Papers (1902-1934) consisting of correspondence with a friend, Miss Georgie A. Grant, a teacher in Bloemfontein, South Africa during and after the Boer War; the correspondence continued when Miss Grant (now Mrs. Georgie A, Lamptough) moved to England in 1913, and includes commentary on World War I; photographs, a contract, teaching certificates, pension certificate.
The papers of Aggie Hodge Sanders primarily consist of correspondence she received while living in Ontario, Canada and later, after her marriage, at her residence in Elizabeth City, N.C. The majority of the correspondence originated in South Africa, written by a close friend of Mrs. Sanders, Georgie A. Grant.
The earliest letter by Miss Grant (May 7, 1902) offers an excellent physical description of both houses of Parliament, Saint Paul's Cathedral, the National Gallery, Christ Church, Merton Church, Saint Margaret's Church, the London Zoo, All Soul's College, Magdalen College, New College, Ballial College, the London Tower, and Winchester, all visited in a short stay in England.
While teaching at Bloemfontein and Dewetsdorp concentration camps in South Africa during the Boer War, (1902-1903) Miss Grant describes the relations between refugees and the administration of the camps and the camp living conditions, including recreation, food, and the weather. Also, Miss Grant sent four photographs from South Africa showing hospital washers, water tanks, ironing, and a group picture of the teachers. Writing from Johannesburg, the now married Mrs. Georgie A. Lamptough deals with the problems of owning a South African gold mine (June 26, 1911).
In 1913, the Lamptough family moved to Surrey, England. Early signs of the impending World War are evident by Mrs. Lamptough's references to the Emperor of Germany and the problems in the Balkans. Also, an excellent example of wartime and post war economic difficulties suffered by the average British citizen can be obtained from correspondence from 1917 to 1922.
Due to Mrs. Lamptough's frequent traveling, many worldwide aspects of life during the early twentieth century are covered throughout her correspondence. Weather and road conditions, means of land and sea transportation, problems of finding good laborers, along with major tourist attractions are described during travel in England, South Africa, Grand Canary Islands, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Mrs. Lamptough has an informative eye for detail and her correspondence offers an enlightening view of life in the listed countries during the early twentieth century.
William Hodge serves as another source of correspondence to his sister Aggie Hodge Sanders. A small amount of war news appears in a letter of 1919; and, correspondence of 1923 depicts the tourist attractions found by Mr. Hodge in a sightseeing trip through Bombay, India, Burma, Ceylon, and Java.
The Collection contains several miscellaneous items of correspondence to Mrs. Sanders. Letters of general family information are from "Peggy" (1906) and from C.M. Grant (1934), both of Ontario, Canada, Mrs. Sanders' home Province. Other miscellaneous items include several of Mrs. Sanders' teaching certificates, a contract for payment towards an area of land located at Ocean County, N.J. and a pension certificate from the Bureau of Pensions, Washington, D.C. (1918).
Gift of Mr. Graham Hodge Sanders
Processed by W. Williams, February 1977
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Updated by N. Hardison, October 2024
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.