The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

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These documents, which cover the years 1945-1950, 1954, and 1960, relate primarily to the sale of Glenmont—the Edison home in Llewellyn Park—to Thomas A. Edison, Inc. (TAE Inc.) and to the sale and distribution of the furnishings, books, clothes, and other items in the house. Included is a memorandum of a meeting of family members on January 22, 1945, in which a decision was made to sell the house to TAE Inc. for approximately $150,000, while allowing Mina to use the property during the remainder of her life. Among the other documents dating from the period prior to Mina's death are a draft letter from Madeleine to Charles regarding specific items that should remain in the house or be retained in the family and a list of furs sent to C. G. Gunther's Sons for storage.

Among the documents dating from the period after Mina's death are numerous typewritten memoranda, probably by family friend Lucy Bogue, regarding the distribution of Mina's personal effects among various family members and friends; a handwritten draft letter from Madeleine to Charles in which she comments about Theodore renouncing his third of his mother's estate and asks "what exactly has Incorporated bought?"; a list of books from the Glenmont library that are "desperately wanted" or "wanted very much" by Madeleine; a list of plants in the Glenmont greenhouse belonging to Madeleine; a list of items in the safe at Glenmont; and a memorandum by Madeleine regarding "things I would like from Glenmont" pinned together with a note from Madeleine to Charles.

Also included are an inventory of furnishings at Seminole Lodge, the Edison winter home in Fort Myers, Florida; a listing of furs owned by Mina Edison, along with indications of their value and distribution; and a typewritten list of items at Glenmont that were sold to TAE Inc. in 1954.

The items not selected include letters of condolence and remembrance from family and friends, 1947-1948; a carbon copy of an April 6, 1950 letter from the Central Hanover Bank and Trust Co. to Theodore Edison regarding his trusts; and two letters from attorney Irving Smith, Jr. to Madeleine Edison, written in May 1960.