Savannah Widows' Society records Descriptive Summary Repository: Georgia Historical Society Creator: Savannah Widows' Society (Ga) Title: Savannah Widows' Society records Dates: 1822-2001 Extent: 5.5 cubic feet (10 boxes) Identification: MS 1651 Biographical/Historical Note The Savannah Widows' Society was organized in 1822 by a group of women from Savannah who wished to provide housing and other care for widows and unmarried female residents of Savannah and Chatham County. The constitution and by-laws stipulated that the Society be governed by a Board composed of four officers and twenty-eight directresses who met monthly. The Society was incorporated in December of 1837. From 1834 to 1985, the Savannah Widows Society owned and supported various charity residences. The first residences were located on two lots on South Broad Street (Oglethorpe Avenue) that were given to the Society by the City of Savannah. Several small wooden houses were erected on this property as housing for elderly women. These residences were used until 1859, when construction was completed on the Abrahams Home (sometimes misspelled as the Abrams Home). This dwelling for approximately 40 aged women was located at the corner of Broughton and East Broad streets at the former location of the Savannah Poor House and Hospital (lots 33 and 34 of Washington Ward, 548 East Broughton Street). The Abrahams Home building was constructed as directed by the will of Dorothea/Dorethea Connet Abrahams (1779-1853), widow of Abraham DeLyon Abrahams (ca. 1773-1844). In 1875, additional property was given to the Society by Mary Telfair (1791-1875). The Mary Telfair Home, a set of twelve residences in four conjoined buildings, was located at the corner of West Broad and President streets (lot 20 of Liberty Ward, 126 West Broad Street). This home served as a residence for widows with small children. Over time, the Society's charity properties required more extensive upkeep due to the age of the buildings. For this reason, the Mary Telfair Home was razed in 1953. The Abrahams Home was disbanded in 1984 and the building sold the following year. It is currently owned by the Savannah College of Art and Design. The Savannah Widows' Society, in addition to offering housing, has also served the widows of Chatham County by making visitations to the individuals living in the charity residences. This service ended when the homes were discontinued. Scope and Content Note The Savannah Widows' Society Records (1822-1984) are arranged in six series: Series 1. Organizing Papers and Leadership (1928-1983) consists of board membership information, by-laws, and the constitution; Series 2. Minutes (1849-1988) consists of meeting minutes both in bound book and file form; Series 3. Visiting Committee (1859-1984) consists of information concerning the visitation committee both in bound book and file form; Series 4. Charity Residences (1822-1985) consists of files concerning tenant properties that were managed by the Society including information on the Abrahams Home and the Mary Telfair Home, which have been separated into subseries and include information on residents; Series 5. Financial (1830-1981) consists of various financial records including bound cash books, receipt books, and treasurer's books as well as loose files concerning various financial matters (additional financial information can be found in series 2 and 4, Minutes and Charity Residences); and Series 6. Miscellaneous (1837-1972) consists of address books, legal notes, miscellaneous correspondence, and other materials. In order to save wear and tear on the records, bound materials are housed in boxes 1 through 4 of the collection while those in file folders have been relegated to boxes 5 through 10. Please check box numbers listed in the inventory carefully before requesting materials.
Index Terms Abrahams, Dorothea Connet, 1779-1853. Savannah Widows' Society (Ga) Telfair, Mary, 1791-1875. Widows--Georgia--Savannah. Administrative Information Custodial History Unknown. Preferred Citation [item identification], Savannah Widows' Society records, MS 1651, Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia. Acquisition Information Unknown. Restrictions Access Restrictions Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to the Georgia Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Division of Library and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Georgia Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher. Sponsorship Encoding funded by a 2012 Documenting Democracy grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Container List Organizing Papers and Leadership alphabetized by type 5 1A Application Materials, 2001 Board, 1925-1983
5 1B Members, 1925-1977, undated 2 Resignations, 1975-1983 3 Constitution and By-laws, 1928, 1949, 1974, 1989 President's Notes, 1951-1975 5 4 1951 December-1961 October 5 Correspondence, 1951 December-1961 October 6 1959, 1967-1975 Secretary's Book, 1928-1943 5 7 1928-1931 8 1931-1938 9 1938 March-1943 January Minutes Minute Books 1 Book 1, 1816 December-1838 November Book 2, 1849 January-1871 December Book 3, 1872 April-1880 December Book 4, 1881 February-1892 May Book 5, 1872 June-1902 April Book 6, 1902 May-1920 June Book 7, 1920 January-1924 July
Minutes (in Folders) 5 10 1924 August-1925 January 11 1927 January-1931 August 12 1931July-1932 February kept by Mrs. E. H. Hawkins 13 1932-1942 Minute Books Book 8, 1945 December-1956 May Book 9, 1956 June-1962 January Book 10, 1962 January-1971 January Book 11, 1971 February-1978 March Book 12, 1978 April-1988 July Minutes (in Folders) 5 14 1978 April-1988 July Loose Items from Minute Book Minute Books 1 Book 13, 1988 August-1994 December Book 14, 1995 January-2000 June Visiting Committee Visiting Committee Report Books 2 Book 15, 1859 June-1871 February
Book 16, 1871 January-1887 August Book 17, 1887 September-1894 July Book 18, 1894 August-1904 September Book 19, 1904 October-1911 June Book 20, 1911 June-1923 September Book 21, 1923 October-1930 June Book 22, 1930 February-1937 October Book 23, 1938 January-1943 September Book 24, 1943 October-1953 December Book 25, 1954 January-1959 November Book 26, 1959 December-1963 July Book 27, 1963 August-1968 February Book 28, 1968 March-1984 October 5 15 Visiting Committee Notes, 1974-1984 Charity Residences for additional information see Series 2: Minutes Abrahams Home 6 16 Abrahams Wills, 1822-1853, 1912-1916, undated 1882-1853 17 Department of Public Welfare, 1920-1971 18 Reports by Mary C. McLeod, 1920-1921 19 Miscellaneous, 1920-1970
20 Applicants and Inmates, 1929-1983 Inmates Files, 1931-1984 21 A 22 BA-BE 23 BL-BU 24 CA-CL 25 CO-CU 26 D-E 27 F-G 7 28 HA 29 HE-HU 30 I-J 31 K 32 L 33 MA-MC 34 ME-MU 35 N-PA 36 PE-R 37 SA-SH 38 SI-ST 39 T-V 8 40 WA 41 WE-WR 42 Y-Z 43 Memorials, Abrahams Home Garden, 1936-1956 Index Cards of Inmates, 1941-1965
44 A-E 45 F-J 46 K-M 47 N-Z 48 Fire Marshal Reports, 1959-1973 49 Brochures and Booklets, 1959-1975 50 Permit to Operate Personal Care Home, 1959-1973 51 Gifts to Abrahams Home, 1961-1984 52 Miscellaneous, 1972-1985, undated 9 53 Board of Directresses, 1974-1980 54 Mrs. Frances B. Olson on Abrahams Home, 1977 55 Financial Statements, Abrahams Home, 1983-1984 Mary Telfair Home 9 56 Reports, 1920-1926 57 Miscellaneous, 1920-1942 Inmates, 1926-1947 58 A-F 59 G-R 60 S-Z
61 Razing of Mary Telfair Home, 1947-1952 Financial alphabetized by type of material with miscellaneous at end Cash Books 2 Book 29, 1895-1901 Book 30, 1901-1902 Real Estate 9 62 Augustus Jones Mortgage, 1921-1929 63 Real Estate, 1926-1981 64 Insurance, 1947, 1969-1970 Rentals, Liberty Ward, Lot 20 65 1955-1957 66 1957-1961 67 Hollowbush Gift Property Purchase, 1968-1970 68 Urban Renewal Project, 1973-1974 Receipt Books 3 Book 31, 1853 April-1866 December Book 32, 1884 April-1895 May Book 33, 1890 July-1895 April Book 34, Stocks, Bonds, and Securities Book, 1854-1859 Treasurer's Records
Treasurer's Books Book 35, 1830-1835 Book 36, 1835-1842 Book 37, 1842-1851 Book 38, 1851-1854 Book 39, 1859-1868 Book 40, 1868-1878 Book 41, 1879-1882 Book 42, 1879-1883 Book 43, 1884-1895 10 69 Treasurer Reports, 1895-1899 Treasurer's Books Book 44, 1895-1902 Book 45, 1909-1918 Book 46, 1932-1942 Book 47, 1941-1944 4 Book 48, 1945-1948 Book 49, 1946-1975 Book 50, 1949-1954 Book 51, 1955-1961 70 Treasurer Reports, 1960-1961 71 Treasurer's Book File, 1965-1966 72 Treasurer Reports, 1965-1967 Treasurer's Book Book 52, 1975-1976 Miscellaneous Financial Files
73 Bank Statements, 1909-1954 74 Miscellaneous Financial, 1925-1961 75 Yearly Disbursement Reports, 1926-1940 76 Investors, 1947-1973 77 Yearly Audit, 1947-1975 78 Taxes, 1953-1970 79 Correspondence, Citizens and Southern Bank, 1960-1971 80 Portfolio Appraisal Reports, 1968-1981, undated Miscellaneous 10 81 Miscellaneous, 1837, 1920, undated 82 Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1932-1980, undated Names and Organizations List Books, 1950-1974 use unknown Book 53, 1950 January-1954 February Book 54, 1954 May-1974 December Legal Matters, 1952-1972 83 J. A. Rossiter, 1952-1959 Regarding Sarah Douglas Adams. 84 H. B. Brennan, 1954-1964 With some gaps in the years 85 Kennedy and Sognier, 1967-1972