Guide to the Beneficial Society of North Italy Records 1930-1998
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Beneficial Society of North Italy Records
- Creator
- Beneficial Society of North Italy (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Collection Number
- MSS 356
- Extent
- 1.75 linear feet (4 boxes)
- Date
- 1930-1998 (bulk 1964-1985)
- Abstract
- The Beneficial Society of Northern Italy was founded in 1930 in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pa. This organization primarily functioned as a beneficial society that provided insurance for its members in case of illness or death. It also served as a social club, where members could gather and host social events. The Beneficial Society of Northern Italy Records are housed in four archival boxes and are arranged in three series. Series have been created for membership records, financial records and founding documents and photographs. These papers include a constitution and by-laws, membership files, organization minutes, correspondence, membership cards and applications, and financial accounts and receipts.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English and Italian .
- 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
The Beneficial Society of Northern Italy was founded in 1930 in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pa. It was first located at 555 Larimer Avenue and then moved to 1277 Nelson Street in 1947. A third move occurred in the mid-1980s when the Nelson Street location was sold. The organization was founded for a two-fold purpose. Primarily it functioned as a beneficial society that provided insurance for its members in case of illness or death. It also served as a social club, where members could gather and host social events.
As its name indicates, this society was originally established to serve men who had immigrated from various communities in northern Italy. In addition, male relatives of these immigrants were also welcome. Over time, the organization was opened to all men of Italian descent. However, women were not permitted to maintain memberships. The female relatives of members were encouraged to join the society's women auxiliary, the Ladies North Italian Lodge.
At its founding, membership in the Beneficial Society was $1.25 a month. Only the active memberships were given access to the financial benefits of the society. The social members, while permitted to use the club's social facilities, were not given monetary compensation due to illness or death. Only the Active members, who paid regular dues, were permitted to make use of the beneficial funds provided in case of illness or death.
Society members met once a month for meetings but also regularly participated in social events. One such event was the weekly dance held on Saturday, which was open to the entire community. During the society's social events, member's made use of the facility's kitchen and bar, bowling alley, and Bocce courts. The building at Nelson Street has the distinction of having been built almost entirely by Society members, many of whom worked in the construction industry.
The languages spoken in the club itself included Italian, English, and the local northern dialect of Fruilano. The money used by the society for the support of its members was raised by the members' dues and by other fundraising activities. Unlike the women's society, the men's club did not participate in various charity causes outside of its membership.
Scope and Content Notes
The Beneficial Society of Northern Italy Records are housed in four archival boxes and are arranged in three series. Series have been created for membership records, financial records and founding documents and photographs. These papers include membership files, organization minutes, correspondence, membership cards and applications, and financial accounts and receipts. The dates of the collection cover nearly the entire life of the organization; however, the individual items are only a mere snapshot of one or more periods. The financial records also demonstrate the members' past-times by the payment of bills for supplies and maintenance of equipment for various activities. The records communicate the centrality of the members' Italian ethnicity in the fact that the minutes of each meeting were entered into the volume in both Italian and English.
The Society had a loose association with the Ladies North Italian Lodge (MSS# 294) due to the fact that they represented the female equivalent of the Beneficial Society's all male membership. The lodge is also partially represented within this collection.
Series I: Membership Records (1931-1990)
The series is comprised of three main groups of documents. The first is the membership rolls and meeting minutes, which cover the 1930s and 1940s. The second group includes records of the active and social membership during the period of 1964 to 1985. The third group of records is that of the correspondence and other files involved in the day-to-day activities of the Society. The records are incomplete, with multiple gaps in the years involved. The records of the assignment of the beneficiaries for member's death benefits provide a unique insight into methods of insurance before the establishment of Social Security.
Series II: Financial Records (1931-1984)
The records in this series that best capture the financial activities of the society are the dues payments from 1931-¬1949 and 1964 to 1982. In addition, this series also includes records that document the expenses and income to maintain the bar. No other facilities of the club are accounted for between the 1960s and 1970s. Only one account book relates to the accounts of the society's bowling alley on Nelson Street. There is a complete absence of any records in this series for the 1950s.
Series III: Founding Documents and Photographs (c1940-1998)
This series is comprised of records relating to the Nelson St. building as well as photographs. These include lists of the society's founding members as well as the contents of the Nelson St. cornerstone. Those records from the cornerstone are founders' lists for the Beneficial Society of North Italy and the Ladies North Italian Lodge and the constitution and by-laws of the society. In addition, this series also contains photographs of the cornerstone's removal in 1998 as well as images of members at the society's bar and kitchen c1950.
Arrangement
The Beneficial Society of North Italy Records is arranged into three series.
- Series I. Membership Records (1931-1990)
- Series II. Financial Records (1931-1984)
- Series III. Founding Documents and Photographs (c1940-1998)
Conditions Governing Access
None.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Petrina Lloyd in 1998.
Archives accession # 1998.0132
Gift from Anonymous in 1999.
Archives accession # 1999.0035
Preferred Citation
Beneficial Society of North Italy Records, 1930-1998 (bulk 1964-1985), MSS 356, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Preliminary processing by Anne Stullken in 3/2002. Finding aid revised and additions integrated by Sierra Green on 5/9/2013.
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
Ladies North Italian Lodge, 1935-1981, MSS 294, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center.
Beneficial Society of North Italy Oral History Collection, 1998, MSS 597, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center.
Photographs (3) and negatives of the Beneficial Society of North Italy, c1940, 1999.0004.
Subjects
- Beneficial Society of North Italy (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Ladies North Italian Lodge (Pittsburgh, Pa)
- East Liberty (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Italian Americans -- Cultural assimilation
- Italian Americans -- Economic conditions
- Italian Americans -- Ethnic identity
- Italian Americans –-Pennsylvania –-Pittsburgh
- Italian Americans --Social life and customs