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Blanche Letter 45 Images

1914 January 20 - envelope, Maggie to Blanche Peden Payne

1914 January 20 - page 1, Maggie to Blanche Peden Payne

1914 January 20 - page 2, Maggie to Blanche Peden Payne

Related Materials

                                Image of Dr. Black's house, which was used as a sanatorium.

        An image of Dr. Black's home that was used as a clinic in Greenville, SC.

In 1914, there were countless sicknesses and diseases that Blanche's grandmother could have been encountering during the writing of this letter. Some diseases that were common during 1914,  were influenza, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, malaria, and pneumonia. These sicknesses were treated by local doctors. Some cities or areas would have small clinics, but not anything compared to the health care system today. The healthcare system and infrastructure did not begin growing and offering a larger array of medical careers until the 20th century.

 

Citations:
Nolan, John. "Dr. Black’s home and sanatorium stood on the north corner of E. Washington and Church Street." September 1,2022.
https://greenvillejournal.com/history/glimpses-of-greenville-blacks-sanatorium/

Inferences and Additional Questions

1. What was Blanches grandmother sick with?

2. Where was Blanche supposed to be looking for Maggie and her grandmother at?

Transcription

Object Description

The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI).  An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details. 

  • Contributing Institution - Piedmont Historical Preservation Society
  • Collection Name - Margaret Payne Collection
  • Language - English
  • Rights - Copyright held by the Piedmont Historical Preservation Society; no reproduction without written consent from the Piedmont Historical Preservation Society.
  • Notes – Handwritten letter dated January 20, 1914. Two pages. Includes envelope, postmarked January 20, 1914, from Fountain Inn, SC.

Also at this Time - Historical Context

                                                         

                An image of the Piedmont and Northern Railway locomotive.

Railroads and steam locomotives were beginning to connect towns and states to each other, by allowing freight to be shipped from city to city. However, in 1914 passengers and freight were beginning to be transported by the Piedmont & Northern Interurban Railway System. The Piedmont & Northern Interurban Railway System linked Spartanburg to Greenville, Greenwood, and Anderson. The new steam locomotive system allowed people to travel into the Fountain Inn area by way of the Swamp Rabbit Railroad, resulting in an influx of visitors to the Anderson House, a resort inn near Travelers Rest, and more "day trippers" to the Fountain Inn area. 

 

 

Citations: 
Burns, Adam. "Piedmont and Northern Railway: "The Great Electrified System of the South"" Last Modified October 11, 2023.

https://www.american-rails.com/piedmont.html

 

Want to Dig Deeper?

The Piedmont & Northern Railway President stated that the goal of the railway was to create an "electrically powered interurban railway system linking the major cities of the Piedmont Carolinas." The beginning of the railway's first project was to link Charlotte to Gastonia, and Greenwood to Spartanburg. By 1914, both rail lines were running, it was not until 1969 that the railway was absorbed into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, now named CSX. Today, two Piedmont & Northern Railway stations still exist today along with one terminal.