00027 EPISCOPAL CHURCHWOMEN, DIOCESE OF MINNESOTA: An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society Finding aid prepared by Kathryn A. Johnson

MHS finding aid format: Fruin

 Finding aid encoded by Dennis Meissner December 23, 2003 OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Minnesota Historical Society Episcopal Churchwomen, Diocese of Minnesota. Episcopal Churchwomen records. 1882-1992. Minutes and related papers (1882-1984); financial records (1901-1985); reports (1961-1979); yearbooks, handbooks, and directories (1959-1990); annual meeting files (1985-1992); and historical information, constitutions, and bylaws (1882-1955) created by an organization founded in 1882 as a cooperative effort by Episcopal women to raise funds for missionaries and their families, later expanding its work to encompass all types of social action on behalf of diverse groups. 2.0 cu. ft. (2 boxes). See Detailed Description section for shelf locations. HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCHWOMEN, DIOCESE OF MINNESOTA

In June 1882 representatives of various Episcopal women's groups met and organized a branch of the Minnesota Auxiliary to the Board of Missions, to unite all parishes of the Diocese to "...raise funds, circulate missionary publications...and to clothe and educate missionaries and their families." The first meeting included Episcopal women from St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth, and other cities in the Diocese. From 1882 to 1892 the organization collected considerable funds, clothing, and other items. Later scholarships were added, along with study classes, a junior auxiliary, and an infant aid group.

From 1900 to 1982 the organization expanded its activities, responding to the many social changes during that period, incorporating work in prisons, lumber camps, mining locations, and ranches; charitable and other work during the two world wars and the great depression; and missionary work to Japan and Alaska, and among American Indians. In May 1956 the name of the organization was changed to its present title.

Folder one of box one contains "Episcopal Churchwomen of Minnesota, The First One Hundred Years, 1882-1992," by Catherine Gaines Boehlke (1981), from which the information in this sketch was taken.

 SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE RECORDS

Minutes and related papers (1882-1984); financial records (1901-1985); reports (1961-1979); yearbooks, handbooks, and directories (1959-1990); annual meeting files (1985-1992); and historical information, constitutions, and bylaws (1882-1955) created by an organization founded in 1882 as a cooperative effort by Episcopal women to raise funds for missionaries and their families, later expanding its work to encompass all types of social action on behalf of diverse groups.

Other items of interest include information on purchasing and distributing food and clothing to missions in Minnesota and elsewhere, with detailed lists of items purchased and their cost, and files containing historical data on Episcopal parishes in Minnesota (1981), which information was used in the preparation of a manuscript celebrating the centennial of the organization.

 OTHER FINDING AIDS

A print version of this finding aid is available in the repository; filed in ALPHA notebooks under the heading: Episcopal Churchwomen, Diocese of Minnesota.

 INDEX TERMS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: Church work. Episcopalians -- Minnesota. Missions -- Minnesota. Social action -- Minnesota. Women in church work -- Minnesota. Persons: Boehlke, Catherine Gaines. McConnell, Viola. Organizations: Episcopal Church. Diocese of Minnesota. Episcopal Church. Woman's Auxiliary. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Episcopal Churchwomen, Diocese of Minnesota Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

 Accession Information:

Accession numbers 12,961; 13,100; 13,664; 13,668; 14,038; 14,248; 14,643; 14,864

 Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, April 1993

Catalog ID number: 09-00037363

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the location and box numbers shown below.

151.E.17.10F 1 Historical information, [ca. 1882]-1981.

Includes extracts from minutes and other records, 1882-ca.1903; constitution and bylaws, undated and 1944, 1953, 1955; and "The First Hundred Years, 1882-1982" by Catherine Gaines Boehlke, August 1981.

 Minutes of board meetings, 1927-1984. 12 folders.

Includes programs of annual, semi-annual, and mid-winter meetings, January 21, 1927-January 17, 1978.

 Woman's Auxiliary minute books, June 14, 1882-December 2, 1901. 2 volumes. Church Periodical Club record books, 1904-1920. 2 volumes. Financial Records: Supply work: Missions: Financial records, 1943-1950. Orders and related correspondence, 1951-1955. 5 folders. Layette requests and correspondence, 1953-1954. Mission stories and letters, 1950-1952. 151.E.18.1B 2 Finance Committee: General files, 1971-1985. 2 folders. Budget, 1977-1978. Cashbook, 1967-1970. 1 volume. Cash journal, September 1901-November 2, 1917. Christian social relations, 1956-1985. Miscellaneous financial papers, 1913-1914, 1956-1962, 1973-1974, 1979-1980. Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1917-1970. Miscellaneous reports, 1961-1962, 1969, 1979.

Includes: parish reports, 1961-1962; St. Paul Deanery report, 1961-1962; Minneapolis Deanery workshop, June 1969; Cass Lake Episcopal Camp Board, October 1979.

 Yearbooks and handbooks, 1959-1981, 1989-1990. National Records: Triennial meetings: Minneapolis, 1976 and Denver, 1979. 4 folders. Miscellaneous papers, undated and 1960, 1967, 1969. Parish Histories, Viola McConnell, compiler, October 1981:

Compiled for the 100th anniversary of the Episcopal Churchwomen of Minnesota.

 Anoka - Worthington. 3 folders. Edited manuscript. Miscellaneous materials used in preparing the history. Annual meeting programs, 1985-1988, 1990-1992. Catherine Gaines Boehlke, "Profiles of Twenty-Five Episcopal Women," 1985.