John F. Torrey (1817–1893) migrated to Texas in 1838 from Ashford, Connecticut. From 1839 to 1844, he operated the “John Torrey Jewelry and Fancy Store” in Houston. His brothers, David K. (d. 1849) and Thomas S. Torrey (d. 1843), joined him in 1839 and 1840, respectively. The Torrey Brothers supplied their store with goods purchased on trips to New York and Boston, and these spoons could have been purchased during one of these trips. According to an 1842 advertisement in the Telegraph and Texas Register, the Torrey’s store offered a variety of goods, including gold and silver watches, clocks, Jewelry, musical instruments, toys, stationery, German silver and plated ware, and table and pocket cutlery. In addition, they advertised “all kind of Gold and Silver ware manufactured to order at the shortest notice.” The brothers are credited with building the first frame house in Houston, which they used as a store and supply center for the frontier trading posts they operated between 1842 and 1849.

Soon after his arrival in Texas, John F. Torrey met Sam Houston and, in 1843, Houston urged the Torreys to establish an Indian trading post by the falls of the Brazos River. Although the brothers would briefly operate trading posts on the Bosque River and in Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels, and Fredericksburg, this trading post located on Tehuacana Creek in McLennan County had a monopoly on the Indian Trade and was notably successful between 1844 and 1849. In 1848, the Torreys sold off their interest in the retail business to their partner, George Barnard. Barnard moved the trading post to Comanche Peak in Hood County in 1849.