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Creator
Small, Leila Danette-Madison, 1909-2012
Call number
Sc MG 365
Physical description
2.25 linear feet (3 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Leila Danette Madison Small family papers, Sc MG 365, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Leila Danette Madison Small family papers document the lives of an African-American upper middle class family from Baltimore and Florida in the late 19th through the 20th centuries. The papers include wills, certificates, travel logs, and property documents.

Biographical/historical information

The family papers of Leila Danette Madison Small document the lives of a twentieth-century African-American upper middle class family from Baltimore. Leila, also known as "Lela", Danette Madison Small (1909-2012) was born to Leila Madison Williams (ca. 1879-1969) and Daniel J. Madison. Her father died in 1912; the following year her mother married Walter R. Williams. The second marriage produced Mildred Margarite Williams (1913-1988). Her mother also raised Leila's cousin, Edith Margarite Macbeth Saunders(1895-1983), after the death of Edith's mother. The family moved from Jacksonville, Florida to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1925.

Both Leila Danette Madison Small and her sister, Mildred Margarite Williams, had careers in the arts. Leila Danette was a stage, film, and television actress, who began performing professionally at age 67. She acted in the Crossroads Theatre Company's performance of Steal Away (1984). Mildred Margarite, after receiving a Master of Arts in Musicology from Catholic University, became the organist and choir director of Baltimore's Sharon Baptist Church in 1935. She served there actively until 1979. Mildred Margarite was also a music instructor with the Baltimore City Public Schools System. In 1987, the Virginia Seminary and College presented her with an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Music.

Edith Margarite Macbeth Saunders, Leila Danette's and Mildred Margarite's cousin, married Frank Augustus Saunders (1892-1967) in 1920. Coincidently the same year, Dr. Saunders was awarded his medical degree from Howard University. They lived in Baltimore and were long-term members of the locally-based Falcon Rod and Gun Club. Edith Margarite served as president of the club's Auxiliary from 1957-1968 and Mildred Margarite served as coordinator for contributions.

Scope and arrangement

The Leila Danette Madison Small family papers have been organized according to the family's genealogy. The bulk of the papers, however, relate to Edith and Frank Saunders. The papers include several last wills and testaments (1912-1970), for both the Williams and Madison families, and content from a family Bible noting births, marriages, and deaths (1889-1913). There are property documents for land owned by Daniel J. Madison in Duval County, Florida (1901-1940); estate documents; and a scrapbook belonging to Leila Madison Williams, containing congratulatory messages and tributes for a testimonial banquet given in her honor (1965).

Items relating to Leila Danette Madison Small include a program for Steal Away (1984) and a last will and testament (1942). Mildred Margarite Williams's files primarily concern her music career and consist of programs for organ recitals at Sharon Baptist Church, among other churches. Her files also include a scrapbook containing programs, snapshots, and a guest list for the tribute held at Sharon Baptist Church where Virginia Seminary and College conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Music (1987).

The bulk of the papers belong to the Saunders; most notably are travel logs (1955-1970) maintained by Edith, which document her vacations to various regions of the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, often accompanied by her cousin, Mildred M. Williams. Furthermore, there are documents relating to real estate; in particular, there is a legal brief regarding a restrictive racial covenant, which forbade blacks from living on a title of land in Baltimore. Frank and Edith Saunders filed a suit and won their appeal to live on the property. Additionally, materials relating to Frank Saunders include his letters (1917-1918) to Edith prior to their marriage; the letters discuss their relationship and his medical examinations at Howard University, and include two printed items related to the Black National Medical Association's convention in 1955.

There is a small amount of materials pertaining to the Falcon Rod and Gun Club, whose purpose was "to help the members of the Falcon Rod and Gun Club morally, financially, and socially". Records for the Auxiliary, for which Edith and Frank Saunders were active members, encompass minutes, correspondence, and printed matter.

There are a small number of documents for a few family members not described above. In addition, there are obituaries for non-family members containing abundant genealogical information (1950-1988), programs for music and non-music events at Sharon Baptist Church and other churches in Baltimore, and printed material on black history in Baltimore.

Arrangement

The Leila Danette Madison Small family papers have been organized according to the family's genealogy.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Leila Danette Small, April 1990.

Processing information

Accessioned by Janice Quinter and Miranda Mims, 2012 and 2015.

Separated material

Transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division: audio and moving image materials. For more information, please contact the division at schomburgaudiovisual@nypl.org or 212-491-2270.

Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: various photographs

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor