Newark Female Charitable Society (N.J.)

The Newark Female Charitable Society (Essex County, N.J.) and its auxiliary groups: the Crazy Jane Society, the Mother's Meetings Committee, and the Fresh Air Fund. The Society was founded in 1803 by a group of 117 women, under the leadership of Mrs. Elisha Boudinot. District managers visited Newark's poor and provided aid in the form of financial assistance, food, clothing, medical supplies, firewood and other household necessities.

The Crazy Jane Society, founded by Mrs. Edward Pennington in 1874 as a charitable sewing group, provided clothing and linens under the direction of the Newark Female Charitable Society until 1917, when the two societies merged. The Mother's Meetings Committee was established in 1882 as a service for poor women to augment their income by sewing while listening to Bible readings. Other committees include Kindergarten, Cooking School and Sewing School.

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