Improving Access to Women's History Collections at HSP
FAIN: PW-269355-20
Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA 19107-5699)
Cary Hutto (Project Director: July 2019 to July 2023)
The arrangement and description of four
manuscript collections, totaling 149 linear feet, that document women’s history
in the greater Philadelphia region from the 1860s to the present. Portions of each collection would also receive
conservation treatment and be rehoused for long-term preservation.
The Historical Society of
Pennsylvania seeks $124,266 for an 18-month project (total project cost:
$203,161) to arrange, preserve, and describe four significant, and in-need,
manuscript collections (encompassing 149 linear feet of material) that document
women’s history, particularly relating to the civic engagement of women through
clubs and organizations. By improving access to and preservation of these
collections, the project will support research in women’s history and related
fields, and further HSP’s goal to ensure that 100 percent of our collections
are documented, protected, and made available for study.
Associated Products
Finding Aid- Coles House records (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)Title: Finding Aid- Coles House records
Author: Sara H. Nash.
Abstract: Coles House, known officially as the Young Women’s Boarding Home Association, arose from the 1891 merger of the Boarding Home for Young Women (1433 Lombard Street) and the Clinton Street Boarding home (913-915 Clinton Street). Both homes were founded by Mary Coles, the first in 1866 and the second in 1871, and intended to serve Protestant working girls of good moral character under the age of 26. Board charges were subsidized to make it more affordable. Shortly after the merger, the home at 1433 Lombard street was closed and sold. A property at 834 Pine Street was purchased in 1896 and operated until 1924. The remaining home on Clinton Street was named “Coles House” in honor of founder Mary Coles, who had died in 1920. Coles House was expanded to include the house at 917 Clinton Street in 1945 and 911 Clinton Street in 1965. Coles House (the Young Women’s Boarding Home Association), including its earlier iterations, operated for over 135 years. The Clinton Street properties were sold in 2002, and proceeds were used to establish the Coles House Fund, a donor-advised fund administered by the Philadelphia Foundation. The collection includes minutes, correspondence, managers reports, resident records, annual reports, bank and payroll records, paid bills and petty cash receipts, and some photographs.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/c/ColesHouse3242.htmlAccess Model: Open access
Finding Aid: Women's Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals records (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)Title: Finding Aid: Women's Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals records
Author: Revised and updated by Sara H. Nash
Abstract: Caroline Earle White, a Philadelphia activist, and about thirty other women founded the Women’s Branch of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (WPSPCA) in 1869 after White had been shut out of a leadership role of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Originally, the WSPCA's purpose was to provide for the inspection of and care of working horses in Philadelphia, but the scope quickly expanded to include livestock and small animals. Despite the nominal designation as a branch of the Pennsylvania SPCA, the society was fully independent from the beginning, and White served as president until her death in 1916. The group promoted animal welfare through youth education and legislative reform, providing fountains and drinking stations for horses and cattle, and by addressing individual cases of cruelty. Now legally known as Women’s Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals the organization does business as the Women’s Animal Center, continuing the work started in 1869. It is a member of the Philadelphia No-Kill coalition and operates out of Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The collection includes photographs, correspondence, annual reports, minutes, their publication ("The Guardian"), newspaper clippings, business records, and other printed matter. The collection spans 100 years of the organization's history, with material dating from the 1870s to the late 1970s.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/w/WPSPCA3156.htmlAccess Model: Open access
Finding Aid: Colonial Dames of America, Chapter II records (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)Title: Finding Aid: Colonial Dames of America, Chapter II records
Author: Finding aid prepared by Sara H. Nash.
Abstract: The Society of Colonial Dames of America (CDA) was founded in New York in 1890 by May King Van Rensselaer, Elizabeth Coralie Gardiner, and Elizabeth Duer King. The CDA was created for patriotic women of colonial ancestry with the declared objectives to be the preservation and dissemination of Revolutionary and early Federal heritage. In Philadelphia, a group of women wanted to form a chapter in 1891, but this nascent chapter disbanded due to conflicts over the parent organization in New York’s constitution. In 1895, a Philadelphia chapter was successfully established and designated Chapter II. In keeping with the CDA's mission of historic preservation, Chapter II occupied a series of historic houses throughout its existence starting with the Randolph Mansion (now Laurel Hill) and Lemon Hill Mansion. The collection includes organizational documents with extensive minutes, collections records and operational records,and papers related to the historic houses.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/c/CDA4207.htmlAccess Model: Open access
Finding Aid: Republican Women of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Chapter papers (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)Title: Finding Aid: Republican Women of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Chapter papers
Author: Finding aid prepared by Sara H. Nash
Abstract: The Republican Women of Pennsylvania, Inc., was founded in Philadelphia in 1920 by a small group of civic-minded women who had worked on the Republican campaign for the presidential election. The foundational purpose of the organization was to educate women about political issues and encourage thoughtful political participation. The club was granted a charter by the state of Pennsylvania in 1922. Membership remained small but active in the early years, and the women were influential in bringing voting machines to the city of Philadelphia. In the years prior to World War II, the organization hosted distinguished political guests and organized political events, including three interstate Republican women’s conferences and two mock Republican Conventions. In 1941, the group purchased a building at 250 South 16th Street to use as a clubhouse. After the war, membership increased dramatically. Children’s groups were added in the 1960s, and a full calendar of social events coexisted with political activities. The women raised funds for charitable and political causes through the annual Holiday Market and other events. In 1978, the club received a federal exemption from income tax as a social club, which precluded donations to political campaigns. The group began a terminal decline in membership, mirroring the general decline of women’s clubs in the United States. In 1993, the clubhouse was sold, and the group rented space from the Racquet Club of Philadelphia. In 1997, an agreement was made with the Union League and the Abraham Lincoln Foundation for the use of a suite until the group disbanded around 2014. The collection includes extensive administrative and financial records, as well as scrapbooks and photographs documenting the club's activities.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/r/RWPA3354.htmlAccess Model: Open Access