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Letter to Michael Gladden Jr. from H. R. Mason on Behalf of Ella Walls
Collection
The Ella Walls Collection
Format
Original ruled paper
Date
c. 1931
People
Ella Walls; Ella Wall
Michael Gladden Jr.; Michael Gladden
Location
Apopka, Florida, United States of America.
Historical Background
A letter from H. R. Mason to Michael Gladden Jr. on behalf of Ella Walls, c. 1931. In this letter, Ella Walls requests 6 lbs of flour, lard for 10 cents, and for $1.00 in cash from Michael Gladden Jr. Aside from the grocery order, this request might have been rent-related, as Ms. Walls rented out shotgun houses to migrant workers in her time. Michael Gladden Jr. would later record this transaction on a safekeeping receipt.
Ella Walls (1874-1938) was an entrepreneur and businesswoman of Apopka who served as the inspiration for a character in Zora Neale Hurston's novel Mules and Men. Walls was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1874 and moved to Apopka as a widow. Throughout her lifetime, Walls purchased four parcels of land. She operated an orange grove and also constructed small wooden buildings that she rented out to migrant workers. Walls was also a close friend and confidant of Michael Gladden, Jr. up until her 1938 death.
Transcript
6 lb flour
lard 10
one dollar cash please
Ella Walls
H R Mason
