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Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia records

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing [Contact Us]Claire Fagin Hall, 418 Curie Boulevard, Floor 2U, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4217

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing. 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:
MC 89
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing
Extent:
6.0 linear feet
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia records, Barbara Bates Center for The Study of The History of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
Date:
1858-1976 (inclusive)
Creator:
Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia., Fultz, Edith May, and James Madison University. Carrier Library. Special Collections.
Form:
Hospital records and School records
Abstract:
This collection contains records relating to the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia. Materials include historical accounts, administrative records, board minutes, annual reports, correspondence, and photographs.

The Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia was established in 1861. The hospital began a training school for nurses two years later that was the first known chartered school for nurses in the United States. In early years, the school was affiliated with Blockley (Philadelphia General Hospital) and Pennsylvania Hospitals for the training of nurses. An Alumnae Association was organized in 1889. The hospital merged with the West Philadelphia Hospital for Women in 1929. After the merger of the two hospitals, the two Alumnae Associations also merged in 1931. The school was closed in February 1964, and the hospital was absorbed by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in the same year. It officially closed in February 1965. The Nurses' Alumnae Association of the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia donated the collection to the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1976. The College transferred it to the Bates Center in 1991.

The collection came from three main sources: the Woman's Hospital, the School of Nursing, and the Nurses' Alumnae Association. As the hospital merged with the West Philadelphia Hospital for Women and Children in 1929, the collection also contains a file of the latter hospital. History accounts and administrative records (minutes, annual reports, etc.) are two important features of the collection. This collection covers a wide variety of records, including board minutes, hospital annual reports, correspondence, programs of all kinds of social activities, nurse certificates, books and publications, photographs, and artifacts.

Gift of Gretchen Worden at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 1992.

Organization
Subject
Place
Occupation

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by Center staff, updated by Bethany Myers
Sponsor
This collection was processed with funds provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission as part of the Nursing History Processing and Cataloging Project.
Access Restrictions

Patient names may not be cited.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Center with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents note

The records of the hospital consist of bylaws, annual reports, history, documents of structure and function, correspondence, addresses and lecture notes by members and associates of the hospital, patient files, and publications.

Charter and Bylaws, a framed tablet bearing Section 4 of WHP bylaws and charter certification by Commonwealth Deputy Secretary, April 2, 1861.
Box 8
Charter and bylaws, 1861.
Box 1 Folder 1
Bylaws revision, 1946.
Box 1 Folder 2
Chronological outline of history of nurse instruction since 1839, [1950].
Box 1 Folder 3
Chronological notes of 1761-1894.
Box 1 Folder 4
Historical account on the occasion of the founding of the new hospital building, 1930.
Box 1 Folder 5
Chronological outline, 1931.
Box 1 Folder 6
History by Mary W. Griscom, 1934.
Box 1 Folder 7
Endowments, chronological notes, 1865-1906.
Box 1 Folder 8
Published history, reprints, 1934.
Box 1 Folder 9
History, drafts, 1931-1953.
Box 1 Folder 10
Minutes of the Governing board, 1863-1881.
Box 1 Folder 11
Minutes of the joint board meetings of Woman's Hospital and West Philadelphia Hospital, 1929-1930.
Box 1 Folder 12
Board of Managers, lists, 1960-1964.
Box 1 Folder 13
Ledger book: "Old Records", 1866-1885.
Box 1 Folder 14
1862-1873.
Box 1 Folder 15
1874-1883.
Box 1 Folder 16
1884-1890.
Box 1 Folder 17
1891-1895.
Box 1 Folder 18
1904, 1905, 1909, 1912-1914, 1925, 1930.
Box 1 Folder 19
Outline for the preparation of an historical review of a school of nursing, 1968.
Box 2 Folder 35
The Board's work report, 1931.
Box 2 Folder 20
Annual report: centennial year, 1961.
Box 2 Folder 21
Rules for medical staff, undated.
Box 2 Folder 22
Rules for the government, 1912.
Box 2 Folder 23
Committee on Nurses: Rules for nurses in training, undated.
Box 2 Folder 24
Rules and regulations for the government of the staff, [before 1952].
Box 2 Folder 25
Philosophy and objectives, 1961.
Box 2 Folder 26
Information book, 1961.
Box 2 Folder 27
House staff manual, 1963.
Box 2 Folder 28
Correspondence, 1928-1973.
Box 2 Folder 29
Correspondence re: merger with West Philadelphia Hospital, 1929-1930.
Box 2 Folder 30
Correspondence, miscellaneous, 1939-1961.
Box 2 Folder 31
Correspondence re: commemorative stamp, 1961.
Box 2 Folder 32
Correspondence re: Pennsylvania Loyalty Act, 1962-1963.
Box 2 Folder 33
Correspondence re: merger with University of Pennsylvania, 1964.
Box 2 Folder 34
Valedictory addresses and introductory lectures to Female Medical College, 1858-1863.
Box 2 Folder 36
Address "Nursing the Sick and the Training of Nurses", May 21, 1863.
Box 2 Folder 37
Woman as Physicians, 1867.
Box 2 Folder 38
Valedictory address to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1870.
Box 2 Folder 39
Joseph S. Longshore: Introductory lecture to Penn Medical University of Philadelphia, 1860.
Box 2 Folder 40
Address by Eliza E. Judson in memory of Ann Preston, 1873.
Box 2 Folder 41
Lecture notes by Mrs. Greensfelder on history of nursing, undated.
Box 2 Folder 42
Ruth King Yarnall: Certificates, 1909-1933.
Box 7 Folder 1
#540-#564, 1868.
Box 2 Folder 43
#1849-#2135, 1875.
Box 2 Folder 44
#2162-#2267, 1876.
Box 2 Folder 45
#2275-#2418, 1876.
Box 2 Folder 46
#2460-#2582, 1877.
Box 2 Folder 47
#2586-#2708, 1877.
Box 2 Folder 48
Patient Handbooks, undated.
Box 3 Folder 49
Children's House Committee: Brochure, undated.
Box 3 Folder 50
Brochure: "The School of Nursing", [after 1929].
Box 3 Folder 51
Modern hospital sketches by Mary Milner, reprinted 1948.
Box 3 Folder 52
The Thermometer, 1950-1963.
Box 3 Folder 53
Employee newsletter, June 2, 1963.
Box 3 Folder 54
The Monthly News, 1906-1907.
Box 3 Folder 55
The Woman's Hospital Herald, 1930.
Box 3 Folder 56
A Book About Them, [after 1929].
Box 3 Folder 57
Second Century Founders, [after 1961].
Box 7 Folder 2
Daily Evening Bulletin, two enlarged photocopies, November 5, 1861.
Flat File 5
Newspapers, 1924-1965.
Box 3 Folder 58
Davis' Nursing Survey, May 1940.
Box 3 Folder 59
Philadelphia Medicine, May 1961.
Box 3 Folder 60
Miscellaneous, [1953-1976].
Box 3 Folder 61
List of the recipients of the Pauline Medal, 1877-1953.
Box 3 Folder 62

Scope and Contents note

This series consists of a historical account of the school, correspondence from 1937 to 1952, program brochures for various kinds of school activities, class yearbooks, and the proposal from Florence Stump for the preservation of the school's records.

History, 1925.
Box 3 Folder 1
Report 1 Q74.
Box 3 Folder 2
Historical Letters, 1937-1948.
Box 3 Folder 3
General, 1944-1952.
Box 3 Folder 4
Contracts with the School of Nursing of the University of Pennsylvania, 1962-1964.
Box 3 Folder 5
Regulations re: Prizes, [after 1935].
Box 3 Folder 6
Commencement programs, 1909-1956.
Box 3 Folder 7
Graduating Exercises, 1932-1960.
Box 3 Folder 8
Commencement Programs, 1940, 1943, 1953, 1961, 1962.
Box 3 Folder 9
Miscellaneous ceremony programs, 1940-1960.
Box 3 Folder 10
Reunion programs, 1940-1970.
Box 3 Folder 11
Capping ceremony, mailing list, 1960.
Box 3 Folder 12
1929.
Box 3 Folder 13
1930.
Box 3 Folder 14
1931-1932.
Box 3 Folder 15
1937.
Box 3 Folder 16
Students' Handbook, 1961-1962.
Box 4 Folder 17
Bulletin, 1957-1960.
Box 4 Folder 18
Musical score: "Pomp and Circumstances", [1902].
Box 4 Folder 19
Miscellaneous, 1959-1964.
Box 4 Folder 20
Proposal from Florence Stump for the preservation of the school's historical records, 1973.
Box 4 Folder 21

Scope and Contents note

Included in this series are constitution and bylaws, minutes books from 1895 to 1920, and some newsletters published by the alumnae association.

Constitution, Bylaws and Ethics, 1925.
Box 4 Folder 1
March 13, 1895-December 12, 1900.
Box 4 Folder 2
January 9, 1901-March 10, 1909.
Box 4 Folder 3
May 12, 1909-June 9, 1915.
Box 4 Folder 4
October 13, 1915-February 11, 1920.
Box 4 Folder 5
Publication: The Echo, 1948-1956.
Box 5 Folder 6
Reception Program, 1948.
Box 5 Folder 7
Correspondence, 1924.
Box 5 Folder 8
Scrapbook, 1919-1965.
Box 5 Folder 9
Correspondence and data collected by Florence Stump, 1973.
Box 5 Folder 10
Deed and Indenture for Sarah E. Huntington, 1890.
Box 5 Folder 11
Caption labels used for an exhibition on the hospital, [1970s].
Box 5 Folder 12

Scope and Contents note

This small series includes an account of the hospital's history, a chronological outline of its training school, and annual reports from 1919 to 1923.

Official history, [1897].
Box 5 Folder 1
Charter, bylaws, and rules and regulations, 1912.
Box 5 Folder 1a
Training school, chronological outline, 1930.
Box 5 Folder 2
Annual reports, 1919, 1920, 1923.
Box 5 Folder 3
Certificates for Margaret A. MacLeman, 1918-1939.
Flat File 5

Scope and Contents note

This series contains one photograph of WMCP collected by the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia.

1 Photograph, Class of 1899 in the Bacteriological Laboratory.
Box 6 Photo 39

Scope and Contents note

Most of the photographs collected here are of the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia. Only a small portion is of the West Philadelphia Hospital for Women and Children. So far as subject matter is concerned, the photographs fall into three main categories: hospital buildings and interior facilities, class group photographs, and photographs of individuals or group of individuals on various occasions.

Emeline H. Cleveland, M.D., first resident physician and superintendent of the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia (1862-1868).
Box 6 Photo 1
Hannah Croasthie (1835-1912), graduate nurse of WHP (1886) and faculty of the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1871-1902).
Box 6 Photo 2
Dr. Catherine MacFarlane, undated.
Box 6 Photo 3
Mrs Close and Miss Seldomridge, undated.
Box 6 Photo 4
Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia at 2137 North College Avenue.
Box 6 Photo 5
Woman's Hospital building at North College Avenue.
Box 6 Photo 6
Woman's Hospital building at College Avenue, back view.
Box 6 Photo 7
Elizabeth Peck Building, front view.
Box 6 Photo 8
Elizabeth Peck Building, side view.
Box 6 Photo 9
Dispensary.
Box 6 Photo 9a
Ann E. Broomall Maternity Building.
Box 6 Photo 10
Miller Home for Nurses.
Box 6 Photo 11
Plan for the Woman's Hospital--"The Dream".
Box 6 Photo 12
The 1931 look of the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia, on the site of the West Philadelphia Hospital for Women and Children.
Box 6 Photo 13
West Philadelphia Hospital for Women and Children.
Box 6 Photo 14
The Earle Operating Room.
Box 6 Photo 15
Delivery Room, with Miss Davidson (supervisor).
Box 6 Photo 16
Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia lab.
Box 6 Photo 17
Fourth Floor Ward.
Box 6 Photo 18
Diet Kitchen.
Box 6 Photo 19-20
Biddle-Irvine Band a Thursday Sewing Circle organized to make linen, etc. for the Woman's Hospital (two identical pictures, with one 3 by 4 duplicate and a negative), [1906].
Box 6 Photo 21
Class of 1915.
Box 6 Photo 22
Class of 1918.
Box 6 Photo 23
Class of 1919 with babies, 1918.
Box 6 Photo 24
Class of 1927, two pictures taken in front of the Senior Nurse Home (stuck on one sheet).
Box 6 Photo 25
Graduate Nurses' Chorus of Philadelphia, 1937.
Box 6 Photo 26
Juniors of 1943.
Box 6 Photo 27
Class of 1946.
Box 6 Photo 28
Bertha Seldomridge, Esther Hoffman Buffy and four others, undated.
Box 6 Photo 29
Group picture, three seated, three standing, undated.
Box 6 Photo 30
Group picture, four seated, six standing, undated.
Box 6 Photo 31
Group picture, 12 persons, undated.
Box 6 Photo 32
Group picture, 5 persons in front of the Shepard Memorial Building, undated.
Box 6 Photo 33
Farewell, Seniors, undated.
Box 6 Photo 34
A group of c. 30 people sitting in the old hospital basement during a ceremony for the dedication of a new clinic, [circa 1929].
Box 6 Photo 34a
Someone of the alumnae association of the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia presents some publications to the president (?) of CPP.
Box 6 Photo 35
Group picture.
Box 6 Photo 36
Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, Class of 1899 in the Bacteriological Laboratory.
Box 6 Photo 39
Emeline H. Cleveland.
Box 6 Negative 1
Delivery Room.
Box 6 Negative 16
Diet Kitchen.
Box 6 Negative 19
Class of 1915.
Box 6 Negative 22
Class of 1919 with babies.
Box 6 Negative 24
Class of 1946.
Box 6 Negative 28
Farewell, Seniors.
Box 6 Negative 34
Operating Room.
Box 6 Negative 37
Seminar session (?).
Box 6 Negative 38
Ann Preston.
Box 6 Negative 40
Hospital building (copied from History of Nursing in Pennsylvania by Roberta M. West).
Box 6 Negative 41
Clinic amphitheater (copied from History of Nursing in Pennsylvania by Roberta M. West), 1892.
Box 6 Negative 42
Album (Scrapbook), photos of nursing students, [1930].
Box 6 Folder 1
Miscellaneous pictures.
Box 6 Folder 2
Three photos of nurse dolls.
Box 7 Folder 3
2004.03. Fultz, Edith May . Edith May Fultz [class of 1942] Photograph Scrapbook, 1940-1942.
Box 9

Scope and Contents note

This series includes memorial plaques, nurse caps, a doll, instruments used by nurses, and pieces of bricks chipped from the hospital building in 1973.

Nurse caps, pins, costume uniforms.
Box 8
Two metal memorabilia plaques with inscriptions of "The Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia, the First Chartered School of Nursing in the United States, Founded March 22, 1861" and "The Rachel Comly Shallcross Memorial".
Box 8
Instruments, fluter iron (with base), chips of bricks, etc.
Box 9
Student nursing doll.
Box 10

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