urn:taro:utexas.cah.01822 A Guide to the E. A. Peden Papers, 1917-1921 Original EAD encoding by Kathryn Brooks according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. July 2010 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Peden, Edward Andrew Peden (E. A.) Papers 1917-1921 Materials are written in English. 1953; 1955 2 ft. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin The E. A. Peden Papers relate to Peden’s work with the Texas Food Administration, the United States Food Administration, and the American Relief Administration, and pertain to the conservation, production, marketing, and distribution of food during World War I. Biographical Sketch

Edward Andrew Peden (1868-1934), businessman and Houston community leader, was born in Calhoun County, Georgia. In 1882, after attending Sam Bailey Institute in Griffin, Georgia, Peden moved to Houston and became a clerk at Inman and Company, cotton merchants. He then switched to the hardware and mill supply business, and in 1891 founded Smith, Peden, and Company with his father. Peden’s brother joined the company three years later. In 1902 the partnership incorporated as Peden Iron and Steel Company, which proved to be a successful venture, with branches in San Antonio, Louisiana, and Mexico.

Peden had a varied and successful life as a businessman, serving as the first chairman of the Harris County Navigation and Canal Company; as director of the First National Bank, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the Ashbel Smith Land Company; and as president of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, the Ship Channel Land Company, and the Goose Creek Oil Company. Additionally, he worked as the federal food administrator for Texas during World War I, and organized the European Child Relief Bureau of the American Relief Association for President Herbert Hoover. An avid fundraiser, Peden served as a trustee of Rice Institute and the Houston Art League as well as generating funds for the Houston YWCA and Presbyterian schools and colleges in Texas. Peden died in 1934.

Source: Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. Peden, Edward Andrew, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/fpe14.html (accessed July 27, 2010).

 Scope and Contents

The E. A. Peden Papers, 1917-1921, contain correspondence, photographs, reports, regulations, pamphlets, books, and newspaper clippings. The papers relate to Peden’s work with the Texas Food Administration, the United States Food Administration, and the American Relief Administration, and pertain to the conservation, production, marketing, and distribution of food during World War I. Additionally, the papers document Peden’s involvement with the American Aid Program for Europe and include anti-German propaganda. Furthermore, the papers contain photographs, including one of Herbert Hoover, ca. 1918.

 Use Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Peden, Edward Andrew, 1868-1934--Archives. Hobby, William Pettus, 1878-1964 Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964 Subjects (Organizations) United States Food Administration Texas Food Administration American Relief Administration Subjects Businessmen--Texas Government aid World War, 1914-1918--Food supply--United States Places Washington (D.C.) Paris (France) Griffin (Ga.) Houston (Tex.) Preferred Citation

E. A. Peden Papers, 1917-1921, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Processing Information

This collection was processed by Lawrence Landis, October 1990.

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory 2J172 Bulletins on Conservation and Food Administration 2J173 Notebooks 2J173 Record of minutes, December 31, 1918 2J173 Accomplishments of the Federal Food Administration for Texas 2J173 Report of the Missouri Council of Defense, 1917-1919 2J173 United States Department of Agriculture, bulletin number 792, July 25, 1919 2J173 Pamphlets on war and Germany 2J173 First National Bank, Hatton correspondence, Del Rio, Texas, 1918-1919 2J173 Press Statements 2J173 Material on Food Administration 2J174 Material on Food Administration 2J174 Rulings and letters of Food Administration 2J174 Books on wartime food problem 2J175 Material on Food Administration 2J175 Bulletins of American Relief Administration 2J176 Food Administration clippings 2J176 Reports of meeting with poultry, cotton, cattle, fish, oyster, and shrimp dealers 3T213 Photographs: Peden and United States Food Administration Herbert Hoover[ca. 1918]