Guide to the Providence Female Charitable Society Records
, 1799-1952
Rhode Island Historical Society
121 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906
Tel: 401-273-8107
Fax: 401-751-7930
email: reference@rihs.org
Published in 2009
Collection Overview
Title: |
Providence Female Charitable Society Records |
Date range: |
1799-1952 |
Creator: |
Providence Female Charitable Society |
Extent: |
1.5 linear feet
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Abstract: |
The idea for the formation of a charitable society to help "indigent women and children" was first proposed by a group of well-known Providence women in March of 1800. The Providence Female Charitable Society was formed April 2nd the same year. This collection contains correspondence and other records related to the organization. |
Language of materials: |
English |
Repository: |
Rhode Island Historical Society
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Collection number: |
MSS 642 |
Scope & content
Generally, the records range from 1799 to 1952. Specifically, the collection includes correspondence from 1802 to 1889; a large number of account books from 1800 to 1917; the Society's 1802 charter and petition to incorporate; printed versions of the charter and constitution (1804); subscriber lists from 1801 to 1952; receipts, both loose and in book form, from 1800 to 1952; meeting minutes and resolutions from 1800 to 1934; and miscellaneous items such as newspaper clippings and members' obituaries.
Access Points
Subject Names
- Bowen, Mary.
- Brown, Avis (Binney), 1748-1807.
- Clark, Lydia (Bowen).
- Francis, Abigail (Brown), 1766-1821.
- Howell, Mary Brown.
- Munroe, Rebecca.
- Nightingale, Elizabeth K. (Thompson), 1791-1819.
- Ward, Eliza J.
Subject Organizations
Subject Topics
Subject Topics
Arrangement
- Series 1: Correspondence
- Series 2: Society administration
- Series 3: Subscribers
- Series 4: Accounts/account books
- Series 5: Receipts
- Series 6: Meeting minutes and resolutions
- Series 7: Miscellaneous
Historical note
The idea for the formation of a charitable society to help "indigent women and children" was first proposed by a group of well-known Providence women in March of 1800. The Providence Female Charitable Society was formed April 2nd the same year. Its first Board of Directors included Lydia (Bowen) Clark, Mrs. Avis (Binney) Brown, Rebecca Munroe, Elizabeth K. (Thompson) Nightingale, Abby (Brown) Francis, Eliza J. Ward, Mary Bowen, and Mary Brown Howell. The first charter and constitution of the Society was printed in February, 1801 by John Carter, Jr. The Society was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly in October, 1802. Membership was based on heredity.
With the exception of special cases, women who applied to the Society for assistance would be denied if they refused to put their younger children "of a proper age" in school, and their older, able-bodied children into service or a trade. One of the ways by which the Society assisted its accepted applicants was to purchase materials for them to make clothing; the completed garments were then sold to the same applicants at a reduced price. The Society also appointed members to teach children reading and writing two hours per day, and lead them to church each Sunday.
Eventually the care of children was given up by the Society because demand outweighed its resources; offshoots of the Society such as a children's home and reform school were created. At its centenary in 1901, the Society noted that it was one of only two charitable organizations in New England that had survived to the one-hundred-year mark. The Society is still in existence today.
Access & Use
Access to the collection: |
There are no restrictions on access. |
Use of the materials: |
Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Rhode Island Historical Society. |
Preferred citation: |
Providence Female Charitable Society Records, MSS 642, Rhode Island Historical Society. |
Contact information: |
Rhode Island Historical Society 121 Hope Street Providence, RI 02906 Tel: 401-273-8107 Fax: 401-751-7930 email: reference@rihs.org
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Administrative Information
ABOUT THE COLLECTION |
Acquisition: |
The records were donated in two separate gifts, one in 1971 and one in 1978, by Mrs. Stanley Livingstone as president of the Society. |
Processing information: |
In 1998, research on the history of the Society was done and a finding aid produced. Additionally, the records were re-housed in upright archival folders and boxes. |
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ABOUT THE FINDING AID |
Author: |
Finding aid prepared by Robin Flynn. |
Encoding: |
Finding aid encoded by Mark Chepkwony
2009 July 29 |
Descriptive rules: |
Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) |
Additional Information
Bibliography: |
Ames, Mrs. William. Centennial. The Fourth of April, Nineteen Hundred. Notable Meeting of the Providence Female Charitable Society (Livermore & Knight Co., Providence, R.I., 1901). |
Inventory
Series 1. Correspondence
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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1802-1819 |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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1849-1869 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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1873-1889 |
Series 2. Society administration
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Notice of wish for a relief fund Contents Note: Includes list of subscribers
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c.1799 |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Petition to incorporate
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1802 |
Triple Oversize Storage |
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Charter
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1802 |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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Printed charter of the charter and constitution Contents Note: (2 copies and reprint)
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1804 |
Series 3. Subscribers
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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Subscribers
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1801-1932 |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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Subscribers (volume)
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1898-1952 |
Series 4. Accounts/account books
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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"Manager's book, 1800 and 1801" Contents Note: Contains only 1800
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1800 |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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Accounts for clothing ("Mrs. R. Munro")
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1800-1801 |
Box 1, Folder 12 |
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Accounts for clothing
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c.1800-1805 |
Box 1, Folder 13 |
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Account book
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1800-1828 |
Box 1, Folder 14 |
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Accounts for clothing ("Elizabeth Burrill")
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1801 |
Box 1, Folder 15 |
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Accounts (clothing) ("Ann Eliza")
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1801 |
Box 1, Folder 16 |
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Accounts
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1801-1802 |
Box 1, Folder 17 |
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Accounts for clothing
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1801-1802 |
Box 1, Folder 18 |
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Accounts of clothing made
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1802 May-1803 Sep |
Box 1, Folder 19 |
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Accounts of clothing (Peddy Bowen)
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1802 Oct-1803 Feb |
Box 1, Folder 20 |
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Manager's book
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1802-1804 |
Box 1, Folder 21 |
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Accounts, including clothes received
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1803 |
Box 1, Folder 22 |
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Accounts of clothing
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1803 Apr-1804 Apr |
Box 1, Folder 23 |
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Accounts (adjusted)
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1803 May-1804 Mar |
Box 1, Folder 24 |
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Accounts of clothing
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1803 Dec-1808 Mar |
Box 1, Folder 25 |
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Accounts of clothing
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1804 Apr-1805 Apr |
Box 1, Folder 26 |
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Accounts
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1804-1805 |
Box 1, Folder 27 |
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Accounts with women serving
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1804-1805 |
Box 1, Folder 28 |
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Accounts between Eliza Bowen and PFCS
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1805-1806 |
Box 1, Folder 29 |
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Account book, (Rebecca F. Snow)
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1805-1806 |
Box 1, Folder 30 |
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Manager's book, (Sarah C. Howell)
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1805-1806 |
Box 1, Folder 31 |
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Accounts
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1806 |
Box 1, Folder 32 |
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Accounts for clothing, ("Martha Munro's applicants")
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1806-1807 |
Box 1, Folder 33 |
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Accounts (Sarah Mumford)
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1806-1809 |
Box 1, Folder 34 |
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Bank book
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1809-1810 |
Box 1, Folder 35 |
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Accounts
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1809-1811 |
Box 1, Folder 36 |
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Accounts
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1823-1869 |
Box 1, Folder 37 |
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Accounts
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1828-1842 |
Box 1, Folder 38 |
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Account book
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1828-1847 |
Box 1, Folder 39 |
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Accounts ("Anne A. Ives")
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1837-1868 |
Box 1, Folder 40 |
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Accounts Contents Note: With list of subscribers, 1801-1866
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1840-1858 |
Box 1, Folder 41 |
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Accounts
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1847-1872 |
Box 1, Folder 42 |
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Treasurer
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1865-1923 |
Box 1, Folder 43 |
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Accounts
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1872-1912 |
Box 1, Folder 44 |
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Schedule of property and accounts
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1876-1892 |
Box 1, Folder 45 |
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Manager's book
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1890-1929 |
Box 1, Folder 46 |
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Schedule of property and accounts
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1892-1912 |
Box 2, Folder 1 |
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Accounts and receipt book
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1912-1917 |
Box 2, Folder 2 |
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Accounts, undated.
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Series 5. Receipts
Box 2, Folder 3 |
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1800-1818 |
Box 2, Folder 5 |
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1802-1822 |
Box 2, Folder 6 |
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1820-1825 |
Box 2, Folder 8 |
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1824-1886 |
Box 2, Folder 9 |
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1843-1852 |
Box 2, Folder 10 |
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1882-1892 |
Box 2, Folder 11 |
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1892-1901 |
Box 2, Folder 12 |
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Receipts and expenditures
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1917-1939 |
Box 2, Folder 13 |
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Receipts, subscriptions
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1949-1952 |
Box 2, Folder 14 |
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Receipts, undated
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Series 6. Meeting minutes and resolutions
Volume |
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Minute book, includes by-laws
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1800-1934 |
Box 2, Folder 15 |
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Resolutions Contents Note: Some undated
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1852 |
Series 7. Miscellaneous
Box 2, Folder 16 |
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Sermon, Jonathan Maxcy Contents Note: 2 copies
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1802 |
Box 2, Folder 17 |
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Sermon, James Wilson
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1803 |
Box 2, Folder 18 |
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"A Discourse delivered in Providence Sept. 6th 1804 before the Female Charitable Society for the Relief of indigent widows and children" by Theodore Dehon
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1804 |
Box 2, Folder 19 |
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Blank subscription form, 19th c.; obituaries for 3 members, 1926; newspaper articles, 1950 and undated
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Box 2, Folder 20 |
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Tribute to Harriet Morris Smith
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1906 Apr |