Derby Family Papers Collection

Derby Family Papers Collection PDF

Physical Description: 32 letter boxes; 16 oversized document boxes

Physical Location: Black Belt Archives: Room 2; Shelf 4-6

Introduction: Rev. Patsy Derby Chaney, the daughter of Frank I. Derby, donated the Derby Family Papers Collection to the University of West Alabama on June 13, 2007. The collection totals roughly 44 cubic feet of records, including 32 letter boxes and 16 oversized document boxes. The arrangement of this collection is  chronological and alphabetical by record series within a particular year. A few folders contain series whose chronological scope exceeds one school year. In these rare instances, the folder is filed in the earliest school year exhibited by the enclosed papers. There are some access restrictions on the collection due to privacy issues. Please refer any questions concerning access to the archivist. The majority of the records in the Derby Family Papers Collection pertain to the business, charitable deeds, and personal correspondence of Frank Inge Derby, a west Alabama agricultural magnate. The collection also includes records created by members of the Derby family between the late nineteenth and late twentieth centuries. Researchers interested in Alabama’s agricultural history, innovations in animal husbandry, the prevalence of hunting as a cultural institution in the Southeastern United States, early twentieth-century philanthropy in Alabama, the history of the cattle and timber industries in both Alabama and the United States, and the growth of Alabama’s transportation system during the twentieth century will find this collection particularly useful.

Biographical Sketch: Born in 1881 in Gaston, AL, Derby became known as “The Cattle King of Alabama” and “The Game Cock of Sumter.” His academic training occurred at the Marion Military Institute in the 1890s. Derby left MMI to pursue a career in livestock breeding and trading. In 1900, he married his first love, Kate Horn, and moved south of York, AL. They would raise four children to adulthood – Frank, Jr. (b. 1902), Mary Kate (b. 1904), Carrie Horn (b. 1912), and Evan Allison (b. 1917). In 1900, Frank Derby forged a business partnership that would last for seventeen years. He joined Oscar E. Cobb, a prominent local livestock dealer, to form the firm of Cobb and Derby. Cobb and Derby flourished as Frank Derby rode from town to town striking deals and cementing his reputation as a cattle man. The firm initially sold Shorthorn Hereford and Angus cattle, but gradually came to  specialize only in Shorthorns. While working with Cobb, Derby conducted cattle feeding experiments and became one of the first cattlemen in Alabama to dip his livestock in vats of chemicals to eradicate ticks. Derby often invited other farmers to his property to demonstrate the tick-dipping process and freely disseminated his
knowledge. When Cobb retired from the profession in 1917, Derby prospered on his own. In July 1918, Frank Derby organized a well-known cattle sale. A physically slight man whose business was integral to the American war effort, Derby did not serve in the military during World War I. To contribute, Derby held a charity bull auction in Birmingham, which raised $100,000 for the American Red Cross. In August 1919, Frank Derby held a second, better-known charity auction. Derby organized one of the biggest events in the history of Demopolis, the Rooster Bridge Sale, to erect a bridge across the Tombigbee River. Derby convinced famous people to donate roosters that were sold for much more than their actual monetary value. Among the noteworthy rooster donors were comedian Fatty Arbuckle, Congressman William Oliver, President Woodrow Wilson, Premier David Lloyd-George of Great Britain, Premier Georges Clemenceau of France, Premier Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, and Helen Keller. The Rooster Sale, viewed by thousands, netted $45,000 for the bridge fund. Kate Horn passed away in 1929. Frank married a schoolteacher from Prattville named Minnie Wade Cory in 1939. In 1940, their only child, Patsy, was born. In 1959, State Senator E.O. Eddins  introduced legislation to permanently change the name of the Demopolis Tombigbee Bridge to “Rooster Bridge.” The bill also called for the commission of a historical marker memorializing the Rooster Sale. The new bridge sign and  memorial were completed in 1961, two years before Derby’s death.

Scope and Content Note:
Inclusive Dates: 1836 to 1996. Bulk Dates: 1909 to 1928.
The Derby Family Papers Collection contains series of records including, but not limited to, Business Correspondence, Personal Correspondence, Bank Statements and Deposit Slips, Bills and Receipts, Legal Correspondence and Agricultural Correspondence. The majority of the collection is composed of paper records, but it also contains hundreds of photographs, photo negatives and an antique typewriter. One of the collection’s strengths is its diversity of a broad array of record  categories. This collection provides information about the American cattle industry, transportation in Alabama, early-twentieth-century Alabama cultural history, the connections between state politicians and Alabama businessmen in the early
twentieth century, the evolution of agricultural techniques and the life of Frank Derby.