The Ellwood Graduate Assistantship Endowment was established in memory of Mr. William L. Ellwood in 1944 by Harriet Ellwood Keeney and Jessie Ellwood Chappell. This assistantship was created to provide funding for a student pursuing a graduate degree in the Animal Science Department with a minimum 3.0 GPA.

William L. Ellwood (1859-1933) was the son of Isaac L. Ellwood (1833-1910), co-inventor and manufacturer of barbed wire. In 1889, Isaac purchased the Renderbrook Ranch of some 130,000 acres in Mitchell County from John W. and Dudley H. Snyder, for which Ellwood adopted the Spade brand. In 1891 he acquired an additional 128,000 acres northwest of Lubbock from the Snyder brothers. He added 45,000 acres in 1902 and additional acreage in 1906 to bring the total size of his ranch, which was known as the Spade Ranch, to 265,000 acres, thereby increasing his total Texas holdings to 395,000 acres. He made his oldest son, William Leonard, manager of his Texas ranches. Following Isaac's death, W. L. and younger brother, Erwin Perry Ellwood, jointly inherited the Spade and Renderbrook ranches.

William married Jennie M. Allen in 1883 and they had two daughters, Harriet and Jessie.

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Contact

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Senior Director of Development
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Matt Williams
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