Saunders House records


Collection 3687

( Bulk, 1862-1940 ) 1853-2011, undated
(3.6 Linear feet ; 8 Boxes, 7 Volumes, 1 Flat file)
© The Historical Society of Pennsylvania1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Summary Information

Repository
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Creator
Saunders House.
Title
Saunders House records
ID
3687
Date [bulk]
Bulk, 1862-1940
Date [inclusive]
1853-2011, undated
Extent
3.6 Linear feet ; 8 Boxes, 7 Volumes, 1 Flat file
Author
Finding aid prepared by Willhem Echevarria.
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Saunders House.
Language
English
Abstract
The Old Man's Home of Philadelphia was chartered in 1860 and opened its doors in 1864 in West Philadelphia, as a residence for old men in indigent circumstances. The home evolved to be Saunders House and began admitting women in 1960. In 1973, it moved to its current location adjacent to Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pa. Today Saunders House provides long-term care and rehabilitation services to up to 180 older adult residents. The collection includes the original Old Man's Home minute book; admission records; record of inmates; annual reports; financial reports; deeds and other property-related documents; newsletters; court records from an inheritance dispute involving the Old Man's Home; a program from the organization's 125th anniversary celebration; a Christian Endeavor hymn book, typescripts, and clippings.

Preferred Citation note

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Saunders House records (Collection 3687), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

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Background Note

A group of women visiting the Widow’s House in Philadelphia during the spring of 1860 realized that the city did not have a comparable institution for the care of older men. By the summer of that year a charter for the establishment of an old man’s home was granted by the Court of Common Pleas although the project itself was postponed for four years due to the Civil War. With the purpose of providing housing and care to poor-stricken old men The Old Man’s Home of Philadelphia was founded in 1864.

During the 1960s The Old Man’s Home became the Saunders House and started admitting women. In 1973, after many years located at the intersection of 39th Street and Powelton Avenue in West Philadelphia, the institution moved to the campus of Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, PA. By the end of the 1970s the Saunders House entered into a collaboration agreement with Chapin Memorial Home for Aged Blind. Financial support from the Chapin Home has enabled the Saunders House to expand both its physical facilities and the number of residents receiving care. As part of this agreement, Saunders House sets aside several admissions slots to older adults with visual impairments.

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Scope and Contents

The Saunders House records are divided in four series. Series I (Annual Reports) includes both yearly reports and several treasurers’ annual briefs.  Series II (Property Records) includes deeds, brief of titles, bonds, mortgages, searches, and insurance records of real estate owned by the Old Man’s House. Some of the deeds and other property-related documents are sorted by the owner’s name while others are divided by property.  Series III (Institutional Files) contains drafts of the Saunders House by-laws; admission records, 1888-1958; the original Old Man's Home minute book, 1861-1868; record of inmates, 1904-1915; court records from an 1882 inheritance dispute involving the Old Man's Home; a 1989 program from the organization's 125th anniversary celebration; and miscellaneous items such as a Christian Endeavor hymn book and loose papers.  Series IV (Publications) contains newsletters published by the Saunders House between 1973 and 2001.

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Overview of Arrangement

I. Annual Reports, 1866-1969; 41 folders

II. Property Records, 1853-1963; 4 boxes

III. Institutional Files, 1861-2011, undated; 24 folders, 7 volumes, 1 flat file

IV. Publications, 1973-2001; 8 folders

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note

Gift of the Saunders House; acquired in 2012.

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Related Materials

Related Archival Materials

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania:

Edwin Forrest Home. Records, 1792-1990 (Collection 3068)

Hayes Manor. Records, 1827-1994 (Collection 3108)

Indigent Widows' and Single Women's Society/Ralston House. Records, 1817-1985 (Collection 3099)

At other repositories:

Benjamin Rose Institute Records, 1908-1981. Western Reserve Historical Society

Eliza Bryant Home for the Aged Records, 1898-1963. Western Reserve Historical Society

Cambridge Homes (Cambridge, Mass.) Records, 1887-1994 (inclusive). Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College

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Controlled Access Headings

Genre(s)

  • Accounts.
  • Annual reports.
  • Deeds.
  • Minutes.
  • Newsletters.

Subject(s)

  • Briefs of Title--Philadelphia (Pa.)
  • Geriatrics--United States.
  • Nursing homes--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
  • Old age homes--Pennsylvania.
  • Older people--Home care--Pennsylvania.
  • Older people--Services for--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
  • Senior centers--United States.

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Bibliography

Saundershouse.org. Accessed on February 1, 2012.

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Collection Inventory

I. Annual Reports 
Box Folder

Annual Reports (1866-1867) 

 3 1-2

Annual Reports (1869-1870) 

 3 3-4

Annual Reports (1904) 

 3 5

Annual Reports (1911-1916) 

 3 6-11

Annual Reports (1918-1929) 

 3 12-23

Annual Reports (1930-1940) 

 4 1-11

Annual Reports (1941-1942) 

 4 12-13

Annual Reports (1944) 

 4 14

Annual Reports (1968-1969) 

 1 1

Treasurer's Annual Report (1941-1942) 

 1 5-6

Treasurer's Annual Report (1943) 

 1 11

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II. Property Records 
Box Folder

Bertha G. Collins to Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company--Bond and Mortagage (1889) 

 5 1

Davis Garrett to George Owen--Mortgage (1866) 

 5 2

Davis Garrett--Searches (1868) 

 5 3

Duval Polk to Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company--Bond and Warrant (1882) 

 5 4

Duval Polk to Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company--Mortgage (1882) 

 5 5

Edgar Darrah--Mortgages (1888) 

 5 6

Edgar Darrah to Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company--Bond and Warrant (1888) 

 5 7

Eugene Caldwell Jr. to Old Men's House--Declaration of Trust (1902) 

 5 8

John Cunningham--Searches (1871) 

 5 9

Mary Cunningham to James Waldron--Mortgage (1811) 

 5 10

Mary Cunningham--Searches (1873, 1878) 

 5 11

Old Man's House--Insurance Policies (1888-1889) 

 5 12

Old Man's House--Insurance Policies (1902-1903, 1916) 

 5 13

Old Man's House--Insurance Policies (1935) 

 5 14

Old Man's House and The Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia--Lease (1958-1963) 

 5 15

Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Brief of Title (1871, 1873) 

 5 16-17

Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds (1860-1861, 1865) 

 5 18-21

Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds (1867-1868) 

 6 1-2

Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds (1871, 1873, 1876) 

 6 3-5

Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds (1883, 1893) 

 6 6-7

Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Deeds (1902-1903) 

 6 8-9

Powelton Avenue and Boudinot Street--Searches Against Samuel White (1884) 

 6 10

Samuel White--Mortgages (1873, 1882, 1884) 

 6 11

Samuel White--Mortgages (1889) 

 6 12

Samuel White--Searches (1878, 1884, 1894) 

 6 13

Samuel White to Ferdinad Dreer--Bond and Warrant (1884) 

 6 14

Samuel White to Marshall White--Bond and Warrant (1887) 

 6 15

Samuel White to Mary Cunningham--Bond and Warrant (1873) 

 6 16

Samuel White to Wistar Building Association--Bond and Warrant (1882) 

 6 17

38th Street and Powelton Avenue--Release of Liens (1927) 

 6 18

39th Street and Powelton Avenue--Brief of Title (1873) 

 6 19

1933 E. Madison Street--Bond and Warrant (1930) 

 6 20

1933 E. Madison Street--Mortgage (1930) 

 6 21

1933 E. Madison Street--Policy of Title Insurance (1930) 

 6 22
Box

1314 Columbia Avenue--Property Documents (1853-1885) 

 7

311 N. 39th Street--Property Documents (1860-1902) 

 8

319 N. 39th Street--Property Documents (1883-1921) 

 8

321 N. 39th Street--Property Documents (1881-1895) 

 8

641 N. 45th Street--Property Documents (1878-1893) 

 8

3843 Powelton Avenue--Property Documents (1871-1894) 

 8

3909 Baring Street (Powelton and Saunders Avenues)--Property Documents (1852-1883) 

 8

836 Paul Avenue (Nebraska); Miller Street (Camden, NJ); Lot 41 of Block 56 (Pine Beach, NJ--Property Documents (1853-1932) 

 8

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III. Institutional Files 
Box Folder

Acts of Assembly; By-Laws (1864) 

 4 16-19
Volume

Admission Records (1888-1896) 

 1

Admission Records (1907-1922) 

 2

Admission Records (1922-1936) 

 3

Admission Records (1936-1958) 

 4
Box Folder

By-Laws (undated) 

 2 4
Volume

Court Records--Old Man's Home vs The Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind [2 copies] (1882) 

 6-7
Box Folder

Dedication Ceremonies (1973, 2011) 

 1 2

Financial--Accounts (1912-1940) 

 2 5

Financial--Bills and Receipts (1868-1884) 

 2 6

Financial--Investment Review (1933, 1935) 

 1 3-4

Financial--Investment Review (1942) 

 1 7-9

Financial--Investment Review (1943) 

 1 10

Financial--Investment Review (1943-1944) 

 1 12-14
Oversize

Memorandum--6/13/1872; Memorandum--6/13/1872--Typed Transcription; Resolution--Mrs. George M. McFadden (1872, 1913) 

 Flat File 1
Box Folder

Newsclippings (1973-1989) 

 1 15

Notes on Insurance and Mortgages (1893-1934) 

 2 7
Volume

Old Man's Home--Minutes (1861-1868) 

 5
Box Folder

Program--125th Anniversary (1989) 

 1 16

Record Book (1904-1915) 

 1 17

Report from Evaluating Committee; Resolution from Board of Managers (1958) 

 2 8

Saunders House--History (1968, undated) 

 1 18

Statement of the Organization and Progress (1865) 

 4 15

Miscellaneous (1979-1994, undated) 

 2 9

Miscellaneous-- Christian Endeavor Hymns (1894) 

 2 10

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IV. Publications 
Box Folder

Saunders House Visitor (1980-1987) 

 1 19

Saunders House Visitor (1988-1991) 

 1 20

Saunders House Visitor (1992-1995) 

 1 21

Saunders House Visitor (1999, 2001) 

 1 22

Sounds of Saunders House (1984) 

 1 23

The Spectacle (1973, 1979) 

 2 1

The Spectacle (1980-1981) 

 2 2

The Spectacle (1982-1983) 

 2 3

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