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Philadelphia Bureau of Unemployment Relief records

Notifications

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
1585
Repository:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Extent:
12.0 linear feet (; 19 boxes, 31 volumes)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Philadelphia Bureau of Unemployment Relief records (Collection 1585), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Date:
1930-1933
Creator:
Bureau of Unemployment Relief (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Form:
Business records.
Abstract:

The Philadelphia Bureau of Unemployment Relief (July 1931- December 1931) was founded on July 15, 1931 as an outgrowth of the Committee for Unemployment Relief (November 1930- July 1931 and November 1931- June 1932). The Committee for Unemployment Relief, founded on November 14, 1930 in response to the Great Depression, was primarily funded by grants and donations from private philanthropists. The committee provided services such as financial and work relief and care for homeless men. When, in July of 1931, it became evident that private funding alone would no longer support these efforts, the City of Philadelphia adopted an ordinance which created the Bureau of Unemployment Relief within the municipal Department of Welfare. The bureau borrowed $3,000,000 from the city but, in order to use the funds most effectively, eliminated many services previously offered by the committee to concentrate on financial relief. On December 23, 1931, with 46,151 families receiving financial relief, the original $3,000,000 was exhausted and the bureau ceased to exist as a publically funded organization.

In response to this, the Committee for Unemployment Relief reorganized and planned to take over the work of the bureau. The committee began to collaborate with the Welfare Federation and the Federation of Jewish Charities to form the United Campaign on November 9, 1931. In January of 1932, the United Campaign aligned with several women’s charities to provide aid and relief for a growing number of needy women. The Committee for Unemployment Relief intermittently received funding throughout the next several months. Finally, due to growing numbers of homeless and unemployed persons and lack of consistent funding the committee decided to cease its participation in the United Campaign and dissolved on June 20, 1932. Horatio G. Lloyd was the chairman of both the Bureau of Unemployment Relief and the Committee for Unemployment Relief.

This collection spans from 1930 to 1933. It contains check stubs, banknotes, warrants, bills, contributions, reports, food orders and other business papers from the Bureau of Unemployment Relief as well as some from the Committee for Unemployment Relief and the United Campaign. Also included are papers on the Clearing House for Homeless Men, 1931; Temporary Shelter for Homeless Men, 1931-1932; and Emergency Aid, 1932. Though the bureau dissolved in 1932, there are a few items that date from 1933, such as Purchase ledger (Volume 23), Schedule of vouchers for the Bureau of Unemployment Relief (Volume 26), Schedule of vouchers for the Committee for Unemployment relief (Volume 28).

Lloyd, Horatio Gates. Unemployment Relief in Philadelphia 1930-1931-1932. Philadelphia, 1932. (call number Wj*.9 v.3.)

Gift of Horatio Gates Lloyd, 1947.

Committee for Unemployment Relief (Philadelphia, Pa.) records (Am.3996)

People
Subject

Publisher
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by Allison Sharkey
Finding Aid Date
2012
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Collection Inventory

Check stubs,, October 15, 1931 - January 15, 1932.
Box 1
Check stubs,, December 1, 1930 - October 10, 1931.
Box 2
Check stubs,, December 30, 1931 - July 15, 1932.
Box 3
Check stubs,, March 15, 1932 - May 13, 1932.
Box 4
Check stubs,, March 30, 1932 - August 19, 1932.
Box 5
Check stubs and bank books,, February 1931 - August 1932.
Box 6
Bills (arranged in order of payment), #3460- #3915; "Adjustments made for Position" forms; schedule of vouchers; memos,, 1931 - 1932.
Box 7
Printed Pamphlet; bills (arranged in order of payment), #1986 - #3219,, April 27, 1931 - October 29, 1931.
Box 8
Warrants,, July 16, 1931 - December 31, 1931.
Box 9
Warrants and warrant orders,, July 16, 1931 - December 31, 1931.
Box 10
Emergency aid: bank statements, correspondence, payroll addition and separation record, time reports,, 1932.
Box 11
Payroll addition and seperation record, payroll changes, schedule of vouchers, time reports,, 1931 - 1932.
Box 12
Clearing House for Homeless Men: bank statement, payroll addition and seperation record, schedule of vouchers, time reports,, 1932.
Box 13
Time reports,, July 16, 1931 - July 31, 1932.
Box 14
Contributions received, payroll accounts,, 1931 - 1932.
Box 15
Food orders, statements and accounts,, 1931 - 1932.
Box 16
Contributions received, list of people transferred to the United Campaign, payroll accounts, payroll lists, time reports,, 1931 - 1932.
Box 17
Distribution of expenditures,employees paid over $1000 or more during the year, schedule of vouchers, statements,, 1931 -1932.
Box 18
Miscellaneous,, 1931 - 1932.
Box 19
Time book, July 15, 1931 - March 31, 1932.
Volume 1
Time book, October 31, 1931 - March 15, 1932.
Volume 2
Time book, March 31, 1932 - August 20, 1932.
Volume 3
Time book, April 15, 1932 - June 30, 1932.
Volume 4
Time book, July 1, 1932 - September 21, 1932.
Volume 5
United Campaign in Philadelphia final report volume I of III, November 9, 1931 - December 7, 1931.
Volume 6
United Campaign in Philadelphia final report volume II of III, November 9, 1931 - December 7, 1931.
Volume 7
United Campaign in Philadelphia final report volume III of III, November 9, 1931 - December 7, 1931.
Volume 8
Special fund for familes at Drexel and Company, 1931 - 1932.
Volume 9
Daily recapitulation of expenditures, July 28, 1931 - September 7, 1932 .
Volume 10
Managers for the Relief and Employment of the Poor of the Township of Germantown, April 23, 1932 - August 2, 1932.
Volume 11
District distribution, December 1931 - August 1932.
Volume 12
Cash disbursements by district, July 1931 - December 1931.
Volume 13
Summary of expenses incurred by district, August 29, 1931 - October 17, 1931.
Volume 14
Summary of expenses incurred by district, October 24, 1931 - December 19, 1931.
Volume 15
Summary of expenses incurred by district, December 26, 1931 - May 7, 1932.
Volume 16
Summary of expenses incurred by district, June 4, 1932 - August 24, 1932.
Volume 17
Ledger, December 1932 - April 1932.
Volume 18
Ledger, May - July 1932.
Volume 19
General ledger, August 1931 - February 1932.
Volume 20
General ledger, January - May 1932.
Volume 21
General ledger, May - September 1932.
Volume 22
Purchase ledger cash disbursement, December 31, 1931 - March 16, 1933.
Volume 23
Purchase ledger cash disbursement, May 14, 1932 - January 24, 1933.
Volume 24
Expenditures, 1931 - 1932.
Volume 25
Schedule of vouchers for Bureau of Unemployment Relief, July 16, 1931 - January 24, 1933.
Volume 26
Schedule of vouchers for Bureau of Unemployment Relief, May 14, 1932 - December 9, 1932.
Volume 27
Schedule of vouchers for Committee for Unemployment Relief, December 30, 1931 - March 16, 1933.
Volume 28
Schedule of vouchers for temporary shelter for homeless men, December 31, 1931 - August 18, 1932.
Volume 29
Unemployment fund, 1931 - 1932.
Volume 30
Check stubs, July 16, 1932 - August 28, 1932.
Volume 31

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