The Franklin Frost Sams Family collection is comprised of images from 577 glass plate negatives donated in 1988 by Margaret N. Sams. Franklin Frost Sams was a trained physician in Charleston as well as a dedicated amateur photographer who would even use a pinhole camera that he made. Learning the first practical dry plate negative process, developed in 1871, Sams was able to produce prints more readily. His wife, Elizabeth McPherson Gregorie, and five children, Frances, Donald, Annie, Elizabeth and James, were his constant subjects but the scenes of his beloved Charleston were also a favorite. In this collection you will see many images of the Sams and Gregorie Family as well as scenes throughout the Holy City as they happened.