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Gertrude Margaritte Ivory Bertram collection, 1938-2007, Date acquired: 10/07/2007, Date accessioned: 2020-04-22, bulk 1942

 

Summary

Creator:
Bertram, Gertrude Margaritte Ivory
Extent:
.25 Linear Feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Gertrude Margaritte Ivory Bertram collection, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_07_0114.

Background

Scope and content:

This World War II collection relates to Gertrude Margaritte Ivory Bertram, an African American nurse who served in the U.S. Army. The collection consists of letters, photographs (depicting herself and her fellow nurses in uniform, as well as African American G.I.s, and a few photographs from her time in West Africa), personal items, books, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and interviews. The materials mainly document Bertram's time at Fort Bragg, NC, but there is some information concerning her life before enlistment, travels during enlistment, and life after enlistment. Most of her enlistment was spent in West Africa and at Fort Bragg, NC. This collection is important, as it covers the unique experiences of women and African Americans during World War II, and offers insight that differs from the majority white male G.I. perspective. It depicts African American nurses in both a professional setting and casual settings as Bertram enjoyed downtime with her friends.

Biographical / historical:

Bertram was born in Clarksville, Georgia, on February 17, 1916. She attended nursing school at the Brewster Hospital and School of Nurse Training in Jacksonville, Florida, which was the first African American hospital in the United States. She then enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 1, 1941 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a ward nurse. While in the Army, Bertram served as a ward nurse in Fort Bragg and later in the West African theater and Louisiana. After the war, she continued to work as a nurse, wrote a book, and raised a family.

Custodial history:

This collection was donated by Gertrude Margaritte Ivory Bertram. The collection was acquired by the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience on October 7, 2007.

Transferred from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience to FSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives in July 2022.

Arrangement:

Creator

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open to all researchers.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Gertrude Margaritte Ivory Bertram collection, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_07_0114.

Location of this collection:
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee
FL
32306-2047
USA