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Grandom Institution (Philadelphia, Pa.)

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG4-040

Scope and Contents

The collection contains original minutes, financial records, annual reports (typed, printed), deeds, correspondence, etc. Also, bound volumes and folders of miscellaneous papers and two framed documents.

Dates

  • Creation: 1765-1971

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.

Biographical / Historical

Hartt Grandom (1778-1840), the son of Philadelphia Quaker parents, provided in his will for his considerable estate to be used for a number of charitable purposes, primarily the establishment of a permanent fund “to alleviate the most prudent of the poor (but not the intemperate) in procuring fuel, clothing and other necessaries, which such persons want in winter...” A second provision was made for a society “composed of discreet members” who would dispense financial aid to young men needing assistance in getting started in trade, “and whose parents are unable or unwilling to aid them.” In accordance with this bequest, The Grandom Institution was chartered in 1841 and organized in 1846. The incorporators and the managers were largely members of the Society of Friends.

Additions to the funds of the Institution have been made from time to time by bequest.

In 1926 the Fuel Savings Society of the City and Liberties of Philadelphia, established in 1821 for distribution of fuel to the poor, became affiliated with The Grandom Institution when the two organizations had the same managers. A further consolidation was effected in 1956 when the Philadelphia Soup House, founded in 1814 as The Society for Supplying the Poor with Soup, remained a separate corporate entity, but its managers had dual membership, also serving as managers of The Grandom Institution.

In 1937 the Fuel Savings Society received a bequest which from that time on was treated separately as The William Keinath Coal Endowment. In 1971 the distribution of fuel and food was turned over to the Philadelphia Board of City Trusts.

Extent

8.5 linear ft. (17 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Grandom Institution was a charity established in 1841 through the will of Hartt Grandom, a Philadelphia Quaker, to provide fuel, clothing, and financial assistance to poor Philadelphians. The collection contains minutes, reports, legal, and financial records, as well as similar records of two affiliated but independent organizations, the Fuel Savings Society of the City and Liberties of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Soup House and records pertaining to the William Keinath Fund, an endowment for free fuel.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into six series. The series are:

  1. History, Constitution, and By-Laws
  2. Legal papers
  3. Minute books
  4. Annual reports
  5. Financial records
  6. Miscellaneous

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Physical Location

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Deposited by The Grandom Institution, 1971

Immediate Source of Acquisition

In 1971, distribution of fuel and food was turned over to that Philadelphia Board of City Trusts, and individual managers of the Grandon Institution, Fuel Savings Society, and Philadelphia Soup House no longer had direct responsibility for distribution to the needy. At that time these records were deposited by the Grandom Institution. A few items, source unknown, were added from SG 3.

Processing Information

These papers of these three affiliated institutions were processed as a single collection under the title “The Grandom Institution” when they were received in 1971.

Title
An Inventory of the Grandom Institution (Philadelphia, Pa.) Records, 1765-1971
Author
FHL staff
Date
2000
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English
Sponsor
Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library

Contact:
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Swarthmore Pennsylvania 19081 USA