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Saunders House records

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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:
3687
Repository:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Extent:
3.6 linear feet (; 8 boxes, 7 volumes, 1 flat file)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Saunders House records (Collection 3687), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Date:
1862-1940 (bulk) and 1853-2011, undated (inclusive)
Creator:
Saunders House.
Form:
Accounts., Annual reports., Deeds., Minutes., and Newsletters.
Abstract:
The Old Man's Home of Philadelphia was chartered in 1860 and opened its doors in 1864 in West Philadelphia, as a residence for old men in indigent circumstances. The home evolved to be Saunders House and began admitting women in 1960. In 1973, it moved to its current location adjacent to Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pa. Today Saunders House provides long-term care and rehabilitation services to up to 180 older adult residents. The collection includes the original Old Man's Home minute book; admission records; record of inmates; annual reports; financial reports; deeds and other property-related documents; newsletters; court records from an inheritance dispute involving the Old Man's Home; a program from the organization's 125th anniversary celebration; a Christian Endeavor hymn book, typescripts, and clippings.

A group of women visiting the Widow’s House in Philadelphia during the spring of 1860 realized that the city did not have a comparable institution for the care of older men. By the summer of that year a charter for the establishment of an old man’s home was granted by the Court of Common Pleas although the project itself was postponed for four years due to the Civil War. With the purpose of providing housing and care to poor-stricken old men The Old Man’s Home of Philadelphia was founded in 1864.

During the 1960s The Old Man’s Home became the Saunders House and started admitting women. In 1973, after many years located at the intersection of 39th Street and Powelton Avenue in West Philadelphia, the institution moved to the campus of Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, PA. By the end of the 1970s the Saunders House entered into a collaboration agreement with Chapin Memorial Home for Aged Blind. Financial support from the Chapin Home has enabled the Saunders House to expand both its physical facilities and the number of residents receiving care. As part of this agreement, Saunders House sets aside several admissions slots to older adults with visual impairments.

The Saunders House records are divided in four series. Series I (Annual Reports) includes both yearly reports and several treasurers’ annual briefs. Series II (Property Records) includes deeds, brief of titles, bonds, mortgages, searches, and insurance records of real estate owned by the Old Man’s House. Some of the deeds and other property-related documents are sorted by the owner’s name while others are divided by property. Series III (Institutional Files) contains drafts of the Saunders House by-laws; admission records, 1888-1958; the original Old Man's Home minute book, 1861-1868; record of inmates, 1904-1915; court records from an 1882 inheritance dispute involving the Old Man's Home; a 1989 program from the organization's 125th anniversary celebration; and miscellaneous items such as a Christian Endeavor hymn book and loose papers. Series IV (Publications) contains newsletters published by the Saunders House between 1973 and 2001.

I. Annual Reports, 1866-1969; 41 folders

II. Property Records, 1853-1963; 4 boxes

III. Institutional Files, 1861-2011, undated; 24 folders, 7 volumes, 1 flat file

IV. Publications, 1973-2001; 8 folders

Saundershouse.org. Accessed on February 1, 2012.

Gift of the Saunders House; acquired in 2012.

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania:

Edwin Forrest Home. Records, 1792-1990 (Collection 3068)

Hayes Manor. Records, 1827-1994 (Collection 3108)

Indigent Widows' and Single Women's Society/Ralston House. Records, 1817-1985 (Collection 3099)

At other repositories:

Benjamin Rose Institute Records, 1908-1981. Western Reserve Historical Society

Eliza Bryant Home for the Aged Records, 1898-1963. Western Reserve Historical Society

Cambridge Homes (Cambridge, Mass.) Records, 1887-1994 (inclusive). Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College

Subject

Publisher
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by Willhem Echevarria.
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Saunders House.
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Collection Inventory

Annual Reports, (1866-1867).
Box 3 Folder 1-2
Annual Reports, (1869-1870).
Box 3 Folder 3-4
Annual Reports, (1904).
Box 3 Folder 5
Annual Reports, (1911-1916).
Box 3 Folder 6-11
Annual Reports, (1918-1929).
Box 3 Folder 12-23
Annual Reports, (1930-1940).
Box 4 Folder 1-11
Annual Reports, (1941-1942).
Box 4 Folder 12-13
Annual Reports, (1944).
Box 4 Folder 14
Annual Reports, (1968-1969).
Box 1 Folder 1
Treasurer's Annual Report, (1941-1942).
Box 1 Folder 5-6
Treasurer's Annual Report, (1943).
Box 1 Folder 11

Bertha G. Collins to Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company--Bond and Mortagage, (1889).
Box 5 Folder 1
Davis Garrett to George Owen--Mortgage, (1866).
Box 5 Folder 2
Davis Garrett--Searches, (1868).
Box 5 Folder 3
Duval Polk to Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company--Bond and Warrant, (1882).
Box 5 Folder 4
Duval Polk to Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company--Mortgage, (1882).
Box 5 Folder 5
Edgar Darrah--Mortgages, (1888).
Box 5 Folder 6
Edgar Darrah to Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company--Bond and Warrant, (1888).
Box 5 Folder 7
Eugene Caldwell Jr. to Old Men's House--Declaration of Trust, (1902).
Box 5 Folder 8
John Cunningham--Searches, (1871).
Box 5 Folder 9
Mary Cunningham to James Waldron--Mortgage, (1811).
Box 5 Folder 10
Mary Cunningham--Searches, (1873, 1878).
Box 5 Folder 11
Old Man's House--Insurance Policies, (1888-1889).
Box 5 Folder 12
Old Man's House--Insurance Policies, (1902-1903, 1916).
Box 5 Folder 13
Old Man's House--Insurance Policies, (1935).
Box 5 Folder 14
Old Man's House and The Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia--Lease, (1958-1963).
Box 5 Folder 15
Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Brief of Title, (1871, 1873).
Box 5 Folder 16-17
Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds, (1860-1861, 1865).
Box 5 Folder 18-21
Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds, (1867-1868).
Box 6 Folder 1-2
Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds, (1871, 1873, 1876).
Box 6 Folder 3-5
Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds, (1883, 1893).
Box 6 Folder 6-7
Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds, (1902-1903).
Box 6 Folder 8-9
Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Searches Against Samuel White, (1884).
Box 6 Folder 10
Samuel White--Mortgages, (1873, 1882, 1884).
Box 6 Folder 11
Samuel White--Mortgages, (1889).
Box 6 Folder 12
Samuel White--Searches, (1878, 1884, 1894).
Box 6 Folder 13
Samuel White to Ferdinad Dreer--Bond and Warrant, (1884).
Box 6 Folder 14
Samuel White to Marshall White--Bond and Warrant, (1887).
Box 6 Folder 15
Samuel White to Mary Cunningham--Bond and Warrant, (1873).
Box 6 Folder 16
Samuel White to Wistar Building Association--Bond and Warrant, (1882).
Box 6 Folder 17
38th Street and Powelton Avenue--Release of Liens, (1927).
Box 6 Folder 18
39th Street and Powelton Avenue--Brief of Title, (1873).
Box 6 Folder 19
1933 E. Madison Street--Bond and Warrant, (1930).
Box 6 Folder 20
1933 E. Madison Street--Mortgage, (1930).
Box 6 Folder 21
1933 E. Madison Street--Policy of Title Insurance, (1930).
Box 6 Folder 22
1314 Columbia Avenue--Property Documents, (1853-1885).
Box 7
311 N. 39th Street--Property Documents, (1860-1902).
Box 8
319 N. 39th Street--Property Documents, (1883-1921).
Box 8
321 N. 39th Street--Property Documents, (1881-1895).
Box 8
641 N. 45th Street--Property Documents, (1878-1893).
Box 8
3843 Powelton Avenue--Property Documents, (1871-1894).
Box 8
3909 Baring Street (Powelton and Saunders Avenues)--Property Documents, (1852-1883).
Box 8
836 Paul Avenue (Nebraska); Miller Street (Camden, NJ); Lot 41 of Block 56 (Pine Beach, NJ--Property Documents, (1853-1932).
Box 8

Acts of Assembly; By-Laws, (1864).
Box 4 Folder 16-19
Admission Records, (1888-1896).
Volume 1
Admission Records, (1907-1922).
Volume 2
Admission Records, (1922-1936).
Volume 3
Admission Records, (1936-1958).
Volume 4
By-Laws, (undated).
Box 2 Folder 4
Court Records--Old Man's Home vs The Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind [2 copies], (1882).
Volume 6-7
Dedication Ceremonies, (1973, 2011).
Box 1 Folder 2
Financial--Accounts, (1912-1940).
Box 2 Folder 5
Financial--Bills and Receipts, (1868-1884).
Box 2 Folder 6
Financial--Investment Review, (1933, 1935).
Box 1 Folder 3-4
Financial--Investment Review, (1942).
Box 1 Folder 7-9
Financial--Investment Review, (1943).
Box 1 Folder 10
Financial--Investment Review, (1943-1944).
Box 1 Folder 12-14
Memorandum--6/13/1872; Memorandum--6/13/1872--Typed Transcription; Resolution--Mrs. George M. McFadden, (1872, 1913).
Oversize Flat File 1
Newsclippings (1973-1989).
Box 1 Folder 15
Notes on Insurance and Mortgages, (1893-1934).
Box 2 Folder 7
Old Man's Home--Minutes, (1861-1868).
Volume 5
Program--125th Anniversary, (1989).
Box 1 Folder 16
Record Book, (1904-1915).
Box 1 Folder 17
Report from Evaluating Committee; Resolution from Board of Managers, (1958).
Box 2 Folder 8
Saunders House--History, (1968, undated).
Box 1 Folder 18
Statement of the Organization and Progress, (1865).
Box 4 Folder 15
Miscellaneous, (1979-1994, undated).
Box 2 Folder 9
Miscellaneous-- Christian Endeavor Hymns, (1894).
Box 2 Folder 10

Saunders House Visitor, (1980-1987).
Box 1 Folder 19
Saunders House Visitor, (1988-1991).
Box 1 Folder 20
Saunders House Visitor, (1992-1995).
Box 1 Folder 21
Saunders House Visitor, (1999, 2001).
Box 1 Folder 22
Sounds of Saunders House, (1984).
Box 1 Folder 23
The Spectacle, (1973, 1979).
Box 2 Folder 1
The Spectacle, (1980-1981).
Box 2 Folder 2
The Spectacle, (1982-1983).
Box 2 Folder 3

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