1843-1949; bulk: 1860-1949
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below).
Abstract
This collection consists of the records of the Home for Aged Colored 妇女，一个成立于1860年的慈善组织，为老年人和穷人提供服务 African-American women in Boston. Records include financial records, donor lists, committee notes, descriptions of women helped, board meeting minutes, and printed annual reports.
Historical Sketch
The Home for Aged Colored Women was founded by Rev. James Freeman Clarke, his mother Rebecca Parker Clarke, and Rev. Leonard A. Grimes of the Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston. They first 在纽约的一次会议上，讨论了为年老和贫困的非洲裔美国妇女建立家园的想法 vestry of Clarke's church in 1860. John A. Andrew, present at the meeting, motioned for a 当时所采取的捐款是为了满足已知妇女的迫切需要 to Rev. Grimes and Mrs. Clarke, and to form a committee to determine the most appropriate means of providing for these women in the long term. The committee recommended that a home be formally established, and they issued a call for subscribers to fund the project. The subscribers first 1860年1月18日举行会议，选出了一个管理委员会，以确保财产的安全，聘请一位女管家，并 oversee the Home's operations. The Board solicited applications for admission, and in April 1860 ten women moved into the Home at 65 Southac Street in Boston. Many of the original residents 他们以前都是奴隶，很少有人在波士顿有家人能给他们提供足够的照顾 them. 虽然已经建立了类似的私人机构来支持老年白人妇女 in Boston, none would admit black women, regardless of their social standing. The following August, the Home moved to 27 Myrtle Street in Boston.
老年有色妇女之家成立于1864年3月4日，其使命是提供 受人尊敬的非裔美国女性，年龄在60岁及以上，有一个家庭提供支持 照顾他们的晚年生活或经济援助，使他们能够独立生活或与他人生活 family members in the city of Boston. Due to the evolving needs for the Home, particularly with 考虑到空间，结构安全和现代卫生，该组织购买和 翻修了汉考克街22号的一所房子，1900年9月，居民们搬进了他们的新居 accommodations.
后来，该组织由一组民选官员和一个管理委员会指导 called the Board of Directors. The first officers of the organization were Dr. LeBaron Russell, president; Nathaniel G. Chapin, treasurer; Anna Loring, secretary; and Dr. Calvin G. Page, physician. 此外，一组轮流的“访客”将监督“家园”的运作 and ensure residents were treated well and the facilities were kept in good repair. Finally, 委员会监督更具体的行政职能，如家庭的入学，家庭的入学 purchase and allocation of supplies, hiring personnel, and securing property. Funding came in 一次性捐赠、年度捐赠或个人计划捐赠的形式 estates.
The Home's staff included a matron, a nurse, and several servants. Residents were called “囚犯”，并被要求充分参与家庭活动，包括晨祷 and housework (as able). In addition to providing up to twenty women with a place to live, the “家庭之家”还通过每月提供资金来帮助老年黑人妇女 them either live independently or to assist their families in providing for them.
到1915年，“家园”已经发展到容纳19名居民，另外还有58名妇女 receiving outside aid, ranging from $2 to $12 per month. By the 1940s, the number of residents 急剧下降，1944年该组织选择关门，尽管董事会 董事们继续用他们的资金支持接受外部援助的黑人老年妇女. The annual report for the 1949 was the last published by the organization.
Sources
MacCarthy, Esther. "The Home for Aged Colored Women, 1861-1944." Historical Journal of Massachusetts 21 (Winter 1993): 55-73.
Collection Description
这个收藏包含了老年有色人种之家的行政和财务记录 Women in Boston, Mass. Administrative records include published annual reports; meeting minutes and other records of the Board of Managers (later called the Board of Directors); monthly visitor reports describing the condition of the Home and its residents; lists of gifts and donations to the Home; and a brief nurse's log (1910-1912). Records from the committees of 招生和供应主要侧重于申请人和最终居民的描述 ，包括他们的个人经历，初始条件，建议 admittance, supplies residents received while in the Home, and death dates. Correspondence is 主要涉及财务事宜，特别是遗产规划和分配规划 donations of money and property. Some correspondence discusses applicants to the Home.
财务记录包括捐赠者遗产记录的副本，主要从1843年到1876年，每天 从1860年到1940年记录家庭开支的账簿，以及年度财务报告 from 1932 to 1937. The bulk of the records pertain to the years during which the Home was active (1860-1949), however some of the donor estate records date to 1843.
Acquisition Information
Deposited by the Home for Aged Colored Women, November 1962.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below).
Other Formats
This collection is available as color digital facsimiles.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Administrative records, 1860-1949digital content
A. Annual reports, 1860-1949digital content
This subseries includes printed copies of the Home's Annual Report of the Board of Managers for the years 1860-1865, and "Annual Report of the Board of Directors" for the years 1866-1949. Reports were presented at the January meetings of the board of managers or directors. The 1860-1873 bound volume includes a printed version of the Act of Incorporation and By-Laws for the Home. Also included in this series is an 1864 manuscript copy of the Act of Incorporation.
i. Loose reports, 1860-1949digital content
Arranged chronologically.
ii. Bound volumes, 1861-1928digital content
Arranged chronologically.
B. Board of Directors' records, 1860-1940digital content
Arranged chronologically.
这个子系列包含了董事会(1860-1868)和随后的董事会的记录 Board of Directors (1869-1940) for the Home. Records primarily consist of minutes of the 公司年会、董事会月度会议和季度报告. 包括点名名单，委员会和财务报告，对动议的决定，名单 of contributions, and personnel nominations and appointments. Records before 1919 were kept in several volumes with overlapping dates. Later records are not bound.
C. Committee records, 1860-1904digital content
Arranged chronologically and by record type.
这个子系列包含了家庭委员会在招生和供应方面的记录. 招生委员会的记录可以追溯到1860年到1904年，其中包括一份名单 “家园”居民的具体规则，以及所有申请人的描述 详细说明他们的个人历史，目前的生活状况，家人的可用性 assistance, and recommendations for admission. Some deaths of applicants and residents are also noted. Records of the committee on supplies document purchased and donated supplies, as well as items that each individual resident received.
D. Correspondence, 1867-1937digital content
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains correspondence with Home administrators from 1867 to 1937, primarily related to donations and subscriptions. Correspondence from 1930 to 1937 deals 主要是居民黛西·菲利普斯捐赠的她在阿宾顿的一所房子， Mass. Prominent correspondents include William E. Pike, Judge James T. Kirby, and Charles G. Willard.
E. Gift lists, 1877-1929digital content
Arranged chronologically.
礼物清单上注明了向“家园”捐赠的物品，如衣服、食物和服务 the years 1877 through 1886 and 1919 through 1929.
F. Visitor records, 1883-1920digital content
Arranged chronologically.
Visitor records include monthly reports for the years 1883 to 1920. Written by individuals 或由董事会任命的“访客”，报告中会注明“家园”的状况 and its residents; illnesses and deaths; special events; and repairs needed for the facilities.
G. Nurse's log, 1910-1912digital content
日志中包含疗养院护士记录的信息，包括病人的疾病 住院医生，处方药物和治疗计划，以及定期体重测量.
II. Financial records, 1843-1940digital content
A. Donations, 1843-1916digital content
Arranged chronologically and by record type.
这一子系列包括捐赠之家的遗产记录，大部分与 estate of Thomas Cordis of Longmeadow; a fundraising campaign appeal (24 Nov. 1916); and a 捐款人名单及其相应捐款，包括部分捐款人名单 donations to be given to the Joy Fund (1863). While most of the financial records pertain to 在该馆开放的那段时间，一些遗产记录的日期早在 1843.
For additional donation records, see Correspondence Series II.D. and the daily account books of the Home in Series I.B.
B. Account books, 1860-1940digital content
Arranged chronologically.
这个子系列包含家庭开支的记录，以及捐赠和订阅 from 1860 to 1908 and from 1920 to 1940. General account ledgers include records of 收集和捐赠，支付房屋费用，收入，余额和投资. Accounts of expenses include daily lists of costs incurred at the Home. Also included are records of an account held with Wesson Clothing (1864-1897). Miscellaneous accounts and 收据(1864-1915)包括服务收据、火灾保险单和未注明日期的收据 list of investments.
C. Treasurer's reports, 1932-1937digital content
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains annual financial reports from 1932 to 1937 prepared by the treasurer of the Home and examined by the accounting firm Scovell, Wellington & Co.
Additional financial reports can be found with the meeting minutes for the Board of Managers and Directors in Series II.B.
Preferred Citation
Home for Aged Colored Women records, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
A photograph of the Home's 22 Hancock St. location has been removed from this collection and cataloged separately.