Memorial Foundation for Children Records, 1811-2006 (bulk 1926-1999)

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Records, 1811-2006, of the Memorial Foundation for Children of Richmond, Virginia. Includes admittance books, annual reports, case files, charters, clippings, constitutions and bylaws, contracts, correspondence, grant files, histories, minutes, photographs, reports, and scrapbooks documenting the history of the organization. The papers are organized into three series. Series have been designated for: Series I. Grant files; Series II. Administrative records; and Series III. Case files. The records document the organizations role in supporting and helping needy children in Richmond for over 200 years.

Biographical / historical:

According to several written histories, the story of the Memorial Foundation for Children of Richmond began in 1805 when a young homeless girl presented herself at the door of Mrs. Jean Moncure Wood, wife of Governor James E. Wood. Realizing the lack of shelter for homeless children in the city, Mrs. Wood decided to find a way to create a refuge for homeless girls. With the help of Mrs. Philip Norborne Nicholas, Mrs. Edward J. Carrington, and Mrs John Bell, among others, the Female Humane Association was formed in 1807 for "...the relief and comfort of distressed females, and for the maintenance and instruction of destitute white female children residing in the City of Richmond." Initially the society was formed to care for adult women and children, but soon decided to focus all of its efforts on aiding needy children.

In 1810 Major William Duval offered the Association two lots to build a home and the Female Humane Association of the City of Richmond was incorporated by Act of the General Assembly of Virginia on 8 January 1811. In 1813 the first home was built on the corner of St. John's and Charity Streets in Richmond. The organization solicited members and money to expand their organization and housed a number of full time and day boarders. In 1841 the Association received large bequests from the Amicable Society and the estate of Edmund Walls. The Amicable Society, which had been founded in 1788 to relieve strangers in distress, donated more than half its investment to the Association. The estate of Edmund Walls also gave a generous bequest to construct a new building. A new house was built on the corner of Seventh and Leigh Streets and opened May 1843. The Association prospered and had fifty girls living there. Some of the girls were bound out or indentured and some of the younger ones were adopted. The home continued operations during the Civil War and by 1878 the building was enlarged and held seventy-three girls.

On 3 September 1892 a fire broke out at the building and temporary shelter was found for the children at the Eustace-Grant house on Twelfth street. In 1916 Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Nolting loaned the Association money to purchase a farmhouse and several adjoining acres at the north side of the city. The organization soon outgrew the farmhouse and in 1923 a new building was constructed, a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frederic William Scott, as a memorial to Mrs. Scott's mother, Mary Cameron Buford. In 1921 the name, Female Humane Association, was changed to Memorial Home for Girls. In 1922 the school received the first license issued in Virginia to a child-care institution by the Department of Welfare and Institutions. The Memorial Home continued to provide a home for children, along with an education and training to find positions in the outside world.

During the 1920's and 1930's the trend of welfare work was to do away with private homes, substituting state-run institutions, and placing children in private boarding homes. There was a decline in the number of applicants for the Memorial Home for Girls and yet an increase in serious behavioral problems of the children in the home. After a study of the Memorial Home and the needs of society by Dr. Esther Loring Richards of the Phipps Clinic of John Hopkins University, the organization made some radical changes. The Memorial Home for Girls began specializing in the treatment of emotionally disturbed girls and boys in a residential unit and day-care treatment center. The home also worked closely with the Children's Memorial Clinic, an organization founded by Richmond residents and funded by the Community Fund of New York. The Memorial Home provided residence for the children, while the Clinic provided clinical services. In 1946 the Children's Memorial Clinic expanded to accept adults and changed its name to the Memorial Guidance Clinic. Also in 1946 the Memorial Home for Girls was renamed the Memorial Foundation. The two organizations worked closely together to provide guidance and psychological services to the maladjusted children (admitting boys in 1946). The children at the Foundation came to the home because they needed treatment for the various problems, anxieites, and emotional injuries. Both the Clinic and the Foundation resided on the same land given by the Scotts. In 1961 the Foundation built a home for children needing day care.

In 1962 the Memorial Foundation changed its name to Memorial Foundation for Children to mark a clearer distinction between the Clinic and the Foundation. Again, the organization decided to redefine the roles of the Foundation and Clinic programs. A recommendation was made by Dr. Reginald Lourie, Director of the Department of Psychiatry at the Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., that the residential program be closed and the Foundation focus on the Day Care Center and psychiatric care. In 1967 the residential program was closed and the Day Care Center was made available to the Richmond Public Schools for special programming. The Foundation funded the cost of special education programs held by the Richmond Public Schools at the Day Care Center until 1970, when it was decided that the City of Richmond should finance its own special education programs.

In 1970 new tax laws were established which made the Foundation no longer a tax exempt orgainzation. Instead of becoming a public institution, the Foundation chose to remain private and make yet another radical operating change. In 1972 the Foundation decided to change from an operating organization to one providing financial aid to other charitable groups. Since 1972 the Memorial Foundation for Children has increased the number of tax-exempt organizations it has been able to help. Financial assistance continues to be given to projects appropriate to the Foundation's interest for the well being of children in the Richmond area. Members of the Grants Committee are changed each year and in 1998 the Board voted to employ a grants coordinator. The Memorial Foundation for Children recently celebrated its 201st Anniversary and continues to provide grants and financial aid to local charitable groups.

For further information on the history of the organizations, please consult Series II: Administrative Records. Several published pamphlets, notes, and a masters thesis further document the history of the organization.

Acquisition information:

Gift of the Memorial Foundation for Children, 2006 (Accession 42432).

Gift of the Memorial Foundation for Children, through Mrs. Edwin Cox, 1966 (Accession 26532).

Arrangement:

Arranged into three series: Series I. Grant files, 1993-2001; Series II. Administrative records, 1811-2005; Series III. Case files, 1891-1957.

Physical description:
24.4 cu. ft. (79 boxes)