cattleman, was born on June 29, 1834 in Little Compton, Rhode Island to Jonathan and Hannah Head Pierce. The nickname "Shanghai" referred to Pierce's tall thin stance resembling a Shanghai rooster. In 1854 "Shanghai" Pierce settled in Port Lavaca. Working as a ranch hand splitting rails, Pierce began to acquire cattle, but following his service on the Confederate side of the Civil War he returned to find his holdings gone.
He married Fannie Lacey on September 27, 1865, who was daughter of William Demetris Lacey and sister to Nannie Lacey, wife of Jonathan Edward Pierce, Abel's brother. They had two children Mamie and Abel H. Pierce Jr. Both wife and infant son died in 1870, and Abel H. Pierce sold his cattle and went to Kansas for eighteen months. When he returned Abel and Jonathan Pierce organized a partnership and established the Rancho Grande on the Tres Palacios River in 1871. Abel H. Pierce began to purchase land until he owned two hundred and fifty thousand acres. He then formed the Pierce-Sullivan Pasture Company, which sent thousands of cattle up the northern trail and by railroad.
In 1875 Abel H. Pierce married Hattie Jones and continued his ranching and land expansion. He researched varieties of beef and after a trip through Europe he felt that the India breed of Brahman cattle was likely to be resistant to disease and pestilence. In 1900 he invested and lost 1.25 million dollars from the 1900 Galveston hurricane, a bank failure and through the purchase and failure of the Gulf Island Railroad. He died December 26, 1900 of a cerebral hemorrhage and is buried in Bay City, Texas. Years prior to his death he commissioned a life-like marble statue, which now marks his grave.
Following his death the Pierce estate purchased and imported Brahman cattle and established a stock base, which most ranchers rely upon today. His nephew Abel Pierce Borden, daughter Mamie Whithers, and wife Hattie Jones Pierce managed his land and cattle enterprise.
The papers of Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce consist of the legal, business, and personal transactions regarding his land and cattle empire based in Matagorda County, in southeast Texas. Pierce had numerous business activities handling the purchase of land and cattle, and quite often collaborated with his brother Jonathan Edward Pierce, other close relatives, or associates. The correspondence reflects Pierce's activities, which cover the years 1870-1900. In this material Pierce, his brother, and close associates negotiate dealings with railroad companies, banks, and mercantiles.
Many of Pierce's relatives and associates managed locations outside Matagorda County, and helped Pierce to stay in close contact with his vast holdings. Pierce frequently corresponded with Ira H. Evans, who in 1876 was secretary of the National and Great Northern Railroad Company. Evans later moved up to Land Commissioner of the International Great and Northern Railroad Company, and then to President of the New York and Texas Land Company Limited, which had bought out the two previous companies. Pierce's correspondence with Evans related to the land used and rented from the railroad.
In the late 1880's Pierce traveled extensively and the majority of his correspondence was with his ranch managers George Hamilton and John McCrosky, or with his lawyers L.C.Slavens and I.N. Dennis. In the late 1890's Pierce's nephew, Abel Pierce Borden, managed the ranch, and the correspondence between Pierce and his nephew is extensive. Often the correspondence includes either a hand drawn or surveyed map of land to be purchased or sold, or in the case of the railroad land leases, maps show the location of adjacent land and the path of the train. Two significant letters, dated 1879 and 1886, come from prominent rancher and cattleman George W. Littlefield.
The financial and legal series consist mostly of receipts and requests for supplies, or copies of land or cattle purchases. Unique to the financial series are the receipts of A. Levi and Company, which served as both grocery supplier and banking institution. There is also a receipt for the commission of a marble statue in Pierce's likeness. Within the legal series are the documents showing Pierce's purchase of the land along the Tres Palacios River in Wharton County, and various tax documents. Several of the letters have the post office stamp, Pierce Station, Texas, which reflects its establishment following the Tres Palacios land purchase, and the Pierce brothers' influence.
The ledgers, stock records, letterpress books, and a daybook show detailed relationships between Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce and his associates, friends, and fellow ranchers. The books contain a list of brands used, number of cattle sold, and detailed information on land purchased and leased.
Rounding out Pierce's papers is a portrait of Pierce, which hung in the Island City Savings Bank of Galveston. A unique part of these papers is the detailed and beautifully designed letterhead. The majority of the correspondence is written on business or personal letterhead, some of which display elaborate designs. The thirty-year span of these papers clearly shows design progression from the simple to the densely detailed, with a variety of styles using vignettes, scrollwork, and wing dings. Pierce's own letterhead shows an evolution from a simple style to an elaborate design featuring a bull's head.
The papers are arranged in five series: business, financial, legal, artwork and biographical. The business series is subdivided into correspondence, letterpress books, daybook, stock register, bound volumes of invoices, and negatives. The financial series includes receipts, account books, and microfilm. The legal series includes legal documents and contracts. The artwork series consists of a map and a portrait. The biographical series contains lists of names and genealogical data of family members.
Some materials restricted for preservation purposes.
Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce Papers, 1870-1905, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin