|
|
|
| Artifact Of The Month - December 2005 |
|
|
|
|
The artifact of the month is a hand-made bonnet
from Miss Nell Shelford’s millinery shop. The bonnet has a straw
brim, and the crown is covered with ruffled peach-colored silk. It
is trimmed with a black velvet ribbon, and artificial flowers.
Inside is a label reading, “Nell Shelford. Healdsburg, Calif.” The
hat was given to the Healdsburg Museum by Pat Benzmiller in 1999.
Benzmiller purchased the hat at a garage sale in Salt Lake City,
Utah. In March of 1911, Miss Nell Shelford opened a hat shop in
Healdsburg. Shelfords, fondly recalled by many generations, became a
mainstay in Healdsburg for many decades. |
 |
|
Nell Shelford’s grandfather,
John Shelford III, settled in Cloverdale in1863.
Born in England in 1821, Shelford left home at the
age of 16 to sail to America. In 1855, he and his
wife and young sons sailed around Cape Horn and
arrived in San Francisco. John Shelford tried his
hand at gold mining before going into the mercantile
and hotel business in Nevada County, California.
Around 1859, he moved to the Petaluma area, and then
north to Cloverdale where he purchased a portion of
the Rancho Musalacon in 1863, running from Sulphur
Creek south and from the Russian River into the
hills towards the Geysers. When John Shelford died
in 1877 the ranch was divided between his four sons,
Peter, Silas, Erastus, and Levi (Nell’s father)
Shelford. Levi Shelford (1852-1923) farmed his
portion of the Cloverdale ranch and, with his wife,
raised seven daughters. |
Shelford.gif) |
|
Levi and Ellen (Black) Shelford, 1875 |
|
“Nellie” Shelford, the third of Levi Shelford and
Ellen (Black) Shelford’s seven daughters, was born
in 1881 and raised in Cloverdale, where she attended
public school. Nell, who never married, moved to
Healdsburg with her family when her father retired
from farming in Cloverdale. At this time Nell had
already been in the millinery business in Cloverdale
for four years, and opted to continue in this
profession when she moved. Nell started her business
by leasing the millinery shop previously occupied by
Mrs. Bessie H. Pyne. Nell was working with one of
hers sisters, “a trimmer of considerable note” who
had traveled down to San Francisco to acquaint
herself with the latest fashions of the year. Nell
Shelford’s hat shop later morphed into a women’s
apparel shop.
|
|
Millinery Shop photo Courtesy of the Library of
Congress |
|
Shelford’s store was located at 303 Healdsburg
Avenue, just north of the intersection with Matheson
Street. She continued to own and operate the shop
until her death in 1957 at the age of 75. Nell’s
youngest sister, Mildred Shelford Petray Black,
continued to run Shelfords after Nell’s death. While
Mildred had hoped a niece would take over the store
when she was ready to retire, this did not happen,
and instead she sold the shop to Claire Grant, who
had recently moved to Healdsburg from Arcata. Grant
operated the store for thirteen years, and then sold
it to Carol Hallman who moved the shop from
Healdsburg Avenue over to the Mitchell Shopping
Center. The store was still in operation in the
1970s, but was finally closed. |
|
Sources:
“Levi Shelford Passes Away.” Healdsburg
Enterprise, Nov. 29, 1923.
“Miss Shelford Dies At Home Here.” Healdsburg
Tribune, June 6, 1957.
“Miss Shelford to Open Millinery Parlors.”
Healdsburg Tribune, February 15, 1911.
“Mrs. Shelford Succumbs to Paralytic Stroke.”
Healdsburg Enterprise, Feb. 6, 1915.
Shelford family notes. |
|
The above was researched and
written by Whitney Hopkins
For more information about the
Museum's collection of historical artifacts,
contact the Museum |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
