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William Morris Maier papers

 Collection
Identifier: HC.MC-1256

Scope and Contents

The collection includes materials from many different philanthropic organizations with which William Morris Maier served, especially those he served as treasurer for. Each organization comprises its own series, with subseries for correspondence, reports and publications, minutes, and financial papers.

Series I contains materials from the Ludwick Institute. Correspondence is mostly between the Institute and organizations it funded. These include the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, Thomas Edison High School, the School District of Philadelphia, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and WHYY Channel 12. There is also correspondence regarding investments with the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company and the Fidelity Bank, and business correspondence with other members of the Institute, including George Vaux. There are reports and publications both from the Ludwick Institute and from its beneficiary organizations. There is a near-complete set of minutes from Annual Meetings and other meetings between 1953 and 1978. The financial records are extensive, and include investment reports, tax materials, checks, and other materials.

Series II contains materials from the Friends Freedmen’s Association of Philadelphia. The bulk of the material in this series is correspondence. There are letters to and from beneficiary institutions, including Penn Community Services, Earlham College, Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, Howard University, and Fisk University, as well as to and from individual scholarship recipients and members of the Friends Freedmen’s Association. Individual correspondents include Harvey Henry, J. Robert James, and Samuel Evans. There are reports and publications both from the Friends Freedmen’s Association and from its beneficiary institutions, including materials from the Christiansburg Institute. There are minutes from the Annual Meeting of the Board, 1951-1978. The financial records are extensive, and include investment reports, tax materials, checks, and other materials.

Series III contains materials from the Richard Humphreys Foundation. Materials include correspondence, reports, and minutes, as well as financial records, especially relating to Cheyney State College.

Series IV contains materials from Cheyney State College, for which William Morris Maier served on the Board of Trustees. There is a subseries of correspondence, including a letter from president John F. Kennedy. The subseries of reports and publications includes programs from College events, newspaper articles, and materials related to the election of LeRoy Banks Allen as president of the college in 1965. The subseries of minutes includes minutes from meetings of the Board of Trustees.

Series V contains materials from the Emlen Institution, including correspondence, reports, minutes, and financial records. The correspondence includes a letter detailing the history of the Institution.

Series VI contains materials from the Friends Fiduciary Corporation. There is business correspondence, including that relating to representatives chosen by monthly meetings. The reports and publications include by-laws and policies, annual reports, and materials related to the merger of the Friends Fiduciary Corporation and the Trustees of PYM. There are minutes from various meetings. Financial materials include investment reports and tax materials.

Series VII contains materials from the Trustees of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. There is a small amount of correspondence, and the bulk of the material consists of monthly and annual financial reports.

Series VIII contains materials from the Representative Meeting of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. There is a small amount of correspondence. Reports and publications come from various sub-committees, including the Committee on Social Concerns, Arch Street Building Committee, and different Ad Hoc committees, as well as materials pertaining to the Meeting's addressing of specific concerns, including Pennsylvania House of Representatives bills. The Minutes also come from sub-committee meetings as well as the regular Representative Meetings, and also include materials distributed to be discussed at each meeting.

Series IX contains materials from other Quaker organizations. These are the American Friends Service Committee, the Chace Fund Committee, Haverford Monthly Meeting, the Friends Institute, the Friends Shelter for Girls, Friends World Committee, and Haverford College.

Series X contains materials from other charitable organizations. These are the Permanent Shelter for Colored Orphans, the Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, the Community Health and Civic Association, the Delaware Valley Settlement Alliance, Diversified Community Services, the Hampton Association of Philadelphia, University Settlements, and the Western Soup Society.

Dates

  • Creation: 1935-1980

Creator

Conditions Governing Use

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

William Morris Maier

William Morris Maier (1909-1982), the youngest son of Paul D.I. and Anna S. Maier, graduated from Haverford College in 1931 and the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1935. Upon graduation, he practiced law within his father’s firm, Cahall & Maier. Maier served on the Haverford College Board of Managers from 1938 to 1942, during which time he was active on numerous committees, including the Special Nominating Committee for a New President and the Special Library Committee. Maier also served as clerk to Haverford Monthly Meeting beginning in the 1950s. Like his father before him, Maier was active in many philanthropic organizations, including the Western Soup Society (Western Community House), Friends’ War Problems Committee, the Book Association of Friends, State Teachers College at Cheyney, and the American Sunday-School Union. From 1941 to 1945, Maier served as Executive Secretary of the Hawaii Branch of the American Friends Service Committee, during which time he met Margaret Waterman whom he married in 1943. He was a board member of the American Friends Service Committee for several terms between 1953 and 1969 and served as Treasurer of the Corporation of Haverford College from 1949 until his retirement in 1975. William and Margaret W. Morris had two sons: James Hollingsworth (1947- ) and Anthony Morris (1949- ).

Ludwick Institute

The Ludwick Institute was founded in 1799 as the Philadelphia Society for Free Instruction of Indigent Boys. Its name was changed in 1801 to the Philadelphia Society for the Establishment and Support of Charity Schools, and again in 1872 to the Ludwick Institute. As of 1995, it exists as the Christopher Ludwick Foundation. It was the first free education program in Philadelphia, first admitting only boys, but including girls beginning in 1811. After the public school system was established, the Institute transitioned from holding classes to funding public lectures at the Academy of Natural Sciences and organizing other public educational events.

Friends Freedmen's Association of Philadelphia

The Friends Freedmen's Association was established in 1863 as the Friends Association of Philadelphia and Its Vicinity, for the Relief of Colored Freedmen. Its sister organization was the Friends Association of Philadelphia for the Aid and Elevation of the Freedman. By the 1900s the purpose had become primarily to support students of color at local high schools and colleges in pursuing and obtaining their degrees. The Association was dissolved in 1982, and the funds became the seed for the J. Henry Scattergood Scholarship fund at Bryn Mawr, Earlham, Guilford, and Haverford Colleges.

Richard Humphreys Foundation and Cheyney State College

The Richard Humphreys Foundation was founded as the Corporation for the Institute of Colored Youth at Cheyney as a result of a bequest by Richard Humphreys (1750-1832), a Philadelphia Quaker, to establish a school for young African-Americans in Philadelphia. This corporation oversaw the running of the Institute, which later became the Cheyney Training School for Teachers and then Cheyney State College, until the state of Pennsylvania assumed control in 1922. The corporation was renamed the Richard Humphreys Foundation. While maintaining close ties with the college at Cheyney, the foundation moved towards using its funds to support the education of African-Americans to become teachers.

Cheyney State College was incorporated into the Pennsylvania state college system as a teachers college in 1922. It expanded to include general college-level education in 1951, and became a university in 1983.

Emlen Institute and Friends Fiduciary Corporation

The Emlen Institute was established as the Emlen Institution for the Benefit of Children of African and Indian Descent in 1838. It merged with the Friends Fiduciary Corporation in 1977. The Friends Fiduciary Corporation is a consulting group comprised of board members nominated from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.

Extent

11.67 linear ft. (28 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

William Morris Maier (1909-1982), a Haverford College graduate, was active in a wide variety of charitable organizations, especially those related to the Society of Friends. These papers consist of materials from his phlianthropic work with many organizations, including the Ludwick Institute, the Friends' Freedmen's Association, and the Emlen Institution.

Arrangement

Series I. Ludwick Institute

Subseries I.
Correspondence
Subseries II.
Reports and Publications
Subseries III.
Minutes
Subseries IV.
Financial

Series II. Friends Freedmen's Association of Philadelphia

Subseries I.
Correspondence
Subseries II.
Reports and Publications
Subseries III.
Minutes
Subseries IV.
Financial

Series III. Richard Humphreys Foundation

Subseries I.
Correspondence
Subseries II.
Reports and Publications
Subseries III.
Minutes
Subseries IV.
Financial

Series IV. Cheyney State College

Subseries I.
Correspondence
Subseries II.
Reports and Publications
Subseries III.
Minutes

Series V. Emlen Institution

Subseries I.
Correspondence
Subseries II.
Reports and Publications
Subseries III.
Minutes
Subseries IV.
Financial

Series VI. Friends Fiduciary Corporation

Subseries I.
Correspondence
Subseries II.
Reports and Publications
Subseries III.
Minutes
Subseries IV.
Financial

Series VII. Trustees of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Subseries I.
Correspondence
Subseries II.
Reports and Publications
Subseries III.
Minutes
Subseries IV.
Financial

Series VIII. Representative Meeting of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Subseries I.
Correspondence
Subseries II.
Reports and Publications
Subseries III.
Minutes

Series IX. Other Quaker Organizations

Subseries I.
American Friends Service Committee
Subseries II.
Chace Fund Committee
Subseries III.
Haverford Monthly Meeting
Subseries IV.
Friends Institute
Subseries V.
Friends Shelter for Girls
Subseries VI.
Friends World Committee
Subseries VII.
Haverford College
Subseries VIII.
Bible Association of Friends

Series X. Other Charitable Organizations

Subseries I.
Permanent Shelter for Colored Orphans
Subseries II.
Commission to Study the Organization of Peace
Subseries III.
Community Health and Civic Association
Subseries IV.
Delaware Valley Settlement Alliance
Subseries V.
Diversified Community Services
Subseries VI.
Hampton Association of Philadelphia
Subseries VII.
University Settlements
Subseries VIII.
Western Soup Society

Acquisition

Acquisition unknown.

Related Materials

Morris-Shinn-Maier collection (HC.MC.1191), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Processing Information

Processed by Elizabeth Peters; completed May, 2015.

Title
William Morris Maier papers, 1935-1980
Author
Elizabeth Peters
Date
May, 2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

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