| Dates: | 1908-1926, undated |
| Size: | .25 linear feet in 1 box, includes 78 photographs |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60605 |
| Collection Number: | spe-nhrc-gfc |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition: | Mr. Stanley Gage donated the Gage Family Collection to the Special Collections and Preservation Division at the Harold Washington Library Center in 2006. |
| Conditions Governing Access: | Materials are open without restrictions. |
| Conditions Governing Use: | Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection. |
| Preferred Citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Gage Family Collection [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library. |
| Finding Aid Author: | Original author unknown, 2009 June. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Michelle McCoy, 2023 |
Abstract
The collection contains 78 photographs of the Gage family who resided at 4236 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s Grand Boulevard community in the early 20th century.
Biographical/Historical
Stanley and Katherine L. Gage married in 1905 and by 1910 were living at 4236 S. Prairie Avenue. Stanley was born in Illinois about 1877 and worked in real estate, as did his father. His son, William H. Gage, was born in 1912. Living at the same address were Henry H. and Mary B. Gage, Stanley’s parents.
The Gage home at 4236 S. Prairie Avenue is in the Grand Boulevard community, four miles south of the Chicago Loop. It is bounded by 39th and 51st Streets to the north and south, Cottage Grove Avenue and the Chicago Rock Island Railroad tracks to the east and west. The Grand Boulevard community area takes its name from the tree-lined street built in 1874. The street, Grand Boulevard, was later renamed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the 1870s great mansions were built along Grand Boulevard, with more modest homes and 3-flat apartment buildings springing up on the adjacent streets. Originally part of the township of Hyde Park, this area would become part of Chicago through annexation in 1889. Many German-Jewish and Irish immigrants moved to the area at the turn of the century, followed by African American migrants from the South after WWI. By the 1930s, African Americans made up 95% of the population of Grand Boulevard and the area came to also be known as Bronzeville.
Scope and Contents
The Gage Family Collection consists of family photographs that document the daily life of a middle-class family living in the Grand Boulevard community in the early 1900s. Besides the immediate family, individuals pictured here include Stanley’s brother, Edward Gage, and his son Henry Crum Gage. Also represented are Stanley’s sister, Portia Gage, her husband William Lee, and their daughter Portia M. Lee, who was born in 1907. Others living in the household are D. Milton Woods and Alfred Hayne, who were lodgers. The names of identified persons are transcribed as given by the donor. These are all exterior photos, taken in front of, or near, the family home at 4236 S. Prairie Avenue.
Sources: 1900 U. S. Federal Census; 1910 U. S. Federal Census; 1930 U. S. Federal Census; 1915 and 1916 city directories for Chicago.
Arrangement
The photographs are arranged chronologically by year with persons listed alphabetically within. Circa dates follow at the end of each decade and undated photographs or photographs with unidentified persons are at the end.
Subject Headings
- Dogs -- Pictorial works
- Gage family -- Archives
- Gage, Stanley, approximately 1877
- Gage, Katherine L. -- Archives
- Grand Boulevard (Chicago, Ill.) -- History -- Sources
- Middle class families -- Clothing -- Photographs
- Middle class families -- Illinois -- Chicago -- History -- 20th century
- Neighborhoods -- Illinois -- Chicago
Related Materials
- Kircher Family Papers
- Lanyon Family Papers
- Slack Family Photograph Album
- D.E. Terriere Diaries
- Topel Family Photograph Album
Container Inventory
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.7 | Gage, Edward and Henry Crum, 1908 July 4 |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.2-1.3, 1.5 | Gage, Henry Crum (3 photographs), 1908 July 4 |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.9 | Gage, Katherine, with William Lee, Portia Mary Lee, and D. Milton Woods, 1908 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 | Lee, Portia Mary (3 photographs), 1908 October |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.1 | Lee, William and Portia, 1908 October |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.10-1.12, 1.14-1.15 | Gage, Katherine L. (5 photographs), 1909 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.13 | Gage, Katherine L. with A.S. Hayne and D. Milton Woods, 1909 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.17 | Gage, K. P. with William Lee and Portia Mary Lee, 1910 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.18 | Gage, K. P. with William Lee, Portia Lee and Portia Mary Lee, 1910 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.16 | [Corneke?], Mary, 1910 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.19 | Gage, K. P. with William Lee, Portia Lee, Portia Mary Lee, and dog (Tommy), 1910 |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.20-1.21 | Gage, Eleanor (2 photographs), 1911 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.25 | Gage, Bill, corner of Prairie Avenue and 43rd Street, 1914 |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.23-1.24 | Gage, Bill, in front of 4236 S. Prairie Avenue (2 photographs), 1914 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.22 | Gage, Katherine L., with Bill Gage, Mr. Hayne, D.M. Woods, 4236 S. Prairie Avenue, 1914 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.27, 1.29, 1.75 | Finney (dog) (3 photographs), 1917 |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.30, 1.32, 1.34, 1.35 | Gage, Bill (4 photographs), 1917 |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.31, 1.35 | Gage, Bill with Finney (dog) (2 photographs), 1917 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.28 | Gage, Bill with Finney (dog) and unidentified, 1917 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.26 | Gage, Bill with Portia Mary Lee, 1917 |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.33, 1.37 | Gage, Bill with Portia Mary Lee and Finney (dog) (2 photographs), 1917 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.38 | Gage, Katherine L., with Portia Lee, Bill Gage, Stanley Gage and Finney (dog), 1918 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.42 | Lee, Portia, with William Lee and Portia Mary Lee, circa 1910s |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.46 | Lee, Portia Mary, circa 1910s |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.39 | Lee, Portia Mary, 1922 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.40 | Gage, S.K., 1926 |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.52 | [4236 S. Prairie Avenue], street view, circa 1920s |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.45 | Gage, Bill with John Waidner and Therman Cooper, 4236 S. Prairie Avenue, circa 1920s |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.41 | Lee, Portia, circa 1920s |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.47 | Waidner, Mary Ella, circa 1920s |
| Box 1 | Photograph 1.48 | Jad (dog), undated |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.49-1.51, 1.53-1.54 | Unidentified persons in a car, [4236 S. Prairie Avenue] (5 photographs), circa 1920s |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.55-1.66 | Unidentified persons, 4236 S. Prairie Avenue winter scenes with children (12 photographs), circa 1920s |
| Box 1 | Photographs 1.43-1.44, 1.67-1.74, 1.76-1.78 | Unidentified persons (13 photographs), undated |
