Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Administrative Information

Collection Inventory

Subject Headings

Inventory of the Records of the Association for the Relief of Aged Women of New Bedford

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Historical Note

The Association for the Relief of Aged Women (ARAW) was founded in 1866 when a group of New Bedford women met to plan and form an organization dedicated to the welfare of elderly ladies. The ARAW was formed with the purpose of providing financial security for worthy elderly ladies, and the list of original donors to the association’s funds included many prominent New Bedford names, including Arnold, Howland, Swain, Delano, Mandell, Jones, Seabury, and Bourne. At the first meeting of the newly formed ARAW in 1866, Rachel Howland (1816-1902) was elected President and served in that capacity for the next 19 years until her resignation in 1885.

Records indicate that there were approximately 38 ladies receiving financial assistance when the ARAW was first formed. Most of these women worked out of their homes as seamstresses, and when they became too old to work, they were unable to plan for their future given the low wages they earned. The Association gave these women enough money to supplement any assistance offered by relatives and friends. As the ARAW grew, they assumed full responsibility for the welfare of their beneficiaries. The Association goes about their business quietly and unobtrusively and continues to operate in this same fashion.

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Scope and Content Note

Materials in this collection reflect the activities of the ARAW from its founding in 1866 through 2018. A large portion of the collection consists of the Association’s annual and monthly meeting minutes along with the minutes and reports of the Investigating Committee. The minutes of the ARAW’s annual meetings are contained within one bound volume spanning 1866 through 1953. In addition to the meeting’s minutes, this volume also contains a list of the Association’s original donors, articles of association, and a copy of the original by-laws. The minutes of the monthly meetings of the Executive Board span the years 1917 through 1986, with the earliest monthly meeting minutes of 1917 through 1956 recorded in three bound volumes. However, researchers should note that monthly meeting minutes from 1968 through 1989 including the annual secretary reports and financial statements for those years are restricted and not open for research. This collection also contains the records and reports compiled by the ARAW Investigating Committee. These materials, spanning 1888 through 1980, consist of the reports on the living situations of women visited by representatives of the Association. These records also include the notes compiled by the Visiting Committee that were used to write the Investigating Committee reports presented to the Executive Board. In addition to these minutes and reports, this collection also contains a complete set of ARAW annual reports from 1867 to 1970 in addition to distributed annual meeting notifications from 1977-1997.

In addition to the robust set of meeting minutes, this collection also contains several notable institutional documents that reflect the ARAW’s activities during the years 1886 through 1985. Early items of note include a listing of the original founding donations, institutional correspondence from 1868 to 1875, and documentation of early donations and subscribers for the years 1866 to 1887. There are also listings of the ARAW’s officers from 1867 to 1910 along with a collection of booklets titled “Constitution, By-Laws, and Rules of the Association for the Relief of Aged Women” that span the years 1866 to 1985. In 1882, Emma Johnson bequeathed a large sum of money to the ARAW, and this collection contains items related to that fund, including a copy of Ms. Johnson’s Will outlining her gift. Other institutional documents include documents related to the establishment of the Howland Fund (1863), Rachel Howland’s resignation to the ARAW Board (1885), items related to a Rachel Howland’s memorial following her death (1902), documentation related to the Association’s gavel (1928), and material related to the Association’s request to the IRS for the designation of nonprofit status (1970-1971).

This collection also includes several documents that reflect the financial activities of the Association. Financial material consists of bills and receipts primarily compiled as a result of work done for the ARAW’s beneficiaries during the years 1923 to 1957. Other financial documents include account statements (1926-1933), bank statements (1926-1988), and information related to stocks, securities, and trusts (1893-1953). This collection also contains several histories compiled at different times throughout the ARAW’s existence. These histories include the ARAW’s fifty year anniversary booklet in 1916, a typescript history written in 1936, Florence Davenport’s 1947 history that includes a transcription of Rachel Howland’s address delivered on the 10th anniversary of the Association, and a 2018 informational brochure.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to Collections

Restrictions: Restricted acccess for all items housed in Box 2. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 175, [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Materials in this collection were donated to the New Bedford Whaling Museum on August 28, 2020 by the Association for the Relief of Aged Women of New Bedford as accession 2018.59. Researchers should note that material housed in Box 2 is restricted content and is not to be viewed as per the donor agreement.

Processing Information

Processed by: Mark Procknik, 2020

Encoded by: Kristi Mukk, 17 October 2020

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Collection Inventory

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Subject Headings

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