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Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Charter and Bylaws n.d., 1887, 1895, 1904, 1940-1971.

Title: Charter and Bylaws n.d., 1887, 1895, 1904, 1940-1971.

This series comprises copies of the charter, bylaws, and succeeding amendments to both, for the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). Records are printed and typewritten copies of the charter and bylaws in booklet and loose leaf form. The charter and amendments to it are dated while many copies of the bylaws and amended bylaws are undated. Dated records range from 1887-1971. Copies of bylaws dated from 1966 and 1971 are in this record group because the corporation for the MJDH/PMD remained in existence after the merger of the Philadelphia and Baltimore motherhouses in 1963. These later versions were kept with the organization's records in this record group for continuity purposes. The MJDH/PMD generated or retained records in this series as part of its record keeping duties. Charters in this series are in booklets with one set printed in English and German and the other printed only in English. These booklets include text of the original charter enacted in 1887 and subsequent amendments to it in 1893 and 1901. The charter includes the name of the corporation, its purpose, location, and an explanation of its governance. An 1894 amendment addresses additional purposes, the number of ministers required to be on the board of trustees, and location of work. A 1901 amendment added the offices of directing pastor and directing sister to the board of trustees. Even though charters from 1940 and 1953 state they include amendments from 1937 and 1953, there is no indication as to what these amendments changed. In regards to bylaws, one set, written in German, is titled, "Statuten des Mary J. Drexel Home und Philadelphia Diakonissen Mutterhaus." This version is an undated printed booklet and addresses the arrangement of the board of trustees, its scope of business, and management of that business. It also includes a separate set of general bylaws each for the directing pastor and the directing sister. The other sets of bylaws are typewritten in English. The typewritten versions contain more detail as to officers' duties and other aspects of the administration of the organization. Some of the typewritten versions include annotations as to when that particular version was amended. Later versions, post-United Lutheran Church in America, include a reversionary clause pertaining to whom the assets of MJDH/PMD would revert if the corporation ever dissolved and a clause defining the relationship of the deaconess community to its local synod. In an oversized folder located in the mapcase area is one handwritten, signed copy of the articles of incorporation for the MJDH/PMD.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312493 View

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the ELCA. Resigned/Withdrawn Personnel Files 1884-2002

Title: Resigned/Withdrawn Personnel Files 1884-2002

This series comprises personnel files for consecrated deaconesses who resigned from the diaconate; persons who were invested as deaconesses, but not yet consecrated, who resigned; and persons enrolled in the deaconess training program, but were not yet invested, who withdrew from the program. Deaconess communities whose records are included in this series are The Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses, the Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, Baltimore, Maryland, the Immanuel Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, and the Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. These files date from approximately 1884-2002. This series does not include students who withdrew from the deaconess training program after 1985. Record include completed application forms, letters of recommendation, biographical sketches, educational transcripts, handwritten and typewritten correspondence, medical forms, news clippings, and orders of service for investitures and consecrations. It is important to note that there are no files in this series for women who entered the deaconess program after 1987. Where it was not clear, the archivist determined whether the deaconess student was invested and resigned from the community, or was only a beginning student and therefore withdrew from the training program. The archivist notes on each folder the deaconess's status at the time she left the diaconate or training program as consecrated or invested. A deaconess student's status is noted as "not consecrated." In addition, many times the terms "resigned" and "withdrew" are used interchangeably, but for arrangement and description purposes, in this series, those deaconesses who could be referred to as sister, those who were consecrated or invested, resigned, and those who were beginning students withdrew from the program. The archivist also noted these terms on individual folders. Where it was evident a sister had been removed from the roster, a notation of withdrawn was recorded on her folder.

ArchivalResource: 20 boxes (8.0 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71054767 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Buildings and Property Photographs 1909-1958.

Title: Buildings and Property Photographs 1909-1958.

This series comprises approximately 300 black and white, color, and sepia-toned photographs of buildings and properties owned by the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). These photographs were retained as part of the visual history of the MJDH/. Many of the photographs are undated but appear to be from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Those that are dated are from 1909-1958, with the majority dating from approximately 1957-1958. Represented in the photographs are the three locations of the MJDH/PMD: the first location of the MJDH/PMD at 2100 S. College Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the second location of the motherhouse at 801 Merion Square Rd., Gladwyne, Pennsylvania; and the second location of the MJDH at 238 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Photographs are separated into categories of exterior shots and interior shots for both locations of the motherhouse. Many of the exterior shots are undated, except for a series of photographs from the dedication day for the motherhouse in Gladwyne on June 8, 1954, and a series of photographs chronicling construction of an addition to the motherhouse in 1957-1958. There is only one photograph of the Mary J. Drexel Home after it relocated to Bala Cynwyd and there is one folder of photographs depicting the vacation homes for the deaconesses located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and at Cape May Point, New Jersey. The flat box contains an undated "panoramic" shot of the MJDH/PMD at its 2100 S. College Avenue location. It is in two pieces and is exhibiting signs of deterioration.

ArchivalResource: 3 boxes (1.0 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312504 View

United Lutheran Church in America Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, Baltimore, Maryland. Articles of Incorporation and Agreements 1962; 1973-1974

Title: Articles of Incorporation and Agreements 1962; 1973-1974

This series comprises articles of incorporation and agreements for the Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, Baltimore, Maryland (BMD), for 1962 and 1973-1974. The articles of incorporation and bylaws pertain to the incorporation of BMD and address particular aspects of forming a corporation, including, the name of the corporation, the corporation's objectives, and the number and composition of its governing entity. The bylaws outline meetings of the corporation, powers of the board of directors, duties of officers, standing committees, amendments, and other provisions including those about the corporate seal, the fiscal year, and issuance of checks. The agreement is the guideline by which the two sisterhoods agreed to merge. It outlines various aspects of the merger including when it would take effect, where retired deaconesses would reside, the location of the deaconess training school, the location of the administrative offices, the entity charged with responsibility for governance, and the specific responsibilities of the governing entity.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61348913 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Biographical Information Notebooks 1884-1971.

Title: Biographical Information Notebooks 1884-1971.

Notebooks containing biographical information for sisters of the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (PMD) comprise records for this series. They date from 1884-1971 and the primary record type is a bound notebook with handwritten entries. The range of dates for this collection exceeds the time the PMD was officially in existence because even though notebook entries were created at the time each deaconess began service with the PMD, many of these entries contain later additions made when the sisters were part of the Lutheran Church in America's Deaconess Community. The series includes six bound notebooks, all quite fragile with brittle pages. Other records are loose-leaf typewritten pages taken from ring-binder notebooks that were disassembled for preservation purposes. The remainder of the records are typewritten pages with lists of sisters and brief biographical sketches. All follow the same basic format. They each have an alphabetical index at the beginning and subsequent entries include the sister's date of birth, names of her father and mother, date of entrance into the community, her consecration date, a date if she left the community, and if applicable, her date of death. After these general entries, her work history in the community and her vacation history are recorded. Entries with a line drawn through them indicate a sister who left the community early.

ArchivalResource: 3 boxes (1.0 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57313063 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Sisters' Council Minutes and Reports 1921-1962.

Title: Sisters' Council Minutes and Reports 1921-1962.

This series comprises minutes and reports for the Sisters' Council of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). They are from the Sisters' Council first meeting in November 1921 to its last meeting held in December 1962. Minutes from 1921-1954 are handwritten in bound notebooks. Minutes from 1955-1962 are typewritten on loose-leaf pages. Other minutes are from a joint meeting of the sisters' councils from the PMD and the Baltimore Motherhouse of Deaconesses. In addition to council minutes, there are reports from special committees on finance and an early study committee considering the question of discontent among the younger sisters. One folder contains printed copies of the regulations for the sisters' council, as well as a handwritten draft of a portion of the regulations. Initially meetings were held weekly, but then soon switched to monthly. Periodically there are gaps, or "intermissions," as the minute taker refers to them in the minutes. There is no explanation given for these gaps. Meeting minutes typically include a roll of who is present and absent, matters reported on by the directing pastor and the directing sister, actions taken by the council, and updates on sisters who are ill or on leave. The notebook containing minutes from 1921-1954 is in poor condition and has loose pages that are very brittle. These pages should be handled as little as possible.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.4 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312499 View

United Lutheran Church in America. Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, Baltimore, Maryland. The Deaconess Tidings and Messenger 1960-1962.

Title: The Deaconess Tidings and Messenger 1960-1962.

This series comprises a complete set of issues of the joint publication The Deaconess Tidings and Messenger. The series dates from 1960-1962. Two issues were published each year. The publication was issued by volume numbers. The first issue is numbered volume 1, number 1. The last issue is volume three, number 2. Records are arranged chronologically.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61348962 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Agreements, Correspondence, Financial Records, Resolutions 1888-1962.

Title: Agreements, Correspondence, Financial Records, Resolutions 1888-1962.

This series comprises records generated or retained by the Board of Trustees of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). Record types include correspondence, written agreements, contracts, meeting minutes, legal petitions and opinions, and financial records. Records date from 1888-1962 and the bulk of these records is correspondence. These records represent some of the general business conducted by the board, as well as information in regards to special arrangements, requests, and agreements the board undertook throughout its life on behalf of the interests of the MJDH/PMD corporation. Subject matter for correspondence includes anniversaries for the start of work in 1888, personnel matters, termination of work agreements, charter amendments, requests for clarification of charter provisions, agreements between German/Lankenau Hospital and MJDH/PMD, the institution's relationship to ULCA, appropriations from the ULCA, the merger of the ULCA's Baltimore Motherhouse of Deaconesses (BMD) with the MJDH/PMD, and correspondence related to dispositions of specific wills, estates, and gifts.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57313555 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Der Diakonissen Freund and the Deaconess Messenger 1890-1960.

Title: Der Diakonissen Freund and the Deaconess Messenger 1890-1960.

This series comprises issues of the publications Der Diakonissen Freund and The Deaconess Messenger for the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). Issues are from 1890-1960 and include bound and unbound copies. Boxes 1 and 2 contain issues of the German publication Der Diakonissen Freund. Box 3 contains primarily issues of The Deaconess Messenger, but has several issues of Der Diakonissen Freund. Box 4 contains bound volumes which have issues that are missing elsewhere in the series. The magazines followed a simple format of news items of diaconal work in which the PMD was involved and informational articles about diaconal work of motherhouses abroad and diaconal work in general. In the German edition, early issues also include lists of deaconesses according to name, birthplace, and date of entrance into the diaconal community. Lists of sisters are further subdivided into deaconesses, auxiliary sisters, and probationary sisters. Pages are numbered consecutively from issue to issue and then start over with the next volume. Some volumes contain an index to issues for the preceding volume. In 1921 the German edition publishing frequency switches to quarterly and page numbering starts over with each new issue. Also beginning in 1921, some articles appear in English and in some issues, not all, a copy of The Deaconess Messenger also appears. The German edition ceased publication in 1941. The English edition follows the same general format as the German edition. In this series there are no bound or unbound copies of The Deaconess Messenger from 1895-1921. This gap is not explained. There is also no explanation given as to why the first issue in 1922 is numbered as volume 1 and includes an introductory article about "this first copy of The Deaconess Messenger." It appears there were no The Deaconess Messenger issues published in 1954 or 1956. For 1947, 1950, 1959, and 1960 only one issue was published and in 1949 and 1953 only two issues were published. Since this series includes bound and unbound issues, the list below comprises issues for which there is no issue available in this series. Records are arranged chronologically. Der Diakonissen Freund. Missing issues: No. 3, 1890, No. 2, 1891, No. 10, 1894, No. 9, 1917, No. 11, 1918, No. 3 1933, Nos. 3, 4, 1941 (uncertain if published) The following issues are found in box 4: No. 12, 1895, No. 1, 1897, Nos. 7-8, 1904, No. 9, 1908, No. 5, 1912, No. 10, 1915, No. 12, 1915, No. 9, 1916, No. 4 1921, No. 4, 1922, No. 1, 1924

ArchivalResource: 4 boxes (1.6 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312506 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Minutes and Reports 1921-1962 [microform]

Title: Minutes and Reports 1921-1962 [microform]

This series comprises minutes and reports for the Sisters' Council of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). They are from the Sisters' Council first meeting in November 1921 to its last meeting held in December 1962. Minutes from 1921-1954 are handwritten in bound notebooks. Minutes from 1955-1962 are typewritten on loose-leaf pages. Other minutes are from a joint meeting of the sisters' councils from the PMD and the Baltimore Motherhouse of Deaconesses. In addition to council minutes, there are reports from special committees on finance and an early study committee considering the question of discontent among the younger sisters. One folder contains printed copies of the regulations for the sisters' council, as well as a handwritten draft of a portion of the regulations. Initially meetings were held weekly, but then soon switched to monthly. Periodically there are gaps, or "intermissions," as the minute taker refers to them in the minutes. There is no explanation given for these gaps. Meeting minutes typically include a roll of who is present and absent, matters reported on by the directing pastor and the directing sister, actions taken by the council, and updates on sisters who are ill or on leave. The notebook containing minutes from 1921-1954 is in poor condition and has loose pages that are very brittle. These pages should be handled as little as possible.

ArchivalResource: 1 microfilm reel 35mm

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/243607893 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Building and Property Slides 1957-1962

Title: Building and Property Slides 1957-1962

This series comprises approximately 224 color slides of the buildings housing the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. The two properties used by the deaconesses, first at 2100 S. College Avenue, Philadelphia, and then at 801 Merion Square Road, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, are represented in these slides. Images include the interior stairway and its stained-glass window, the chapel, and the grounds at 2100 S. College Avenue; and the chapel, exterior shots of the building and grounds, and the retired sister's wing at the 801 Merion Square Road location. The slides date from 1957-1962, but many are undated as well as unidentified.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.1 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58797103 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Directing Sister Correspondence and Notebooks 1891-1963; 1924-1962.

Title: Directing Sister Correspondence and Notebooks 1891-1963; 1924-1962.

This series comprises records generated or retained during the regular course of business by the directing sister for the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). They are from 1891-1963 with the bulk dating from 1924-1962. Record types include business correspondence, circular letters, and handwritten lecture notes. Almost all of the material was generated or retained by the last directing sister, Sister Anna Ebert. There is one folder of correspondence retained by Sister Julia Mergner and one folder of circular letters composed by Sister Grace Lauer who was the interim directing sister from 1943-1945 while Sister Anna was serving as the directing deaconess for Lankenau Hospital. The bulk of the records are business correspondence and circular letters. The correspondence is Sister Anna's and comprises handwritten and typewritten letters. Subject matter of these letters include Sister Anna's time in Germany in 1930 studying the work of motherhouses; responses to invitations issued for the anniversaries to be celebrated in 1938 and 1959; Sister Anna's selection as a delegate to the first LWF assembly held in Lund, Sweden, 1947; post World War II relief efforts for German deaconesses; a National Lutheran Council church worker exchange program that included visits by European deaconesses to United States; and revision of the deaconess garb. Of note is a pair of letters between Sister Anna and the Rev. George Drach, Administrative Secretary, Board of Foreign Missions, United Lutheran Church in America. Sister Anna's letter to Rev. Drach is in response to an editorial he wrote that appeared in September 1943 issue of The Foreign Missionary pertaining to women's roles in the church. Sister Anna's correspondence to and from members of the Board of Trustees includes a particularly contentious situation concerning the disposition of the Free Bed Fund of the Children's Hospital when that institution was closed and its work transferred to the new Lankenau Hospital.

ArchivalResource: 2 boxes (.6 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57313571 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Buildings and Property Subject Files 1884-1999; 1884-1962.

Title: Buildings and Property Subject Files 1884-1999; 1884-1962.

This series comprises subject files related to the two locations of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). The records are from 1884-1999 with the bulk dating from 1884-1962. They include typewritten business correspondence, annual reports, invitations, news clippings, news accounts, reports, meeting minutes, pamphlets, brochures, postcards, Christmas cards, printed reports, and copy prints and negatives. Subject matter is divided between the first location of the MJDH/PMD at 2100 S. College Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and its second location at 801 Merion Square Road, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. When the PMD relocated to the 801 Merion Square Road location, the MJDH relocated to 238 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. There are no records in the series related directly to that location. Subject matter includes the cornerstone laying and dedication of the 2100 S. College Avenue location. This series includes the contents of the cornerstone, probably retrieved when the building was razed. It also includes material related to the dedication of the chapel at this location, dedication of the organ, and information related to the preservation of the bell tower bell. Other information in this series pertains to the acquisition of the 801 Merion Road location, with a history of the relocation of the motherhouse, including events surrounding the land acquisition and the dedication of a building addition for retired deaconesses. Also of note are the records that provide background on the property itself, originally known as "Skylands." Extraneous records in this series include two folders that pertain to the Drexel Family portraits that hung in the MJDH/PMD and include records related to the appraisal and insuring of the portraits. These folders contain copy prints and copy negatives of some of the portraits in addition to correspondence about use of copy prints. Oversized items including an 1888 copy of a lease agreement between the MJDH and the German Hospital of Philadelphia; an undated blueprint drawing of the basement of the MJDH; a plat map from 1907 of the 29th ward of Philadelphia which included the MJDH/PMD property; and architectural drawings dated 1886 of the front and side of the MJDH are located in a folder across from the mapcase area. Files are arranged by subject.

ArchivalResource: 2 boxes (.6 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312503 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Biographical Information Notebooks 1884-1971 [microform]

Title: Biographical Information Notebooks 1884-1971 [microform]

Notebooks containing biographical information for sisters of the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (PMD) comprise records for this series. They date from 1884-1971 and the primary record type is a bound notebook with handwritten entries. The range of dates for this collection exceeds the time the PMD was officially in existence because even though notebook entries were created at the time each deaconess began service with the PMD, many of these entries contain later additions made when the sisters were part of the Lutheran Church in America's Deaconess Community. The series includes six bound notebooks, all quite fragile with brittle pages. Other records are loose-leaf typewritten pages taken from ring-binder notebooks that were disassembled for preservation purposes. The remainder of the records are typewritten pages with lists of sisters and brief biographical sketches. Box 1 contains Record Books I-III. Books I and II are written in German. Book III begins in German, but later switches to English. All follow the same basic format. They each have an alphabetical index at the beginning and subsequent entries include the sister's date of birth, names of her father and mother, date of entrance into the community, her consecration date, a date if she left the community, and if applicable, her date of death. After these general entries, her work history in the community and her vacation history are recorded. Entries with a line drawn through them indicate a sister who left the community early. Book III also included what appears to be a list of money allowances given to her or funds used for particular purposes on the page opposite the sister's information. In box 2, book IV follows the same format as book III. It also begins in German, but later switches to English. The covers of book V were removed for preservation purposes. Pages contain typewritten and handwritten entries in English. Sisters are listed in alphabetical order instead of the order they entered the community. Book VI contains the same types of information as in previous record books, but it contains entries only for sisters who left the community or died. The book labeled "Inactive Sisters Book I," is handwritten in German and English and has entries similar to those in book III, with chronological entries of activities for the sister and on the opposite page a listing of money allowances. This notebook is bound and has fragile, brittle pages. Box 2 also contains pages from a notebook that comprises a listing of sisters, but it is not clear why these particular sisters are in this notebook. It includes where they were stationed each year. Later listings in this book include entries for sisters in the United Lutheran Church in America's (ULCA) Baltimore Motherhouse of Deaconesses (BMD). Box 3 comprises what are referred to as "registers of deaconesses." The first book indicates that it is "continued from book I," but it is unclear to what book I it refers. Neither of the other books labeled as "Book I" continue into the 1940s. They only list entries to 1895 and 1908, respectively. The second "register of deaconesses" is a condensed and translated version of the information from record books I-IV. It appears that when these were translated and condensed whoever completed this task changed the order of deaconesses listings from chronological to alphabetical. No date is given for when this notebook was created. The other two folders in box 3 contain various typewritten lists of sisters with basic biographical information and brief biographical sketches. There is one small, handwritten notebook dated 1899 that contains entries for particular women that include dates of birth, parents, etc., but also includes an extemporaneous entries on how they decided to enter the diaconate.

ArchivalResource: 2 microfilm reels (35mm)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/288656310 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses Board of Trustees. Minutes 1885-1968 [microform]

Title: Minutes 1885-1968 [microform]

This series comprises minutes of the Board of Trustees of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD) created as members carried out the duties assigned by the corporation's charter and by-laws. Minutes date from the first meeting of the board on July 18, 1885 - October 1968. Minutes were handwritten in bound volumes through November 15, 1922, often with notations in the margins. Thereafter they are typewritten on separate loose-leaf pages. Minutes for executive committee meetings 1-53 from June 18, 1926-December 20, 1938 are also included. After 1938, executive committee minutes do not appear. It is not known if the executive committee ceased meeting or ceased publishing its minutes along with the board minutes. In 1954, minutes of the "first meeting" of the executive committee are found, and minutes of this committee occur once or twice more. Minutes usually included the date and place of the meeting, members present, approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, reports by the directing sister, directing pastor, treasurer, and committee chairs. Reports on the health of sisters and their work at stations of service were included, as well as reports on residents of the MJDH and on the Lankenau School for Girls. Financial matters, including upkeep of the properties of the corporation, were discussed. Actions taken and resolutions passed were recorded. New business generally preceded adjournment. Minutes from 1885-1918 are in German. Beginning in 1919, the minutes are in English. The translated "Notes" from 1885-1894 are about matters in the minutes which pertained to the deaconesses; they do not mention other matters. The notes are generally paraphrases rather than direct translations and their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Although the Philadelphia and Baltimore motherhouses merged in 1963, the MJDH/PDM corporation continued in existence and the minutes have been kept together for continuity purposes. It is not clear from the available materials when the MJDH/PMD corporation ceased to exist. The condition of the materials is good, except for the second bound volume from 1894-1910, which is in fair condition with some loose pages.

ArchivalResource: 3 microfilm reels 35mm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/243607897 View

Lankenau, John D. (1817-1901). John D. Lankenau Papers 1816-1987; 1883-1901

Title: John D. Lankenau Papers 1816-1987; 1883-1901

This series comprises personal and business records of John Diederich Lankenau, president of the German Hospital of Philadelphia and founder of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Records date from 1816 to 1987, but the bulk is from 1883-1901. Record types include personal and business correspondence, financial records, letterpress books, newspaper articles, documents such as marriage records and birth and death certificates, last will and testament, records of the disposal of his estate such as estate sale books, a hymnbook, notebooks, scrapbooks, published books, photographs, and photograph albums. These records were retained by the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses and passed down to their successor communities. Many of the records, including personal and business correspondence and Lankenau's notebook entries, are handwritten. Materials are in English and German, with one letter in French. Several of the German records have been translated into English. Early personal correspondence and the letterpress books are difficult to read because they are written on very thin paper on which the ink bleeds through. These records provide only a broad outline of Lankenau's early life, although his biography and the personal letters give some brief but informative insights into his character. His later life, especially the photographic record of his last two years at Cape May Point, are very well documented. It was determined that the archivist would have to impose and order on the material. The records are arranged by subject matter and where possible, chronologically within each group. Biographical. Primary biographical records are brief topical papers written about Lankenau at various times, but there are also news articles, an excerpt from a book, and a note. Many records are undated; the date for the Rev. Bachmann's paper is inferred from the content. One newspaper article and one paper are written in German. Records of note include the handwritten autobiography of Lankenau and the life happenings which he recorded in his hymnbook. The news article entitled "A Raymond Raff Gives Farm to the Sisters . . ." has inaccuracies in the dates and the content differs from that of Lankenau's own account. Other biographical information can be found in the news articles found in the subject matter Honors and Celebrations, Death Notices, and Scrapbooks. Personal Correspondence. The personal correspondence consists of letters and notes both to and from Lankenau, as well as a letter to his wife Mary and one to his daughter Elise. Letters of note include one by Lankenau and his son Frank to Mary Lankenau, and one from Lankenau to his brother-in-law Anthony J. Drexel. The latter was never received, because Drexel, who was in Europe, died four days later. There is a strong likelihood that two small notes from Mary Drexel Lankenau to John were written before their marriage. The salutation of one, "My dearest friend," the content of the letters which does not sound like things a wife would write, and the fact that they are addressed to Chestnut Street, though the Lankenau family lived in Rittenhouse Square, all suggest they were not yet married. A section of one note was missing when the ELCA Archives received the records, but a use copy made before the section was lost is available. Original copies of fragile correspondence are in one folder, with use copies in the folder immediately following. The letter from Francis M. Drexel, Mary's father, is written on both sides on thin paper; subsequently, neither the original nor the copy can be easily read. All correspondence is in English except the one from F. Deleurie to Madame Lankenau, which is in French. The letters are arranged chronologically. Business Correspondence. Most of these records, except the letterpress books, discuss matters concerning the German Hospital, the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse for Deaconesses, or the Cape May Point property. The latter includes letters to Thomas Chester, caretaker at Cape May Point about road building, care of horses, care of the property, and payment for work done. Records of note include Lankenau's letter to Sister Marie Krueger urging her to bring deaconesses to Philadelphia and his letters to Herr von Oertzen and Dr. Marie Bauer concerning the care of Oberin Wanda von Oertzen. The letters of John Harjes concerning the bust of Lankenau which he donated to the Mary J. Drexel Home are also of interest. The letterpress books contain copies of business letters of the firm Wicht and Lankenau. Unfortunately missing are correspondence records from the earliest years of the firm 1845-1847, its middle years 1851-1860, and 1864-1865, when it was dissolved. Correspondence includes both English and German records. It is arranged in chronological order, except for the letterpress books, which are placed at the end of the business correspondence. Financial Records. Financial records include three ledgers from Bremen in the years 1818-1819. They could not have belonged to John D. Lankenau, who was born in 1817. It is possible they are ledgers from his father's business in Bremen. There is also a notebook with information about the finances of the German Hospital, including legacies, principal, income, and other financial notes for an unnamed Board of Charities. There are no financial records for the Wicht and Lankenau firm or for Lankenau's personal finances. Honors and Celebrations. Lankenau's birthday was often a time of celebration for the deaconess community and friends of the German Hospital and the Mary J. Drexel Home. His 83rd birthday in 1900 was especially a time of celebration, and the scrapbook in which letters of acceptance or regret were placed is of particular note. It has been disassembled for preservation purposes, and its pages interleaved with acid-free paper. Lankenau's birthday continued to be recognized long after his death. Other honors were the celebration in 1893 on the 25th anniversary of his election as president of the German Hospital, and the 1900 dedication of the plaque honoring his daughter Elise. Death Notices, Letters of Condolence, Funeral Service. These records include the order of service at Lankenau's funeral, letters of condolence, and news articles announcing his impending death, biographical articles at his death, descriptions of his funeral, and notices about the extent of his estate. Of note are the letter of condolence from the Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States and those from German motherhouses. Also of interest is the September, 1901, issue of Der Diakonissen Freund, the official publication of the Philadelphia Motherhouse. It is entirely devoted to Lankenau, giving a complete account of his funeral, biographical information, and letters of condolence. Last Will and Testament and Related Records. Lankenau's Last Will and Testament, dated 1900 with codicils in 1900 and 1901, was not his original will. A note amending an earlier will, dated 1896, expresses concern about funding of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses, and hopes the public will help. In the later will, Lankenau provides the necessary funding. Other records document the extent and disposition of his estate. Of interest is a letter from the Drexel Institute Board of Trustees concerning the art collection which Lankenau left to the institute. Lankenau Family Records. The family records found here were most likely sent from Germany by Dr. Heinrich Lankenau to the Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America sometime in the 1960s. Letters from Sister Louise Burroughs to the Lankenau family in Germany and deaconess community notes about the Lankenau documents provide background. The documents offer some insight into the Lankenau family in Germany, but leave many questions. For example, the sister, Henrietta, mentioned in Lankenau's will, is not listed in any other document, and her husband's name is also the name of the husband of Louisa Buchanan Wade. There is a picture in one of the albums labeled, "Mr. Lankenau's brother Benjamin," but there is no record of a brother. Eliza Lankenau, John D. Lankenau's oldest sister married a Professor Schmalhausen, but his first name is not clear, as he is called both Bernhard and Philip in the records. Hymnbook and Notebooks. Lankenau's hymnbook is particularly important because It contains his handwritten chronology of early and middle life, ending with his daughter's death in 1882. The pressed flowers from Mary Lankenau's funeral are in the hymnbook; they are very fragile and should not be touched. Lankenau's notebooks include records and diaries of trips, drafts of letters, notes, and drawings, and date from his later life, 1877-1900. He was usually not systematic about what he recorded; letters, notes, quotations, and lists were not entered in any particular order. German and English are used, although English predominates. Scrapbooks. Like his notebooks, the contents of Lankenau's scrapbooks are arranged in no particular order. They include newspaper articles, pictures clipped from newspapers and magazines, postcards, and photographs. The photographs are often of Lankenau and various deaconesses, often at Cape May Point. Although the scrapbooks are undated, contents suggest that all date from the last years of his life, 1890-1900, and probably from the later part of that date range. It is unclear if Lankenau created the scrapbooks or if they were made for him by the deaconesses. Most of the photographs are not identified, but clipped pictures often include their captions.

ArchivalResource: 16 boxes (7.3 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/76768082 View

Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. Special Student Personnel Files 1924-1965

Title: Special Student Personnel Files 1924-1965

Records in this series comprise personnel files for women who applied for admission to schools, that trained students for work as parish secretaries and church workers, offered by Lutheran Church in America's Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and School and its predecessors the Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, Baltimore, Maryland, and the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Records date from 1924-1965 and include completed application forms, letters of recommendation, medical forms, biographical sketches, and handwritten and typewritten general correspondence regarding applications for training.

ArchivalResource: 6 boxes (.24 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71054777 View

Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. Minutes, Reports, Background Materials 1951-1962; 1961-1962

Title: Minutes, Reports, Background Materials 1951-1962; 1961-1962

This series comprises records related to the merger of the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses and the Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, Baltimore, Maryland. These records were generated during the course of merger discussions. The records are from 1951-1962, but the bulk date from 1961-1962. Records include material related to meetings and seminars held prior to the merger, background material, and signed copies of the merger agreement reached between the two motherhouses which created the Lutheran Deaconess House and School. Record types include meeting minutes, reports, brief histories, news releases, circular letters, schedules, correspondence, and agreements. Records related to seminars are primarily informational material distributed prior to the seminars. There are no proceedings or minutes from the seminars themselves, however there is one summary report that incorporates findings from all the seminars. The financial correspondence is primarily concerned with transferring the accounts of the Baltimore motherhouse to a new corporation, Baltimore Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and School, Inc., which was formed in 1962 to manage the property and assets belonging to the former Baltimore motherhouse. The merger agreements are signed copies that include a background of events leading up to the merger, as well as enumerate the various facets of the merger including where retired deaconesses will reside, the location of the training school, retention of motherhouse facilities, leadership, oversight, budgetary matters, and governance. In addition to this agreement, this series also includes a photocopy of a 1962 agreement between the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses and the Lutheran Church in America's (LCA) Board of College Education and Church Vocation (BCECV). This agreement transfers the jurisdiction of the motherhouses to the LCA's BCECV. It replaced an agreement in place that had jurisdiction for the motherhouses with the LCA's predecessor the United Lutheran Church in America.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70641561 View

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the ELCA. Deceased Personnel Files 1884-2003

Title: Deceased Personnel Files 1884-2003

This series comprises individual personnel files for consecrated deaconesses of the Deaconess Community of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its predecessor communities: The Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses, the Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, Baltimore, Maryland, the Immanuel Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, and the Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. It is important to note that there are no files in this series for women who entered the deaconess program after 1987. All of the files represent consecrated deaconesses who died between 1884-2003. Records that comprise the files date from 1884-2003 and include a variety of records types. There is correspondence between the deaconess and motherhouse and its leadership, completed applications to the communities, news clippings, letters of recommendations, biographical sketches, educational transcripts, legal correspondence related to estates, copies of wills, diaries, travel diaries, additional biographical material, and orders of service for investitures and consecrations, among others. The bulk of the records is correspondence. The deaconess communities filed their copies of correspondence they sent to a deaconess, as well as correspondence she sent to the community, into her personnel file.

ArchivalResource: 33 boxes (13.0 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71054755 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Agenda, Minutes, Reports 1890-1962 [microform]

Title: Agenda, Minutes, Reports 1890-1962 [microform]

This series comprises handwritten and typewritten minutes for the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (PMD) Sisters' Conference. Other record types found in this series include agendas and reports, but the bulk of records are meeting minutes. These records date from 1890-1962. The PMD generated or retained these records as part of its general record-keeping requirements. Minutes from 1890-1954 are handwritten in two bound volumes. The first volume, minutes from 1890-1922, are written in a German script that is difficult to read. Minutes from 1920-1954 comprise the second volume and are written in English. The remaining folder in this series includes typewritten loose leaf minutes for some of the same meetings for which there are handwritten minutes. Also included in the remaining records are agenda and reports for particular sister's conference meetings as well as certain special meetings. There are meeting minutes from a committee created to study options regarding deaconess garb and minutes from a joint planning committee for the Annual Deaconesses Conference at which PMD deaconesses joined the United Lutheran Church in America's Baltimore Motherhouse of Deaconesses (BMD) in discussing issues facing their communities. However, of the meetings minutes represented in this series, by far the bulk are from sisters' conference meetings. These meetings included all PMD deaconesses able to attend. Meetings were called on a regular basis, but one cannot discern the frequency as it changes over time. It appears they started out occurring monthly, but at some point changed to three or four meetings per year.

ArchivalResource: 1 microfilm reel 35mm

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/243607892 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Sisters' Conference Agenda, Minutes, Reports 1890-1962.

Title: Sisters' Conference Agenda, Minutes, Reports 1890-1962.

This series comprises handwritten and typewritten minutes for the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (PMD) Sisters' Conference. Other record types found in this series include agendas and reports, but the bulk of records are meeting minutes. These records date from 1890-1962. The PMD generated or retained these records as part of its general record-keeping requirements. Minutes from 1890-1954 are handwritten in two bound volumes. The first volume, minutes from 1890-1922, are written in a German script that is difficult to read. Minutes from 1920-1954 comprise the second volume and are written in English. The remaining folder in this series includes typewritten loose leaf minutes for some of the same meetings for which there are handwritten minutes. Also included in the remaining records are agenda and reports for particular sister's conference meetings as well as certain special meetings. There are meeting minutes from a committee created to study options regarding deaconess garb and minutes from a joint planning committee for the Annual Deaconesses Conference at which PMD deaconesses joined the United Lutheran Church in America's Baltimore Motherhouse of Deaconesses (BMD) in discussing issues facing their communities. However, of the meetings minutes represented in this series, by far the bulk are from sisters' conference meetings. These meetings included all PMD deaconesses able to attend. Meetings were called on a regular basis, but one cannot discern the frequency as it changes over time. It appears they started out occurring monthly, but at some point changed to three or four meetings per year.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.4 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312498 View

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the ELCA. Deceased Personnel Photographs c.1884-2003

Title: Deceased Personnel Photographs c.1884-2003

This series comprises photographs of deaconesses deceased prior to 2004. Originally these photographs were a part of the deaconess personnel files, but for preservation purposes they were separated and placed into their own series. The photographs date from approximately 1884-2003 and include formal portraits, as well as informal and candid shots. There are black and white, sepia-toned, and color photographs. Not every deaconess who has a personnel file in the companion series ELCA 127/6/1 has a photograph in this series. Many of the photographs are the photographs the deaconesses supplied with their application forms. Others are those that were taken by the deaconess community and others that were accumulated over time. The majority of the photographs are either cabinet cards or gelatin silver photoprints.

ArchivalResource: 3 boxes (3.0 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71054772 View

Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. Minutes, Reports, Program Files 1962-1963

Title: Minutes, Reports, Program Files 1962-1963

Records in this series comprise material pertaining to the constituting convention sisters' conference held to officially organize the new Lutheran Deaconess House and School, the product of the merger of the two United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) motherhouses. This series dates from 1962-1963 and includes the program for the conference, conference minutes, reports, and orders of service for worship and the installation of the directing sister. Also included in this series are some of the planning files for the conference. These planning files include information sheets for deaconess attending the meeting; circular letters, registration materials, housing lists, travel expense lists, and business correspondence. There are also copies of news releases issued by the church pertaining to actions taken at the conference and there are copies of the deaconess newsletter The Deaconess Tidings and Messenger that include articles pertaining to the merger and the training school.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70641563 View

Sloan, Helen Farr, 1911-2005. Helen Farr Sloan Philadelphia Inquirer notebooks. 1886-1896.

Title: Helen Farr Sloan Philadelphia Inquirer notebooks. 1886-1896.

The Helen Farr Sloan Philadelphia Inquirer notebooks consists of fourteen binders of Philadelphia-area news clippings broadly related to the subject of art. Materials date from 1886 to 1896, encompassing the early years of John Sloan's work in Philadelphia, and suggest that Mrs. Sloan supported this project to collect biographical and historical context for this period of her husband's career. The collection includes photocopies of art-related materials published in the following Philadelphia newspapers: The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Evening Call, The Evening Telegraph, The Evening Bulletin, North American, The Philadelphia Press, The Philadelphia Record, Public Ledger, and The Times. The bulk of the articles are from The Philadelphia Inquirer. The collection is organized in chronological order and is divided into three series.

ArchivalResource: 5.3 linear feet (14 volumes in 5 record center boxes and 1 manuscript box)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/300486614 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Directing Pastor Program Files 1888-1963.

Title: Directing Pastor Program Files 1888-1963.

This series comprises program files generated or retained by the directing pastors that served the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD) from 1888-1962. The records are from 1888-1963 and include correspondence, biographical information, news articles, sermons, death notices, reports, orders of service and church schedules, circular letters, meeting minute excerpts, copies of letters of call, and position descriptions. These records were retained by the directing pastors as part of their assigned administrative tasks. The bulk of the records are correspondence. It is handwritten and typewritten primarily in English, but much of the earlier correspondence is written in German. It is correspondence received by the pastors and copies of their correspondence sent related to activities of the motherhouse. Subject matter includes publicizing deaconess causes, plans for forming a conference of Lutheran deaconess houses in the United States; observances for fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries of MJHD/PMD; revision of position description for directing pastor, National Lutheran Council Project at Willow Run, Michigan; and circular letters to deaconesses informing them of decisions made at Board of Trustees meetings and Sisters' Conference meetings. Subject matter for other record types includes anniversaries of MJDH/PMD, resignations of directing pastors, letters of call to directing pastors, death notices for deaconesses, associate pastor, and directing pastors, and sermons preached at investitures and consecrations. Records are arranged chronologically from first directing pastor to last directing pastor.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57313556 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Historical Files 1860-1984; 1860-1959 [microform]

Title: Historical Files 1860-1984; 1860-1959 [microform]

Records related to the history of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD) comprise this series. Record types include typewritten correspondence, printed booklets, orders of service, newspaper clippings, typewritten news articles, addresses, and essays, printed invitations, leaflets, and pencil sketches. Material dates from 1860-1982 with the bulk of material dating from 1860-1959. The MJDH/PMD generated or retained these records through the course of its record-keeping responsibilities. Subject matter for this series is primarily of two types. There is a small amount of material that pertains to the German Hospital, later Lankenau Hospital, where the deaconesses worked. These records include the charter and bylaws of the hospital, dated 1887 and printed in German and English, printed regulations regarding the work of physicians, and additional regulations regarding the work of the deaconesses. Other subject matter found in this series pertains to anniversaries observed by the MJDH/PMD. Records include invitations, booklets, printed leaflets, addresses, sermons, news releases, newspaper clippings and articles. Anniversaries observed were either the anniversary of the arrivalof the first seven MJDH/PMD or the anniversary of the dedication of the MHDH/PMD building. In addition to these two subject areas, other records include a topical essay titled, "To the History of the Deaconess Motherhouse in Philadelphia from Remembrances of a Philadelphia Pastor," authored by the Rev. Adolph Spaeth in 1908; news articles about the motherhouse; and pencil sketches of the first seven deaconesses to work at Lankenau (German) Hospital drawn by Carola Spaeth, daughter of the Rev. Adolph Spaeth.

ArchivalResource: 1 microfilm reel (35mm)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/288656257 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Correspondence and Notebooks 1891-1963; 1924-1962 [microform]

Title: Correspondence and Notebooks 1891-1963; 1924-1962 [microform]

This series comprises records generated or retained during the regular course of business by the directing sister for the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). They are from 1891-1963 with the bulk dating from 1924-1962. Record types include business correspondence, circular letters, and handwritten lecture notes. Almost all of the material was generated or retained by the last directing sister, Sister Anna Ebert. There is one folder of correspondence retained by Sister Julia Mergner and one folder of circular letters composed by Sister Grace Lauer who was the interim directing sister from 1943-1945 while Sister Anna was serving as the directing deaconess for Lankenau Hospital. The bulk of the records are business correspondence and circular letters. The correspondence is Sister Anna's and comprises handwritten and typewritten letters. Subject matter of these letters include Sister Anna's time in Germany in 1930 studying the work of motherhouses; responses to invitations issued for the anniversaries to be celebrated in 1938 and 1959; Sister Anna's selection as a delegate to the first LWF assembly held in Lund, Sweden, 1947; post World War II relief efforts for German deaconesses; a National Lutheran Council church worker exchange program that included visits by European deaconesses to United States; and revision of the deaconess garb. Of note is a pair of letters between Sister Anna and the Rev. George Drach, Administrative Secretary, Board of Foreign Missions, United Lutheran Church in America. Sister Anna's letter to Rev. Drach is in response to an editorial he wrote that appeared in September 1943 issue of The Foreign Missionary pertaining to women's roles in the church. In addition to the business correspondence is a compilation of circular letters Sister Anna sent to all sisters in the MJDH/PMD. In these letters Sister Anna relayed information on sisters who were ill, deaths occurring within the deaconess community, general news, updates on work occurring at outstations, and actions taken at meetings of the Sister's Council. Other circular letters are those pertaining to seminars held for groups of consecration classes. These letters were sent to a block of consecration classes and contained information on upcoming seminars as well as the schedule of events for the seminar. There is one folder of general circular letters from 1943-1945 composed by Sister Grace Lauer while she was serving as the interim directing sister. The other records in this series are handwritten lecture notes compiled by Sister Anna for use in Bible studies, general lectures, and devotions.

ArchivalResource: 2 microfilm reels (35mm).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/288630834 View

Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Agreements 1965-1970, 1972, 1987

Title: Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Agreements 1965-1970, 1972, 1987

Records in this series comprise documents that establish and define the officially merged sisterhood known as the Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). This community resulted from the merger of three motherhouses affiliated with predecessor churches of the LCA: the United Lutheran Church in America's (ULCA) Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses and Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School, Baltimore, Maryland, and Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church's Immanuel Association of Lutheran Deaconesses of Omaha. The bulk of records date from 1965-1970 and include the decree and articles of incorporation, adopted and revised bylaws, and copies of the tri-partite agreement that established the new deaconess community and created the framework in which it, its predecessors' corporations, and the LCA's Board of College Education and Church Vocation (BCECV) would relate and work with each other. This series also include statements and reports issued by the BCECV, and later the LCA's Division for Professional Leadership, that outlined these bodies' relationships to the deaconess community, their areas of responsibility as they related to deaconess work, and how these areas interacted with the responsibilities held by the community itself. The last set of records is basic governing documents for one of the predecessor corporations, the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses, Inc. This corporation and its Baltimore counterpart, the Baltimore Lutheran Deaconess House and School, Inc. remained in existence after the merger to be responsible for real property, endowments, and other assets. This series includes both original and photocopies of documents.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70641576 View

German Society of Pennsylvania. German Society of Pennsylvania scrapbook, 1884-1894.

Title: German Society of Pennsylvania scrapbook, 1884-1894.

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings in a ledger book with pre-printed page numbers, assembled at the German Society of Pennsylvania, possibly by the office of the Agentur, which coordinated the Society's charitable work on behalf of German immigrants. Clippings date from approximately December 1884 to October 1894. They are mostly from Philadelphia newspapers and concern reports about the Society and its work (Agentur, p. iii-iv, 3, 14); its quarterly and annual meetings (including financial and committee reports); and other events held in its hall, such as German Day celebrations of 1893 and 1894 (p. i, 37); a memorial service for Society member Oswald Seidensticker (inside front cover), and a protest meeting of charitable organizations concerning a tax issue in 1894 (p. 38). Several pages are devoted to articles about the laying of the cornerstone of the Mary J. Drexel Home in 1886 (p. 106-110, 114-116). Many clippings pertain to the German Hospital of the City of Philadelphia, including donor lists (Gabentag); and a few relate to the Jewish Hospital (p.124, 134-135). Other clippings cover a variety of German-American organizations in Philadelphia, including the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (91, 112). A few articles are about immigration generally (p. 5-6), and labor issues in Philadelphia (p. 94-95). Only a handful of clippings concern societies in other states (German Society of the City of New York, p. 3; German Society of Maryland, p. 4; Deutscher Hülfsverein, or German Aid Society of Boston, p. 5). The ledger book was evidently used originally for German Society of Pennsylvania accounts beginning in 1876 (visible on pages with no clippings, p. 32-58; salary of agent noted, p. 11).

ArchivalResource: 1 v. (.07 linear feet)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/697564557 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Historical Files 1860-1984; 1860-1959.

Title: Historical Files 1860-1984; 1860-1959.

Records related to the history of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD) comprise this series. Record types include typewritten correspondence, printed booklets, orders of service, newspaper clippings, typewritten news articles, addresses, and essays, printed invitations, leaflets, and pencil sketches. Material dates from 1860-1984 with the bulk of material dating from 1860-1959. The MJDH/PMD generated or retained these records through the course of its record-keeping responsibilities. Subject matter for this series is primarily of two types. There is a small amount of material that pertains to the German Hospital, later Lankenau Hospital, where the deaconesses worked. These records include the charter and bylaws of the hospital, dated 1887 and printed in German and English, printed regulations regarding the work of physicians, and additional regulations regarding the work of the deaconesses. Other subject matter found in this series pertains to anniversaries observed by the MJDH/PMD. Records include invitations, booklets, printed leaflets, addresses, sermons, news releases, newspaper clippings and articles. Anniversaries observed were either the anniversary of the arrival of the first seven MJDH/PMD or the anniversary of the dedication of the MJDH/PMD building. In addition to these two subject areas, other records include a topical essay titled, "To the History of the Deaconess Motherhouse in Philadelphia from Remembrances of a Philadelphia Pastor," authored by the Rev. Adolph Spaeth in 1908; news articles about the motherhouse; and pencil sketches of the first seven deaconesses to work at Lankenau (German) Hospital drawn by Carola Spaeth, daughter of the Rev. Adolph Spaeth.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.4 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312491 View

Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. Minutes, Amended Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws 1962-1979

Title: Minutes, Amended Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws 1962-1979

This series comprises records related to the Baltimore Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and School, Inc., a corporation created in 1962 to administer all matters related to the Lutheran Deaconess House and School's real property, endowments, and other funds. The records date from 1962-1979 and include photocopies of the corporation's original articles of incorporation and bylaws, a copy of the amended articles of incorporation, and meeting minutes of the board of directors. Even though the records appear to indicate that there is a copy of the amended bylaws, there are not. However, there are meeting minutes that include what changes the amended bylaws made. Meeting minutes include those from the corporation's organizational meeting in 1962 as well as its last meeting in 1979 to approve the articles of merger that merged the corporation into the Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. The bylaws stipulate that the board would meet once per year in March, but it appears that on occasion the board met twice per year. Generally, these meetings would include reports from board officers and motherhouse leadership. Additional matters discussed pertained primarily to financial matters concerning assets of the corporation, loans issued, elections held and votes taken on various matters. Even though some of these records predate the existence of the Deaconess Community of the LCA, the decision was made to place them in this subgroup because the bulk of the records are dated after the creation of the community in 1966. There are no meeting minutes for 1965, 1968, 1970-1971 as no meetings were held these years.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70641589 View

Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. Minutes 1962-1965

Title: Minutes 1962-1965

This series comprises minutes from meetings of the sisters' council of the Lutheran Deaconess House and School (LDHS). The records date from 1962-1965. The 1962 minutes are from joint meetings of the sisters' councils of the merging Philadelphia and Baltimore motherhouses. Meeting minutes include presentation of reports by the directing sister, and at other times, those sisters with responsibility for education, garb, and other deaconess matters. The remainder of the minutes is a record of actions taken by the council. In terms of completeness of this set of minutes, there is a strong likelihood that this is not a complete set. One cannot tell from these minutes whether they are complete since there is no other set available with which to compare them.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.2 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70641567 View

Lutheran Church in America Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America. Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses Audit Reports 1963-1985

Title: Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses Audit Reports 1963-1985

This series comprises financial statements and audit reports for the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. These reports focus on the financial state of the corporation that remained in existence after the 1965 merger that created the Lutheran Church in America's deaconess community. Until at least 1976 these audits are referred to as financial reports and include exhibits for the balance sheet and its supporting schedules, current fund receipts and expenditures and its supporting schedules, current restricted fund receipts and expenditures, and endowment and other funds. The report also includes schedules for securities sold or redeemed, securities purchased, insurance in force, and the accountant's certificate. In 1972, reference to a balance sheet changed to "statement of assets, liabilities, and funds." By 1979 the audit expanded to be called "Financial Statements and Auditor's Report." This audit included financial statements of support revenue and expenses, functional expenses, and the balance sheet. Supplemental information included changes in fund balance, investments, securities sold, redeemed, transferred, or purchased; and options written and outstanding, written, and expired, exercised, or repurchased. Audit reports starting in 1980 comprise a statement on support, revenue, and expenses, a statement of functional expenses, and the balance sheet. Supplemental information includes changes in fund balances, current investment funds, and endowments and funds functioning as endowments. This series does not contain a complete set of audits. Audits are missing for 1968, 1970, 1971, 1977, 1978, 1986, and 1987.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.4 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70641638 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Financial Records 1903-1962

Title: Financial Records 1903-1962

This series comprises financial records for the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD) that were generated during the regular course of business to fulfill obligations to provide periodic reports of the financial condition the MJDH/PMD. They date from 1903-1962 and include ledger books, audit reports, budgets, un-audited financial statements and balance sheets, un-audited financial reports, minutes, reports, correspondence, and statements of receipts and expenses. Audit reports are not complete. For that reason several un-audited financial reports, as well as general financial records, such as the general ledgers in box 4, were retained for years for which no audit is available. Audit reports are not available for the following years: before 1933, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940-1942, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1953. The corporation of MJDH/PMD continued to exist after the merger that created the Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America, and as such audit reports for MJDH/PMD that are for fiscal years 1963 on are found in LCA 108 Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America.

ArchivalResource: 4 boxes (1.4 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62866119 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses Deaconesses, Students, Community Life, Anniversary Photographs 1886-1961.

Title: Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses Deaconesses, Students, Community Life, Anniversary Photographs 1886-1961.

This series comprises approximately 900 sepia-toned, black and white, and color photographs from 1886-1962 of deaconess community life, deaconesses, deaconess students, and anniversaries of the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (PMD). These photographs depict various aspects of community life and were retained as part of the visual record of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). Photographs include group portraits of consecration classes, anniversaries, deaconesses and deaconess students, and Mr. John D. Lankenau and early deaconesses. Other photographs represent community life at the motherhouse and also at MJDH/PMD vacation sites. Many of the older photographs are completely or partially identified. The more recent photographs from the mid 20th century, including those depicting community life, are primarily unidentified. Photographs of note include the early portraits of Mr. John D. Lankenau, founder of the MJDH/PMD, and some of the first deaconesses in the community. Also of note are the photographs of deaconesses in 1898-1899 serving as nurses for soldiers in the Spanish-American War. An unidentified photograph album kept by a deaconess is also in this series. For preservation purposes, the photographs were removed and placed in envelopes. If the album page had a title, that is written on the outside of the envelope. If any photograph had a caption, the archivist wrote it on the back of the photographs. The flat box contains oversized photographs that include a portrait of the Rev. E.F. Bachmann, a photograph of the PMD cross worn by consecrated deaconesses, a group portrait of early deaconesses and Mr. William Braun, president of the Board of Trustees of MJDH/PMD, and large-sized photographs of deaconess students at the 25th anniversary of MJDH.

ArchivalResource: 5 boxes (1.6 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312502 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Motherhouse Program Files 1884-1962.

Title: Motherhouse Program Files 1884-1962.

This series comprises program files for the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD). They are from 1884-1962, but it is unclear which individuals retained or generated these records. Record types include printed liturgical service programs, circular letters, bulletins, pamphlets, leaflets, statistical reports, financial reports, news clippings, printed invitations, meeting minutes, souvenir booklets, financial reports, plays and skits, and correspondence. Subject matter includes seasonal church services, Drexel Day activities, Founder's Day activities, revisions to deaconess garb, Jahrefest, or annual fest programs, topical studies conducted by the MJDH/PMD, and spiritual retreats. Topics addressed in the studies include life at the motherhouse, how diaconal groups elect leadership positions, the functional organization of the motherhouse, deaconess garb, seminars for consecrated deaconesses, and devotional life. Annual audit financial reports for MJDH/PMD from 1933-1962 are included in this series, but reports are not available for 1934-1935, 1937-1938, 1940-1942, 1944, 1947-1948, 1950, and 1953. Most of the records are printed or typewritten material. There are handwritten minutes from meetings of the MJDH/PMD congregation's Women's Missionary Society. Minutes for the congregation's WMS are available from its first meeting in 1913 to its last meeting in 1954. Also found in this series is a parish register from 1888-1945 for the congregation of the MJDH/PMD. Records are arranged alphabetically.

ArchivalResource: 2 boxes (.6 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57312500 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. Slides 1953-1960

Title: Slides 1953-1960

This series comprises approximately 518 color slides of activities, institutions, and people associated with the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses. They are from 1953-1962, but most of the slides are undated. Many of these slides are duplicates of those used in promotional and educational material created by the deaconesses for use in congregations and other settings outside of the motherhouse (See ULCA 22/10). The slides in this series represent family and student life at the motherhouse, holidays, types of work conducted by the deaconesses, including medical work, parish work, welfare work, and ecclesiastical arts. In addition to being undated, most of the slides are unidentified.

ArchivalResource: 1 box (.3 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58797090 View

Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses Board of Trustees. Minutes 1885-1968

Title: Minutes 1885-1968

This series comprises minutes of the Board of Trustees of the Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses (MJDH/PMD) created as members carried out the duties assigned by the corporation's charter and by-laws. Minutes date from the first meeting of the board on July 18, 1885 - October 1968. Minutes were handwritten in bound volumes through November 15, 1922, often with notations in the margins. Thereafter they are typewritten on separate loose-leaf pages. Minutes for executive committee meetings 1-53 from June 18, 1926-December 20, 1938 are also included. After 1938, executive committee minutes do not appear. It is not known if the executive committee ceased meeting or ceased publishing its minutes along with the board minutes. In 1954, minutes of the "first meeting" of the executive committee are found, and minutes of this committee occur once or twice more. Minutes usually included the date and place of the meeting, members present, approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, reports by the directing sister, directing pastor, treasurer, and committee chairs. Reports on the health of sisters and their work at stations of service were included, as well as reports on residents of the MJDH and on the Lankenau School for Girls. Financial matters, including upkeep of the properties of the corporation, were discussed. Actions taken and resolutions passed were recorded. New business generally preceded adjournment. Minutes from 1885-1918 are in German. Beginning in 1919, the minutes are in English. The translated "Notes" from 1885-1894 are about matters in the minutes which pertained to the deaconesses; they do not mention other matters. The notes are generally paraphrases rather than direct translations and their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Although the Philadelphia and Baltimore motherhouses merged in 1963, the MJDH/PDM corporation continued in existence and the minutes have been kept together for continuity purposes. It is not clear from the available materials when the MJDH/PMD corporation ceased to exist. The condition of the materials is good, except for the second bound volume from 1894-1910, which is in fair condition with some loose pages.

ArchivalResource: 4 boxes (1.4 cubic ft.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/229456754 View