- unitid
-
{"value"=>"22266", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"MssCol 22266", "type"=>"local_call"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1861-1866", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1861/1866"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1861
- date_inclusive_end
-
1866
- keydate
-
1861
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"United States Sanitary Commission records. Woman's Central Association of Relief records"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"23.31 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"54 boxes, 4 volumes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"id"=>"MSS", "value"=>"Manuscripts and Archives Division"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Woman’s Central Association of Relief (WCAR) was founded in April 1861 in New York City, officially becoming a branch of the USSC on June 24. Its primary function was the procurement of supplies, obtained from an extensive network of contributing aid societies. The WCAR also participated in other war relief efforts, such as fundraising, registering female nurses for work in military hospitals, and helping to direct returning, discharged soldiers and soldiers' families to local relief agencies for assistance. The Woman’s Central Association of Relief held its final meeting on July 7, 1865, although it continued to receive supplies into October. Two prominent organizers within the WCAR were Louisa Lee Schuyler (1837-1926) and Ellen Collins (1828-1912). The Woman’s Central Association of Relief Archives, 1861-1865, primarily document the supply procurement and distribution activities of the WCAR and consist of correspondence, minutes, reports, supply records, and directories listing associate managers."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>United States Sanitary Commission records. Woman's Central Association of Relief records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"United States Sanitary Commission", "type"=>"corpname", "role"=>"creator"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Woman’s Central Association of Relief (WCAR) was founded in April 1861 in New York City. On April 25, a group of women met informally at the New York Infirmary for Women, run by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910), to discuss options for wartime volunteer relief efforts. The group issued a public appeal and organized a mass meeting at the Cooper Institute on April 29. The newly-formed WCAR created a Board and Executive Committee; its primary functions initially were to organize a volunteer system of supplies on the home front and to register female nurses for work in military hospitals.</p> <p>The Reverend Henry W. Bellows spoke at the meeting at Cooper Union and was named chairman of the WCAR’s Executive Committee. Bellows, along with Dr. Elisha Harris and other groups, took the WCAR’s cause to Washington DC in May to enlist government support for civilian relief efforts; while in Washington he realized the need for a larger Commission with a presence in Washington that would offer medical advice and assist with coordinating supply donations. The U.S. Sanitary Commission was formed and was officially endorsed by the U.S. government on June 9. On June 24, the WCAR became a supply branch of the USSC, a role it would play throughout the war.</p> <p>Two prominent organizers within the WCAR were Louisa Lee Schuyler (1837-1926) and Ellen Collins (1828-1912). Both would end up using their experience in the WCAR to build careers in the philanthropic world following the war. Schuyler founded the State Charities Aid Association and the National Committee for the Prevention of Blindness, helped to establish Bellevue Hospital’s training school for nurses, and served on the board of the Russell Sage Foundation. Collins was involved with the New York National Freedmen’s Relief Association and became active in New York City housing reform efforts.</p> <p>The primary function of the WCAR was the procurement of supplies, obtained from an extensive network of contributing aid societies. Its network area included New York City, Eastern and Central New York State, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Northern New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Canada, and the European auxiliaries. Supplies were received at WCAR’s office and storeroom at 10 Cooper Union (7 and 11 Cooper Union were also used), then repacked and forwarded to USSC offices, agencies, and departments in the field. Over the course of the war, the WCAR formed a number of committees and subcommittees to handle specific aspects of the supply work. The Committee of Correspondence and the Diffusion of Information communicated with aid society section managers. The Committee on Receiving and Forwarding Supplies handled the unpacking and repacking of supply shipments arriving daily at WCAR headquarters. The Committee for Purchasing, formed in 1863, purchased garment-making materials for aid societies at wholesale prices.</p> <p>In addition to the procurement of supplies, the WCAR also participated in other war relief efforts. One of the association’s earliest functions was to register female nurses for work in military hospitals. The Registration Committee, originally headed by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, recruited nurses to be sent to Dorothea Dix (who was independent of the USSC) in Washington DC. Nurses' uniforms and transport were also paid for by the committee. By the spring of 1862, the committee had registered 60 nurses, of whom 42 were still actively working. Blackwell resigned in June 1862, with little work conducted following her resignation. The Registration Committee disbanded in the spring 1863. The Committee for Special Relief was formed in November 1863 to direct returning, discharged soldiers and soldiers' families to local relief agencies for assistance with food, lodging, pensions, and transportation. Clothing or money was occasionally given out to extreme cases. The Committee chair was Christine K. Griffin. In addition, Hospital Directory clerk Caroline Howard and others at WCAR handled inquiries concerning soldiers after the Hospital Directory closed its New York office at Cooper Union in early 1864. The Finance Committee was formed in 1861 with Mrs. Hamilton Fish as chairman. The WCAR treasurer Howard Potter, of the Wall Street firm Brown, Brothers & Co., also served on the Finance Committee. Fundraising was a primary function of the committee. While the Finance Committee is not listed in WCAR's reports after May 1863, financial contributions continued to be donated to the WCAR through the end of the war. The association also sponsored the formation of Alert Clubs to stimulate fundraising efforts for aid societies among children and young people. Representatives from the WCAR, including Collins and Schuyler, attended the Women’s Councils (organizing supply meetings with women from numerous auxiliaries east and west) held in Washington DC in November 1862 and January 1864. The WCAR held a delegates meeting in New York for all of its aid societies in November 1864.</p> <p>The Woman’s Central Association of Relief held its final meeting on July 7, 1865. WCAR supply records indicate that they continued to receive a small number of supplies into October 1865.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Woman’s Central Association of Relief Archives, 1861-1865, primarily document the supply procurement and distribution activities of the WCAR and consist of correspondence, minutes, reports, and supply records.</p> <p>Most WCAR material pertains to the Committee on Correspondence and Diffusion of Information and the Committee on Receiving and Forwarding Supplies, which handled different aspects of supply work. Committee on Correspondence records include letters received and sent, minutes, and indexes of associate managers; Committee on Supplies records include letters and invoices received and sent, and record books of supplies received, forwarded, and on hand. WCAR numbered documents are mostly letters received from aid societies and USSC personnel. There is little material related to the Metropolitan Fair of April 1864 in the Woman’s Central Association of Relief’s records.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The United States Sanitary Commission records. Woman's Central Association of Relief records are arranged in five series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/22266#c716122'>I. Numbered documents</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Letters are primarily from aid societies regarding supplies needed, offered, and sent, garments made, and sewing patterns needed. Letters are also from USSC personnel (especially Frederick Law Olmsted, Alfred J. Bloor, Elisha Harris, J. Foster Jenkins, and Henry W. Bellows) mostly concerning supplies needed. Some letters are from other Commission branches or departments in the field. Numbered documents include some Hospital Directory correspondence. Also present are reports of various WCAR committees, aid societies, and canvassing agents. Numbered documents were organized by the USSC's Archive Department and are indexed in an Archive Department register (USSC New York, N.Y. record group, MssCol 22263, volume 14). Several items, mostly found within groups, are unnumbered. Items 489, 503, 731, 736, 1542, 1966, 2375, 2458, 2477, 2491, and 2855 are not present. Items 3228-3269 (receipts, vouchers, invoices) are not present and were presumably destroyed by the USSC.</p> <p>Many items bear penciled markings from prior conservation treatment.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/22266#c716135'>II. Board of Managers meeting minutes</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1861 Apr 30-1862 Jul 3, 1863 Feb 6-1865 Jul 7</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/22266#c716136'>III. Committee records</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/22266#c716246'>IV. Donation books</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/22266#c716249'>V. Scrapbook of clippings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1863 and undated</div>\n</li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by the United States Sanitary Commission to the Astor Library, 1879</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"type"=>"processing", "value"=>"<p>Compiled by <span class=\"name\">Melissa Haley</span>, <span class=\"date\">2013</span></p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>Revised December 2013</p>"}
- note
-
{"type"=>"sponsor", "value"=>"The conservation, arrangement, and description of the collection was made possible by generous funding from the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust."}
- sponsor
-
{"value"=>"The conservation, arrangement, and description of the collection was made possible by generous funding from the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust."}
- extent_statement
-
23.31 linear feet (54 boxes, 4 volumes)
- date_start
-
1861
- date_end
-
1866