Guide to the Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens Records 1881-2007
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens Records
- Creator
- Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens.
- Collection Number
- MSS 0862
- Extent
- 21 linear feet (23 boxes)
- Date
- 1881-2007
- Abstract
- Jane Holmes founded the Home for Aged Protestants in 1881 and served as its first president until 1885. The Home, a non-profit assisted care facility, provided elderly couples a place to retire to together in a time when men and women usually were admitted to separate organizations. In 1978, the Home was rechartered as The Jane Holmes Residence. The Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens Records contain information about the organization's history, board minutes and administrative materials, resident admission applications and files, financial reports and ledgers, employee information, publicity and advertising materials, and photographs.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
In 1807, Jane Holmes (1805-1885) immigrated to Pittsburgh from County Antrim, Ireland, along with her parents David and Eleanor Kells Holmes and older brother William. The family resided on Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. David Holmes was a grocer, and established their family store, W. Holmes and Co. at the corner of First and Market Streets. Jane Holmes became one of Pittsburgh's earliest philanthropists, and her charitable pursuits continued throughout her life. In 1833 she established the Protestant Home for Incurables in her family's converted country home in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood. Holmes later founded the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, and in 1886 a bequest a year after her death helped establish the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.
Jane Holmes was often confused with the daughter of her father's brother who also was named Jane. To distinguish between the two, many referred to them as "Pittsburgh Jane" and "Baltimore Jane," as the latter had been born in Baltimore in 1814. The two Janes often collaborated philanthropically, including in 1871, when they raised funds to finance the Home for Aged Protestant Women (which became the Rebecca Residence) in Wilkinsburg on Swissvale Avenue and Rebecca Street. Both Janes also helped fund and establish the Home for Colored Children in 1880, today known was Three Rivers Youth in Brighton Heights.
During the late 19th century, it was common for elderly couples who needed care to be separated, with men being sent to almshouses and women to retirement homes. "Pittsburgh Jane" desired to provide a place where elderly couples could live together while maintaining a certain degree of normalcy. In 1881 she organized the Home for Aged Protestant Men and Couples on land adjacent to the women's home. The Home's official opening was on May 25th, 1882.
The Home provided residents with their own bed and bath rooms, communal dining rooms, reading and sewing rooms, a barber shop and beauty parlor, a "little shop," chapel, and several acres of garden-covered grounds. In 1953, the charter was amended to receive for admission single or widowed women in addition to men and couples. Many influential wives of Pittsburgh businessmen served on the board of managers and as president of the Home, including "Pittsburgh Jane" herself, Mrs. Thomas Mellon, Mrs. Samuel McKee, and Mrs. Paul J. Blum. Mrs. Mellon and Mrs. Blum, who both served for 24 years, were two of the longest serving presidents. The original home was built in 1869, and renovations were needed in the early 1970s to help modernize the facility. In 1978, the Home was rechartered as The Jane Holmes Residence, and came to be known as the Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens. The facility closed in the fall of 2007.
Scope and Content Notes
The Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens Records document the history of the institution, its residents, employees, administration, and management of the grounds. There is information about the organization's history, board minutes and administrative materials, resident admission applications and files, financial reports and ledgers, employee information, publicity and advertising materials, and photographs. The Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens Records have been arranged into the following 9 series:
Series I. Administrative Materials (boxes 1-2)
Box 1
50th, 80th, 90th, and centennial anniversary materials including pamphlets, histories and brochures; mission statements, by-laws, charters and amendments; 1880s Home for the Age Protestants mortgage; and annual reports from 1900-1930s and 2000-2003.
Box 2
Pennsylvania state licensing codes, healthcare rules and regulations, administrative correspondence, and legal services and insurance information.
Series II. Board of Managers/Directors ( boxes 3-6)
Box 3
Board of managers/directors meeting materials including membership lists, correspondence, strategic planning session materials from the early 2000s, and meeting minutes between the 1960s and the 1980s
Box 4
Board of managers/directors materials between the 1990s and 2007
Box 5
Ledgers of board of managers/directors meeting minutes from 1882 to the 1950s
Box 6
Board of managers/directors meeting minutes contained in 3-ring binder from the late 1990s through the 2000s
Series III. Resident Materials (boxes 7-12)
Box 7
There are registers that include information (including date of admission, place of birth, age when admitted, and date of death) for residents admitted between 1882 and c. 1965. Other ledgers contain bonds for permanent residents, resident applications (along with reasons for admission or denial), payroll and financial information, and payroll cash and securities ledgers and financial ledgers from the 1900s through 1965.
Box 8
Resident files, A-L, including medical materials, admission records, and other resident information. Primarily includes files for residents who passed away from the 1930s through the 1960s.
Box 9
Resident files, M-Z, including medical materials, admission records, and other resident information. Primarily includes files for residents who passed away from the 1930s through the 1960s
Box 10
Resident files including medical materials, admission records, and other resident information.
Box 11
General resident materials including room committee meeting records from resident meetings, terms of admission and changes, resident's lists, and admission application materials from the 1920s until the 2000s.
Box 12
Visitor logs and ledgers containing names and notes on those who visited the Home between 1889 and the 1950s.
Series IV. Financial Materials (boxes 13-17)
Box 13
3 cash book ledgers from the 1900s through the 1930s.
Box 14
Includes financial reports; review of the fund annual period ending 1990; 1990s external audits, Mellon and PNC trust statements; capital management reports; and 3 financial ledgers.
Box 15
Grant, trust, and tax materials including tax and IRS forms and information, foundation support documents, contributing trust records.
Box 16
Trust materials, foundation records, development documents, audit sheets, and payroll information.
Box 17
This box contains oversized cash receipts from 1964 through 1984, primarily from social security pensions.
Series V. Employee Materials (box 18)
Box 18
Employee materials include lists of staff, employee handbooks, EEOC complaints, employee resignations, and applications from the 2000s.
Series VII. Advertising (box 19)
Box 19
Newspaper clippings, newsletters from the 1990s through 2005, and examples of advertising in publications such as Pittsburgh Magazine and Pittsburgh Senior News, as well as capital campaign materials.
Series VIII. Visual Materials (boxes 20-21)
Box 20
Multiple photograph albums from the 1970s through the 2000s, as well as pages that were removed from photograph albums, which depict residents' gatherings, employees, and the grounds.
Box 21
Photographs of residents, staff, grounds, repairs of the premises, 3 reels of films, 35mm slides.
Series IX. Construction and Operations (box 21)
Box 21
Box 21 also contains blueprints, correspondence, bills, and other materials documenting various renovations, construction projects, and operating systems installed and updated on the premises.
Series X. Oversized (boxes 22-23)
Box 22
Mrs. Paul J. Blum scrapbook, other scrapbook materials, images of the building and grounds, and a photograph of Mrs. Thomas Mellon
Box 23
Oversized trust materials, construction blueprints, and ledgers with resident admission information
Arrangement
The Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens Records are contained in 23 boxes and have been arranged in 9 series:
- Boxes 1-2: Series I. Administrative Materials
- Boxes 3-6: Series II. Board of Materials / Directors
- Boxes 7-12: Series III. Resident Materials
- Boxes 13-17: Series IV. Financial Materials
- Box 18: Series V. Employee Materials
- Box 19: Series VI. Advertising Materials
- Box 20-21: Series VII. Visual Materials
- Box 21: Series VIII. Construction and Operations
- Box 22-23: Series IX. Oversized
Conditions Governing Access
None.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens in 2008.
Archives accession # 2008.0057
Preferred Citation
Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens Records, 1881-2007, MSS 0862, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Alex J. Toner on 11/19/12.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Related Materials
The Detre Library and Archives holds the records of Rebecca Residence (MSS 290), formerly the Home for Aged Protestant Women.
Subjects
- Jane Holmes Residence and Gardens.
- Pittsburgh (Pa.)
- Wilkinsburg (Pa.)
- Old age homes--Pennsylvania--Wilkinsburg.