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Presbyterian Medical Center Ladies Aid Society Records

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center [Contact Us]3401 Market Street, Suite 210, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center. 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

The Ladies Aid Society of the Presbyterian Medical Center was founded in October 1872. The mission of the Society, as mapped out in its first Constitution, was to "aid the [Presbyterian] Hospital by soliciting funds, assisting the sick, procuring supplies of clothing, lint, bandages," etc., "subject to the direction of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital and the Medical Board."

The Society became gradually a major source of funding for various projects of the Presbyterian Hospital. In 1921, the Society was involved with a fund-raising drive among the local churches to collect $100,000.00 for a new Dispensary-Laboratory Building. In the 1960s, the Society pledged $40,000 to the building and redevelopment fund of the Hospital and made another gift of $50,000 for the purchase of equipment in the Food Service Center. In 1970, it pledged and raised $75,000.00 for the Pediatric Medical Services. From 1985 to 1994, the Ladies Aid Society raised over three quarters of a million dollars for the Presbyterian Medical Center.

During its over 125 years of existence, the Society has received numerous legacies and bequests, most of which have been invested. While the interest from these investments form the bulk of the its revenues, the Society has also embarked on a number of money-raising enterprises to augment their income. It sponsors various sales, bazaars, concerts, recitals and fashion shows. Outstanding in its retail ventures have been the Cubby Hole Gift Shop which started in 1932 and is still operating; the Rittenhouse Flower Market, to which the Ladies Aid Society was first invited in 1927 and from which the Society raised thousands of dollars for the sick children at the Presbyterian Hospital, including setting up a Child Health Clinic in 1928. In addition, a Co-operative Shop which was formed in 1923 and sold in 1975; and a Thrift Shop at the hospital which closed in 1987.

Apart from fund-raising operations, the Society has been active in various kinds of training and social services for the Presbyterian Hospital. Shortly after its founding, the Society organized Visiting and Benevolent Committees to visit patients at the hospital. The first official "visitor" for the committee was Caroline Farnum, who had been trained as a nurse. By 1889, she had combined her training skills and her visiting activities into a new system which provided opportunities for potential nurses to do off-site visiting for practice. That year the hospital board of trustees named Farnum its "Directress of Nurses," and thus, was born the Presbyterian School of Nursing. The Ladies Aid Society was generous from the outset to the new school, giving gifts through its Benevolent Committee to the patients being visited, and even providing its students with their first uniforms. In addition to visiting the sick and sewing sheets, pillow cases, patient clothing and operating room linens, early members also performed useful tasks patients could not yet deal with physically, helped find them employment, made temporary monetary loans and even helped send some convalescents to the sea-shore to speed their recovery, until the Cathcart Nursing Home was opened in Devon in 1892.

For all of its fund-raising and service activities, the Society depended heavily on the good-will and reliability of hundreds of volunteers from its own membership. In 1957, it oversaw the formation of the Medical Auxiliary, which was created primarily as a volunteer fund-raising group for the hospital. The Auxiliary officially separated itself from the Society by 1959, but the two groups still co-operate in a number of different activities. Despite the modern downward trend in membership for most volunteer organizations, the current membership of the Ladies Aid Society has stayed at about 200. Its operations, however, have increasingly concentrated on raising funds for the hospital in recent decades.

The Collection documents the history and development of the Ladies Aid Society of the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia since its founding in 1872. The Corporate Governance Records series includes all corporate documents as well as the Annual Report of the Society from 1872 to the present and minutes of its Executive Committee, Board of Managers and annual and quarterly meetings. The General Administrative Files comprise administrative correspondence and files of such major subjects as book donations, directory and mailing lists, handbooks, history material, and legacies and wills. The Financial files consist of audit report, annual financial statement, Treasurer report, documentation of gifts received and made, records of its investment and banking transactions, income and expense ledgers, tax exempt status, and its business related to the Rittenhouse Square Flower Market and the Cubby Hole Gift Shop. The Photograph and Artifact Series include a couple of photograph images of its activities and a ceramic Florence Nightingale lamp.

The collection has been organized into four series: Corporate Governance Records, 1872-2002; General Administrative Files, 1883-2002; Financial files, 1872-2001; and Photographs and Artifacts, 1922-1992. The records are basically arranged in an alphabetical order within each series (except for the series of "Photographs and Artifacts").

The agency history of the Ladies Aid Society of the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia is partially based on the Historical Notes prepared by Sandy VanDoren, former Archivist of the Presbyterian Medical Center.

Transferred to the University Archives of the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 and 2002.

The 1997 accession of the Ladies Aid Society records came mixed with the records of the Presbyterian Medical Center. The latter group is to be processed as a separate collection under the code UPC 500.

the shelf list lists 22 entries; Kaiyi wrote new guide in 2002; this has replaced old guide

Organization
Subject
Place

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center
Finding Aid Author
Kaiyi Chen
Finding Aid Date
2002
Access Restrictions

Access to collections is granted in accordance with the Protocols for the University Archives and Records Center.

Collection Inventory

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1872-1897 in a bound volume.
Box 1 Folder 1
1898-1916 in a bound volume.
Box 1 Folder 2
1912.
Box 1 Folder 3
1917-1931 in a bound volume.
Box 1 Folder 4
1931-1933 (printed).
Box 1 Folder 5
1932-1943.
Box 2 Folder 1
1932-1953, in a bound volume.
Box 2 Folder 2
1950-1954 (printed).
Box 2 Folder 3
1955-1956 (printed).
Box 2 Folder 4
1957-1958 (printed).
Box 2 Folder 5
1959-1969, typescript.
Box 2 Folder 6
1970-1974, typescript.
Box 2 Folder 7
1975-1977, typescript.
Box 3 Folder 1
1978-1989, typescript.
Box 3 Folder 2
1998-1999, 2002, with Newsletter, 1999-2002.
Box 3 Folder 3
Articles of incorporation (original), 1929.
Box 3 Folder 4
Charter, constitution and by-laws, 1893, 1929-1993.
Box 3 Folder 5
Charitable Organization Registration, 1993.
Box 3 Folder 6
Executive Board (Committee) meeting, Correspondence and supporting documents, 1902-1922.
Box 3 Folder 7
Incorporation seal, 1929.
Box 3 Folder 8
Founding meeting, 1872 Oct. 10, and Constitution Committee meeting 1872 Oct. 12, with constitution draft, list of founding members (?) and their addresses.
Box 3 Folder 9
1879-1887, bound.
Box 3 Folder 10
1888-1895, bound.
Box 3 Folder 11
1896-1901, bound.
Box 3 Folder 12
1896-1909 (bound, with hand-written notes by Isabella Talley, 1937).
Box 4 Folder 1
1918-1926, bound.
Box 4 Folder 2
1927, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 3
1928, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 4
1929, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 5
1930, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 6
1931, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 7
1932, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 8
1933, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 9
1934, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 10
1935, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 11
1936, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 12
1937, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 13
1938, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 14
1939, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 15
1940, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 16
1941, unbound.
Box 4 Folder 17
1942, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 1
1943, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 2
1944, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 3
1945, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 4
1948, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 5
1949-1951, bound.
Box 5 Folder 6
1955, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 7
1956, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 8
1957, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 9
1958, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 10
1959, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 11
1960, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 12
1961, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 13
1962, unbound.
Box 5 Folder 14
1963, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 1
1964, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 2
1965, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 3
1966, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 4
1967, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 5
1968, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 6
1969, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 7
1970, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 8
1971, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 9
1972, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 10
1973, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 11
1974, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 12
1975, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 13
1976, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 14
1977, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 15
1978, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 16
1979, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 17
1980, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 18
1985, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 19
1986, unbound.
Box 6 Folder 20
1987, unbound.
Box 7 Folder 1
1988, unbound.
Box 7 Folder 2
1998 March - May.
Box 7 Folder 3
1998 June - 1999 June.
Box 7 Folder 4
1999 June - 2000 May June.
Box 7 Folder 5
2002 Feb. 12.
Box 7 Folder 6
Annual and Quarterly meetings, bound, 1918-1927.
Box 7 Folder 7
Benevolent Committee, 1895-1900.
Box 7 Folder 8
Benevolent, Sabbath, Visiting Nurse Missionary Visitor and Social Service Committees (in 1 bound volume), 1900-1910.
Box 7 Folder 9
Quarterly Meeting, 1932 Jan. 29.
Box 7 Folder 10
Visiting Committee, 1872-1877.
Box 8 Folder 1

1937-1969.
Box 8 Folder 2
1970-1974.
Box 8 Folder 3
1975-1976.
Box 8 Folder 4
1977-1981.
Box 8 Folder 5
Child of Providence: A History of Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia, 1996.
Box 8 Folder 6
Church representatives, Mailing lists, [1960s-1970s].
Box 8 Folder 7
Coal land bequeathed by Ellen A. Girard, Correspondence, 1907-1923.
Box 8 Folder 8
Correspondence and legal, 1916-1923.
Box 9 Folder 1
Girard Mammoth Coal Company vs. Raven Run Coal Company, et al., 1919-1923.
Box 9 Folder 2
1873-1947, with clippings.
Box 9 Folder 3
1954-1967.
Box 9 Folder 4
1968.
Box 9 Folder 5
1969.
Box 9 Folder 6
1970.
Box 9 Folder 7
1971 Jan.-June.
Box 9 Folder 8
1971 July-Dec.
Box 9 Folder 9
1972.
Box 9 Folder 10
1973.
Box 9 Folder 11
1974.
Box 10 Folder 1
1975.
Box 10 Folder 2
1976.
Box 10 Folder 3
1977.
Box 10 Folder 4
1978.
Box 10 Folder 5
1979.
Box 10 Folder 6
1980.
Box 10 Folder 7
1981.
Box 10 Folder 8
1982-1985.
Box 10 Folder 9
1986-1988.
Box 10 Folder 10
1989-1990.
Box 10 Folder 11
Dedication Programs, 1996, 2002.
Box 10 Folder 12
1967-1972.
Box 11 Folder 1
1973-1976.
Box 11 Folder 2
1977-1978.
Box 11 Folder 3
1979-1982.
Box 11 Folder 4
Election, Ballots, 1961-1981.
Box 11 Folder 5
Election, Nominating Committee reports, 1957-1969, 1979-1980.
Box 11 Folder 6
Election, Ballot for April 26, 1985, Nominees for Board Offices, April 1986, with miscellaneous clippings.
Box 11 Folder 7
Governing Board, Directory, 1980-1981.
Box 11 Folder 8
Governing Board, List, 1998-1999.
Box 11 Folder 9
Handbook for Committee Chairmen, 1973, 1979, and Handbook for Church Representatives, 1980-1981.
Box 11 Folder 10
Handbooks for committee chairmen and church representatives, 1973-1981.
Box 11 Folder 11
Historical Sketch of the Ladies Aid Society, with other miscellaneous clippings, 1936-1981.
Box 11 Folder 12
Histories, 1936, 1967, 1973.
Box 11 Folder 13
Junior Service Guild and miscellaneous committee reports, [1942]-1956.
Box 11 Folder 14
Legacies and wills 1883-1903.
Box 11 Folder 15
Legacies and wills 1900-1916.
Box 11 Folder 16
Legacies and wills 1924-1929.
Box 11 Folder 17
Medical Auxiliary of the Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Directory and mailing lists, 1967-1982.
Box 12 Folder 1
Medical Auxiliary of the Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Directory, 1984.
Box 12 Folder 2
Membership application form and dues invoice, 1982-1986.
Box 12 Folder 3
Obituary, Mary Ellen Brown, [1966].
Box 12 Folder 4
Pennsylvania State University, Workshop certificates, 1958, 1964.
Box 12 Folder 5
Presbyterian Foundation for Philadelphia and New Courtland, Inc., [1996].
Box 12 Folder 6
Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia, Ladies Aid Fund, Declaration of Trust, draft, n.d.
Box 12 Folder 7
Prize and appreciation certificates, two, to the Ladies Aid Society, 1960, 1971.
Box 12 Folder 8
Secretary's Report, 1941-1944.
Box 12 Folder 9

1936-1939.
Box 12 Folder 10
1940-1944.
Box 12 Folder 11
1945-1949.
Box 12 Folder 12
1951-1959.
Box 12 Folder 13
1960-1963.
Box 12 Folder 14
1964-1969.
Box 12 Folder 15
1969.
Box 12 Folder 16
1970-1972.
Box 12 Folder 17
1972-1973.
Box 13 Folder 1
1974-1975.
Box 13 Folder 2
1976-1977.
Box 13 Folder 3
1978-1979.
Box 13 Folder 4
1980-1981.
Box 13 Folder 5
1982-1983.
Box 13 Folder 6
1984.
Box 13 Folder 7
1985.
Box 14 Folder 1
1986-1988.
Box 14 Folder 2
1989-1990.
Box 14 Folder 3
1998-1999.
Box 14 Folder 4
1986.
Box 14 Folder 5
1987.
Box 14 Folder 6
1988.
Box 14 Folder 7
1989.
Box 14 Folder 8
1986.
Box 15 Folder 1
1987.
Box 15 Folder 2
1988.
Box 15 Folder 3
1989.
Box 15 Folder 4
Correspondence and personnel data form, 1969-74.
Box 15 Folder 5
Cancelled checks Reports, 1962-1972.
Box 15 Folder 6
Cancelled checks Reports, 1973-1986.
Box 15 Folder 7
Daily journal (ledger)1966-1970.
Box 16 Folder 1
Daily journal (ledger)1970-1984.
Box 16 Folder 2
Daily journal (ledger)1985 March - 1995 May.
Box 16 Folder 3
1969.
Box 17 Folder 1
1970.
Box 17 Folder 2
1971.
Box 17 Folder 3
1972.
Box 17 Folder 4
1973.
Box 17 Folder 5
1974-1981.
Box 17 Folder 6
1976-1980, with summary.
Box 17 Folder 7
1907, 1928-1930.
Box 17 Folder 8
1931-1933.
Box 17 Folder 9
1934-1935.
Box 17 Folder 10
1936-1938.
Box 17 Folder 11
1939-1942.
Box 17 Folder 12
1943-1946.
Box 18 Folder 1
1960-1977.
Box 18 Folder 2
1985.
Box 18 Folder 3
1986.
Box 18 Folder 4
1987.
Box 18 Folder 5
1988 Jan. - May.
Box 18 Folder 6
1988 June- Dec.
Box 18 Folder 7
1989 Jan. - July.
Box 18 Folder 8
1989 Aug. - Dec.
Box 18 Folder 9
1990.
Box 18 Folder 10
Financial statement, ending May 31, 1994, 1995, 1996.
Box 18 Folder 11
Financial statement, ending May 31, 2001.
Box 18 Folder 12
Gifts received, summaries, 1901-1903, 1959-1974.
Box 18 Folder 13
Gifts, Mary Patton Freeman Estate, 1958.
Box 18 Folder 14
Income and expense ledgers 1872-1889.
Box 19 Folder 1
Income and expense ledgers 1889-1901.
Box 19 Folder 2
Income and expense ledgers 1901-1911.
Box 19 Folder 3
Income and expense ledgers 1967-1982.
Box 19 Folder 4
Investment Supervisory Account, correspondence 1918-1955.
Box 19 Folder 5
Investment Supervisory Account, correspondence 1957-1990.
Box 19 Folder 6
Rittenhouse Square Flower Market 1931, 1967.
Box 19 Folder 7
Rittenhouse Square Flower Market 1970-1973.
Box 19 Folder 8
Rittenhouse Square Flower Market 1979-1980.
Box 19 Folder 9
Rittenhouse Square Flower Market 1981-1990.
Box 19 Folder 10
Tax exempt status correspondence, 1993-1997.
Box 20 Folder 1
1934-1959.
Box 20 Folder 2
1960-1963.
Box 20 Folder 3
1964-1969.
Box 20 Folder 4
1970-1974.
Box 20 Folder 5
1975-1977.
Box 20 Folder 6
1978-1984.
Box 20 Folder 7
1985-1990.
Box 20 Folder 8
Ways and Means Committee 1961-1962.
Box 20 Folder 9
Ways and Means Committee 1963-1965.
Box 20 Folder 10
Banking statements, with deposit slips and cancelled checks.
Box 21 Folder 1
Correspondence.
Box 21 Folder 2
Financial statement, ending May 31, 1998, with relevant material.
Box 21 Folder 3
Organization Exempt From Income Tax, Return of, 1997.
Box 21 Folder 4
Correspondence.
Box 21 Folder 5
Financial statement, ending May 31, 1999, with relevant material.
Box 21 Folder 6
Organization Exempt From Income Tax, Return of, 1998.
Box 21 Folder 7
Banking statements, with deposit slips, cancelled checks and miscellaneous receipts.
Box 21 Folder 8
Correspondence.
Box 21 Folder 9
Financial statement, ending May 31, 2000, with relevant material.
Box 21 Folder 10
Organization Exempt From Income Tax, Return of, 1999, with Charitable Organization Registration Statement of 2000.
Box 21 Folder 11
Vanguard Funds, statements.
Box 21 Folder 12
Yearly dues received.
Box 21 Folder 13

Photographs, 1922-1992.
Box 21 Folder 14
Photographs, Two, Jackson, Jack, and Katharine Clothier, with Carl Mosher at the presentation of a new piano to the PMC, 1969; Margaret Gayley Palmer with Daniel DeArment, Chaplain, Roger Dvorak, Vice-President, and an unidentified man at a presentation, 1969.
Box 21 Folder 15
Photographs, Mosher, Carl, with Margaretta Miller, Dr. Farquehar (Director of Pediatrics), Jane Tunnell and G. Hall Todd, with the plaques honoring Lena Littell and the section of the Ambulatory Services Pavilion, 1975.
Box 21 Folder 16
Ceramic Florence Nightingale lamp, given to the last graduating class of Registered Nurse, 1987 April 29, Two [one missing, original note: "placed in the Display Cabinet, 10/5/1994"].
Box 22 Folder 1

Print, Suggest