3. Provenance 4. Inventory 5. Subjects |
Providence Shelter for Colored Children Charitable organization, of Providence, R.I. Records, 1838-1996 Size: 2.5 linear feet Catalog number: MSS 653 Processed by: Harold Kemble, October 1987 Revised by Rick Stattler, November 2002 ©Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts Division |
Historical note:
The Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans was founded in 1839, and incorporated in 1846 as the Providence Association for the Benefit of Colored Children. Anna A. Jenkins and other Quaker women with abolitionist ties were prominent among the founders. The orphans were housed in a succession of private residences until 1849, when Mrs. Jenkins provided for the construction of a building at 20 Olive Street on College Hill, with facilities for fifty children. The children received basic education, and were placed out as apprentices (the boys at age ten, and girls at age twelve). The association was renamed the Providence Shelter for Colored Children in 1886.
The need for the shelter's services declined in the early twentieth century with the rise of state-sponsored charities, foster care, and public education. In 1940, with only twelve children housed at the shelter, it was closed as a residence. A building rental agreement with the Children's Friend Society extended from 1941 to 1951. In 1941, for the first time, women of color took a role in the Shelter's administration, on the executive board and as a social worker.
In 1951, the Providence Shelter for Colored Children decided to withdraw from direct work with children, and became a charitable foundation. The Olive Street building was sold in 1952. Direct scholarship aid was provided to several local African-American college students through 1970. The Shelter also became a major source of funding for the Urban League of Rhode Island, Children's Friend and Service, the John Hope Settlement House, the Mount Hope Day Care Center, and the Lippitt Hill Tutorial (now Volunteers in Providence Schools), among other organizations. It remains an active and important supporter of community youth projects today.
Bibliography:
"The Providence Shelter for Colored Children: A History," typescript c1981 in this collection.
Scope and content:
The heart of this collection is the complete set of admission records dating from 1839 through 1938, which includes detailed information on individual children who stayed at the shelter. The minute books extend from 1838 through 1994 with a few gaps. The collection also includes treasurer's records dating back to 1936, collected by Mabelle H. Chappell (1913-1997), who served as the Shelter's treasurer from circa 1957 through 1994.
Provenance:
This collection arrived in at least nine different accessions, as follows:
#1952.18.1-4, gift of the PSSC. Secretary's report books and minutes, 1844-1896. 4 vol.
#1960.22.1-, gift of Elizabeth Kip. The bulk of the early records; list in accession book.
#1980.123, from unknown donor. 1851 annual report.
#1983.51.1-, gift of the PSSC via Pamela Dahlberg. Records, 1964-1980.
#1986.37.1-, purchase from Frank Lepore. Records, 1849-1972. 1.25 inches.
#1987.40.1-, gift of the PSSC via Pamela Dahlberg. Records, 1980-1986. 0.25 feet.
#1996.47.1-, gift of the PSSC via Pamela Dahlberg. Records, 1989-1993. 5 folders.
#1997.28.1-, gift of the PSSC via Pamela Dahlberg. Records, 1993-1994. 1 folder.
#2002.95.1-, gift of Constance Worthington. Mabelle Chappell's records, 1936-1987. 0.75 feet.
Inventory:
SERIES 1: ADMISSION RECORDS (in box 1)
Admissions books
April 1839 - September 1844
April 1839 - May 1845 (abstract)
January 1877 - November 1938
January 1879 - 1935
Admission cards
October 1919 - November 1934
Applications for admission
June 1905 - June 1930
SERIES 2: MINUTES AND RECORDS (in box 2)
Record books (with annual reports, correspondence, treasurer's notes and reports, etc.)
March 1838 - August 1844
September 1844 - April 1858
November 1870 - June 1879
July 1886 - January 1896
October 1912 - May 1939
June 1939 - April 1953
May 1961 - December 1964 (unbound?)
February 1965 - December 1969 (unbound)
January 1970 - December 1974 (unbound)
January 1975 - December 1986 (unbound minutes)
1989 - 1994 (unbound minutes)
SERIES 3: TREASURER'S RECORDS (in box 3)
Bank books
1953-1961
Cash journal
1945-1959
Cash journal notes
1956-1962
Check register
1946-1956
Estates and bequests
Ellen D. Sharpe estate, 1953
Treasurer's reports and audits
1936-1942
1942-1948
Treasurer's files (reports, paid bills, correspondence, taxes, etc.)
1947-1949
1950-1952
1953/4
1954/5
1955/6
1956/7 - 1957/8
1959/60
1960/1
1961/2
1962/3
1963/4
1964/5
1966/7
1967/8
1968/9
1969/70
1970/1
1971/2
1972/3
1973/4
1974/5
1975/6
1976/7
1977/8
1978/9
1979/80
1980/1
1981/2
1982/3
1983/4
1984/5
1985/6 - 1986/7
1989/90
1990/91
1991/2
1992/3
1993-1996
SERIES 4: MISCELLANEOUS (in box 3)
"A Short History of the Providence Shelter for Colored Children, 1839-1939"
Annual reports, 1851 and 1879
Board and member lists, 1959-1987
Christmas lists of children
Constitution, by-laws, procedures, charter, 1880-1959
Construction of original shelter building, c1849
List of subscribers, 1838-1853
Requests for aid, 1951-1952
Scholarship correspondence, 1950-1955
Shelter deed and title notes
Wills and bequests, 1839-1951
Miscellaneous:
Investments list, undated c1900
Title guarantee certificate, 1936
Report on South Providence Tutorial, 1966-1973
"The Non-White in Providence" (by the Urban League c1966?)
"Distribution of Non-White Occupancy of Dwelling Units in Providence," 1960
Subjects:
Afro-American children - Rhode Island - Providence
x Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans (Providence, R.I.)
Chappell, Mabelle H. (1913-1997)
Charities - Rhode Island - Providence
Child welfare - Rhode Island - Providence
Children's Friend and Service (Providence, R.I.)
Jenkins, Anna A. (Brown) (1790-1849)
John Hope Settlement House (Providence, R.I.)
Lippitt Hill Tutorial (Providence, R.I.)
Mount Hope Day Care Center (Providence, R.I.)
Orphanages - Rhode Island - Providence
x Providence Association for the Benefit of Colored Children (Providence, R.I.)
x Providence Children's Friend Society (Providence, R.I.)
Scholarships - Rhode Island
Urban League of Rhode Island
End of finding aid - return to top
RIHS1822