Rochester Friendly Home papers
Biographical / Historical note
The institution currently known as the Rochester Friendly Home was founded in 1849 as the "Rochester Association for the Relief of Homeless and Friendless Females." Its first home was a tenement structure on Edinburgh Street. The original aim of the association was to assist destitute females by providing them with temporary lodgings and securing employment for them, usually as household help. During their stay in the facilities of the institution, the residents generally contributed to its support by performing domestic labor. After occupying a number of temporary locations, the organization was given a home at the corner of East Avenue and Alexander Street in 1853. After relocation to the East Avenue site, and until the establishment of a workhouse-type institution for vagrant children in 1856, orphans were also admitted. In 1855, the institution was officially incorporated as the "Rochester Home for the Friendless." From 1857 to 1875, the Home published a monthly Journal of the Home, which reported on the activities of the Home and appealed to the public for assistance in carrying out the Home's mission. In 1859, the Constitution of the Home was changed so as to permit the admission of aged women, and thereafter female invalids over the age of 65 were accommodated on a permanent basis. "Inmates," as residents of the Home were known, paid a sum of money in proportion to their age and in return were provided with care for the rest of their lives and a "Christian burial" in plots the Home owned in Mount Hope Cemetery. Eventually the Home came to specialize exclusively in the care of the aged. In 1918, the Home became the Rochester Friendly Home and began to accept married couples and single men as well as women. In the same year, the Home relocated to its present ten-acre site at 3156 East Avenue in Brighton. This structure was extensively remodeled and enlarged in 1966. Presently, the Home continues to function as a nursing home, specializing in the care of the elderly and infirm.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of minutes of the Board of Managers' meetings, which cover the periods 1849 to 1866 and 1872 to 1917, minutes of the meetings of the Board of Trustees from 1871 to 1933, records of the operation of the Home from 1849 to 1912, the minutes of the Good Will Club from January, 1920 to April, 1921, and the records of the Building Committee, which from 1915 to 1921 oversaw the construction of the building on East Avenue in which the Home is presently located.
Creator
- Rochester Friendly Home (Rochester, N.Y.) (Organization)
Dates
- Creation: 1849-1933
Language of Materials
English
Extent
5 box(es) (5 boxes and 15 volumes)
Access
The Rochester Friendly Home Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.
Use
In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The minutes of the Board of Trustees meetings, records of the operation of the Home, records of the Building Committee, and one volume of Journal of the Home were donated by the Rochester Friendly Home on July 19, 1978. The minutes of the Board of Managers' meetings and of the Good Will Club were given by Mr. Rufus K. Dryer II on September 18, 1979. The Rochester Friendly Home Papers Addition (D.229) updates the material in this collection.
Preferred Citation
[Item title, item date], Rochester Friendly Home Papers, D.94, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Subject
- Rochester Friendly Home (Rochester, N.Y.) (Organization)
- Title
- Rochester Friendly Home papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Rare Books and Special Collections staff
- Date
- undated
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Library Details
Part of the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Library