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Padgett/Levesque Photograph Collection

 Collection
Identifier: P019

Collection Description

This collection consists of thirteen black and white photographs of varying sizes relating to the life of Claire Lawrence Levesque and her affiliation with the Holy Ghost Hospital for Incurables in Cambridge, Massachusetts. All images are in good condition and date to the 1920s and 1930s.

Dates

  • ca. 1920s-1930s

Language of Materials

Material is in English.

Access

Collection is available for research under the CHC rules of use.

Copyright Notice

Copyright for materials resides with the creators of the items in question, unless otherwise designated.

It is the responsibility of the researcher to understand and observe copyright law and to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyright. Questions concerning copyright and permission to publish should be directed to the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives.

Historical Note

Claire Lawrence Levesque (ca. 1903-1999) was raised in an orphanage -- possibly in Lawrence, Massachusetts -- after having been abandoned at the age of five.

At the age of sixteen, she met Joseph Levesque, who was from Cambridge. After marrying, Joseph and Claire lived in Cambridge for a time.

Claire Levesque worked as a nurse’s aide at Holy Ghost Hospital in the 1920s and 1930s, and in spite of, or maybe because of having lived a difficult life, she was a “very caring and very giving person,” according to her daughter, Catherine. Several of the photographs in this collection represent the friendships and bonds she formed with her contemporaries at the hospital.

Note: Since very little is known of her birth family aside from the fact that her father died just prior to her having been orphaned, “Lawrence” may not have been Claire’s true maiden name.

The information in this Historical Note was acquired from a telephone conversation with Claire Lawrence Levesque’s daughter, Catherine Padgett, 8/19/02.

Extent

1 folder

Abstract

This collection consists of thirteen black and white photographs of varying sizes relating to the life of Claire Lawrence Levesque and her affiliation with the Holy Ghost Hospital for Incurables in Cambridge, Massachusetts. All images are in good condition and date to the 1920s and 1930s.

Physical Location

Collection is stored on-site. Held in Small Collections Box 1

Provenance

Gift of Ms. Catherine Padgett, August 9, 2002.

Related Materials

The Beckwith & Co. factory at 35 Clarendon Avenue (photograph 5) is also visible in the CHC image: link

Processing Information

Processing and finding aid by Maeve Strucker, September 3, 2002. Finding aid reformatted by Brittany Fox, October 2020. Encoded by Brittany Fox, February 2021.
Title
Inventory of the Padgett/Levesque Photograph Collection, ca. 1920-1930s
Author
Processing and finding aid by Maeve Strucker, September 3, 2002. Finding aid reformatted by Brittany Fox, October 2020. Machine-readable finding aid by Brittany Fox, February 2021.
Description rules
Finding Aid Was Prepared Using Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives Repository

Contact:
831 Massachusetts Avenue
2nd Floor
Cambridge Massachusetts 02139 US
617-349-4683