CofC Logo

Archives For November 30, 1999

Medway Plantation

By mchughck
Posted on 4 December 2014 | 2:07 pm — 

Gertrude and Sidney purchased Medway Plantation in the spring of 1930 after stumbling across it during a countryside horseback ride. They took on the task of restoring the historic plantation even though Medway had no heat, no electricity, and no running water. This post shows just a small amount of the materials held in the College of Charleston’s collection, including archaeological surveys, staff lists, Medway Timber Company materials, and more.

IMG_5946

Realtor’s posting for Medway, listing the plantation for $100,000.

IMG_5947

Realtor’s photo, undated 1929-1930

IMG_5948

Realtor’s photos, undated 1929-1930

IMG_5949

Realtor’s photo, undated 1929-1930

IMG_5950

“Reasons for and against Purchase of Medway,” holograph on envelope, undated 1929 (written by Sidney or Gertrude Legendre)

Interior renovation pencil sketch, undated 1930

Interior renovation pencil sketch, undated 1930

IMG_5977

Staff list with days worked and amounts paid, 1931 May 21.  The Gourdine family maintained the grounds for over three generations

IMG_5955

Dinner list for December 13th (year not noted)

IMG_5952

Medway game book (front cover), 1934-1961. Includes date, hunters, location, game hunted, and remarks.

IMG_5953

Medway game book interior. When away from Medway during World War II, Gertrude marked pages “WAR!!” in red pencil and captioned, “Sidney joined navy and went to Pacific; Gertie joined OSS, was sent to Europe and was taken prisoner by Germans 26 Sept 1944, escaped March 22, 1945.”

IMG_5958

Correspondence from Thomas A. Edison’s Ediphone Service Company, 1937 March 29.

IMG_5978

Bing Crosby often visited Medway and enjoyed going on shooting trips with Gertrude and friends. Photo from “Medway 1966” album.

IMG_5944

Toni Frissell portrait of Gertrude and family at Medway, undated 1941-1949.

The following are photos from an archaeological survey and sampling project at Medway’s Back River/Pine Grove area in 1992.

IMG_5965

Archaeological dig at Medway, undated 1992.

IMG_5964

The dig site, undated 1992

IMG_5966

Beginning excavation, undated 1992

IMG_5967

Specimens discovered, undated

IMG_5968

Specimens discovered, undated

Photos of luncheon and demonstration held for Medway Timber Company.  

IMG_5973

Presentation in the “Trophy Room” at Medway, undated 1955-1956

"Bucking pulp tops - poles peeled in woods," undated 1955-1956

“Bucking pulp tops – poles peeled in woods,” undated 1955-1956

IMG_5972

Demonstrations, undated 1955-1956

IMG_5975

Worker with harvested logs, undated 1955-1956

IMG_5974

Timber Company luncheon on the lawn at Medway, undated 1955-1956

 

 

The Legendre brothers

By mchughck
Posted on 25 November 2014 | 10:46 am — 

Gertrude’s first husband, Sidney Legendre, was one of six children (Katherine, Hennen, Armant, Edith, Morris, and Sidney) born to James Gilbert Legendre and Cora H. Morris of New Orleans (LA).  The Legendre family was rooted in French creole life, Mardi Gras celebrations, and military service, with three of the brothers serving in the World Wars. This post features text in Gertrude’s own words when remembering the brothers, taken from her 1987 biography The Time of My Life.

On Hennen: “Hennen was the eldest and the only one besides Katherine to speak really good French.”

Hennen Legendre, World War I, 1914

Hennen Legendre, World War I, 1914

Hennen Legendre

Hennen Legendre, undated

On Armant: “Armant was next—-cited for All-America in football at Princeton, a lovely character with a wonderful sense of humor and full of beans. Everyone called him ‘Cajun’ because of the crazy things he used to do. Once he brought a goat into Henry’s Bar in Venice and was thrown in jail for the night. His quick temper often got him into fights, which the rest of the brothers helped him finish.”

Gertrude and Armant

Gertrude and Armant, undated 1950

Armant Legendre and family

Armant Legendre and family, undated

 On Morris: “Morris used to introduce himself as Jean Maurice Armant Agricole Legendre. He had a natural confidence about everything except marriage. He was an extrovert, natural leader, and organizer. Nothing bothered him. When we went on safari, Morris organized everything.”

Morris Legendre

Morris Legendre, undated 1935-1945

Morris in Abyssinia, 1928

Morris in Abyssinia, 1928-1929

Morris Legendre

Morris Legendre, undated 1920-1925

On Sidney: “My Sidney was tall and dark and he parted his thick, curly black hair just to the left of center and plastered it down. In photographs, he stood tall and straight, always rather elegant. He was moody, often brooding or worrying about things, but he also had a wonderful sense of humor and could pull your leg with a perfectly straight face, which would make you think twice before breaking a smile. When he felt like it he could entertain everyone, but when he became bored with the dinner conversation or the weekend guests, he grew sullen and quiet.”

Sidney Legendre

Sidney Legendre, undated

Sidney Legendre

Sidney Legendre, undated 1930-1935

Sidney and Morris, Abyssinia 1928

Sidney (right) and Morris (left), Abyssinia 1928-1929

Sidney (right), Morris (left)

Sidney (right) and Morris (left), serving during WWII in Honolulu (HI), 1945

Sidney's military ID cards

Sidney’s military ID cards, undated 1942-1945

IMG_5887

Sidney J. Legendre biographical sketch (page 1 of 3), undated

Sidney Legendre at Medway

Sidney Legendre at Medway, undated

Sidney and Bokara at medway, undated 1942

Sidney and Bokara at Medway, undated 1942

Sidney and Gertie with "Clippy"

Sidney and Gertie with “Clippy,” undated

Sidney and Gertie "Palm Beach Xmas 1930"

Sidney and Gertie “Palm Beach Xmas – 1930”

Sidney and Gertie at Hurricana Farms, August 1932

Sidney and Gertie at Hurricana Farms, August 1932

Sidney and Gertie

Sidney and Gertie, undated

___

On their deaths: “All the Legendre men died young. The first to go was Hennen, whom we called ‘The Frenchman.’ One minute he was lying in a hammock reading, and the next, he was dead of a heart attack. Then Sidney died, and then Armant, known as ‘Cajun.’ Not too long after Cajun died in New Orleans, Morris and his new bride died in a plane crash—just a few years after Sidney’s death. All the Legendre brothers died in the prime of their lives.

Sidney's grave at Medway plantation, he died in March of 1948.

Sidney’s grave at Medway plantation. He died of a sudden heart attack in March of 1948.

Bokara Legendre

By mchughck
Posted on 14 November 2014 | 11:40 am — 

Gertrude’s second daughter, Bokara (affectionately nicknamed “Bo” or “Bobo” for short), was born in 1940. Below are some photos of Bokara at Medway, in New  York (NY), and with Landine and Gertrude.

IMG_5799

Bokara dining with Gertrude

IMG_5806

Young Bokara, undated 1943

 

IMG_5813

Bokara with Gertrude, 1943

IMG_5817

Bokara with Landine, undated 1943

Bokara with actors Darryl Hickman, Monica Moran, and Kevin 				McCarthy, undated

Bokara with actors Darryl Hickman, Monica Moran, and Kevin McCarthy, undated
IMG_5812

Bokara in New York (NY), undated

IMG_5809

Bokara at Medway, undated

IMG_5816

Bokara with Landine and Gertrude in the “Trophy Room” at Medway, undated

 

Landine Legendre

By mchughck
Posted on 13 November 2014 | 3:00 pm — 

Gertrude’s first daughter, Landine, was born in 1933. Below are some pictures of young Landine at Medway, at Lake Placid (NY), and at social events.

 

Landine with Sidney

Landine with Sidney

IMG_5790

Landine with Gertrude at Medway, 1933

 

IMG_5796

Landine at Medway, undated

IMG_5791

Landine at Medway, undated

IMG_5792

Landine at Lake Placid (NY), 1935

IMG_5793

Virgil Boozer portrait of Landine, undated

IMG_5794

Captioned: “Miss Landine Legendre, Chairman of the Junior Committee for the Free Milk Fund for Babies benefit opera at the Metropolitan, Thursday Evening, Dec. 18”

IMG_5795

Landine in gown, undated

 

 

 

 

 

Gertrude Sanford Legendre papers on LCDL

By mchughck
Posted on 24 October 2014 | 10:23 am — 

Exciting news! We now have 11 photo albums available in the Lowcountry Digital Library:

  http://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/content/gertrude-sanford-legendre-papers-1836-2000

Coming soon: WWII Nazi and Fascist leader photographs, approximately 10 new photo albums (including Indo-China and various African expeditions), World War II correspondence, and photo portraits of Gertrude Legendre by famed artists such as Man Ray, George Platt Lynes, Toni Frissell and Charlotte Fairchild. Enjoy!

35mm slides

By mchughck
Posted on 22 October 2014 | 8:56 am — 

The Gertrude Sanford Legendre collection boasts nearly 13,000 35mm color slides. Most of these slides are of Gertrude’s travels in North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and to islands in the Atlantic. Though many printed pictures of her expeditions are showcased in her scrapbooks and photo albums, there is much more to be found in the slides! Below are some images of the cataloging and rehousing process, equipment used to view slides, and well as photos of some of the images on the slides.

 

IMG_5672

 

IMG_5674

IMG_5676

IMG_5623

Pana-Vue Automatic slide viewer

 

IMG_5631

Natives with downed elephant, French Equatorial Africa, 1952

Natives with downed elephant, French Equatorial Africa, 1952

IMG_5627

Robert F. Kennedy on the campaign trail, 1968

IMG_5626

Robert F. Kennedy on the campaign trail, 1968

IMG_5625

Barn kitten, undated

IMG_5624

Medway Plantation (SC), undated

Scrapbook conservation

By mchughck
Posted on 13 May 2014 | 9:29 am — 

This collection includes a large amount of scrapbooks and photo albums created with a wide variety of bindings, papers, and photo types. Some of the albums are in great shape, and others are in need of a lot of TLC.

The first scrapbook I worked with is “Around the World, 1963.” It includes ticket stubs, brochures, and 3×5 photographs chronicling Gertrude and Bokara Legendre’s mother/daughter worldwide excursion in 1963. This album has sustained significant water damage, and almost all of the materials had to be removed from the original binding and placed in chemically inert enclosures. Scroll through the photos for more details!

Original binding

Original binding

 

photo80

Severe water damage. All pages had to be removed from original plastic page covers, and all photos and ephemera were removed and placed in archival enclosures.

 

 

photo81

Side view of album before conservation

 

photo82

All pages had to be kept, because each photo included a handwritten title below it! We matched each photo with its corresponding title before disassembling the album.

 

photo83

Original spine rusting and damage

collage

The finished product!

 

photo90

This is what the album looks like now! All materials are safely cataloged and will remain preserved for future research.

Sanford family photos, 1813-1850s

By mchughck
Posted on 10 February 2014 | 10:35 am — 

Some of the oldest items in the Gertrude Sanford Legendre papers are daguerreotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, and sketches created in the early 19th century. Daguerreotypes and tintypes represent some of the earliest known versions of photography, and were used primarily from the 1840s-1870s.

dag3

Unknown painting, September 28th, 1813

dag8

Shown with pencil for scale

dag2

Sarah Jane Cochran Sanford (Gertrude’s paternal grandmother) cabinet card

dag1

Stephen Sanford (Gertrude’s paternal grandfather), undated

dag6

Tintype image case

dag7

Leather tintype image case

dag5

Ethel Sanford (Gertrude’s mother), undated (mid 1800s)

dag4

Ethel Sanford, undated (mid 1800s)

 

 

Gertrude’s childhood and siblings

By mchughck
Posted on 4 February 2014 | 9:59 am — 

Gertrude was born in 1902 in Aiken, SC, into a family with two older siblings, Sara Jane “Janie” Sanford and Stephen “Laddie” Sanford. Below are a two scrapbook pages from the children’s early years.

mss182_pa1926b_006

Aiken, 1913

mss182_pa1926b_012

Aiken and Atlantic City, early 1900s

 

Gertie the writer

By mchughck
Posted on 10 January 2014 | 8:37 pm — 

Gertrude was an avid writer and artist, and she kept detailed journals of each place she visited over the years. She also wrote several books, including The Sands Ceased to Run, Gertie!, The Time of My Life. Below are images of these manuscripts in their different forms — from scrawled notes to final drafts!

Handwritten preliminary chapter list

Handwritten preliminary chapter list

 

Two of Gertie's travel journals

Two of Gertie’s travel journals

 

Testing image placement and captions

Testing image placement and captions

 

A response to one of Gertie's many solicitations for publication

A response to one of Gertie’s many solicitations for publication

 

Manuscript corrections for The Time of My Life

Manuscript corrections for The Time of My Life

 

photo 5 (2)

 

"Final" draft!

“Final” draft!

Skip to toolbar