Call Number:

10

Repository:

Germantown Historical Society

Extent:

2.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1873-1953 (inclusive)

Creator:

Germantown Relief Society (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Abstract:

The Germantown Relief Society, founded in Philadelphia in 1873, was the first society in the United States to organize charitable work. It aimed to make sure charity reached those who needed it most, and avoid wasting effort on those who did not really need it. The Germantown Relief Society records, 1873-1953, consist of minute books, financial records, correspondence, scrapbooks, and other records.

The Germantown Relief Society was the first society in the United States to organize charitable work. It was founded in Philadelphia's 22nd Ward in 1873 at the suggestion of Unitarian Rev. Charles G. Ames and his wife Fanny Baker Ames. Its projects included the distribution of food, supplies, and clothing to the needy; free or low-cost dental treatments; and cooking classes.

According to historian Julia B. Rauch, "The stated purposes of the [Germantown Relief Society] were to render prompt and judicious relief in cases of helpless suffering not otherwise provided for; to detect imposture and prevent the waste and misapplication of charity; to put an end to promiscuous begging; to promote good understanding among Germantown's charitable societies; to collect and diffuse information concerning the extent of destitution in the ward. Its principles were to investigate carefully each case to avoid helping those able to help themselves, to give relief in kind rather than in cash, and to encourage the poor to obtain work rather than to receive gratuitous aid."

Bibliography:

Rauch, Julia B. "Quakers and the Founding of the Philadelphia Society for Organizing Charitable Relief and Repressing Mendicancy." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography Vol. 98, No. 4 (Oct., 1974): pp. 438-455.

"Relief Society if Forty Years Old." Indiana Gazette, November 21, 1913.

The collection consists of minute books, financial records, correspondence, scrapbooks, and other records. The minutes of the society date from 1873 to 1931, and are accompanied by minutes of the Woman's Auxiliary, 1873-1921. The financial records include treasurer's books, 1911-1953; a cash book, 1885-1895; monthly bills, 1945-1953; records of money received; and receipts. The collection also includes a small amount of correspondence, records of the number of visitations, scrapbooks (1912-1931), etc. There are also a large number of published reports.