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
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
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

• Providence Female Charitable Society.

Subject Topics

• Charities - Rhode Island - Providence.
• Education - Rhode Island - Providence.
• Children - Rhode Island - Providence.
• Urban poor - Rhode Island - Providence.
• Women in charitable work - Rhode Island - Providence.
• Providence (R.I.) - Societies and clubs.
• Women - Rhode Island - Societies and clubs.

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island/Local Interest
• Social Life and Customs

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

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.
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

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