Manuscripts Collection
Amherst H. Wilder was a St. Paul pioneer businessman and philanthropist who arrived in the city in 1859 from New York. Why he came to St. Paul is unknown. He was born in 1828 and died of a kidney infection on November 11, 1894 at the age of 66. His business activities included interests in mercantile, real estate, transportation (including freight, stage coach, and railroads), banking, and lumber companies.
He married Fanny S. Wilder in 1861 and they had one daughter, Cornelia Day Wilder. Family trips to Europe in the late 1880s prompted Amherst H. Wilder to form up a will in case he and his family died traveling at sea. If this occurred, it specified that his fortune was to be used for charitable purposes in St. Paul.
Amherst H. Wilder's last will specified that one-third of his estate go to his wife, one-third to his daughter, and the rest to be placed in trust for the benefit of the children of his daughter. His last will stated that if his daughter died childless, then after the death of his wife a large portion of his estate should go toward the endowment of a charity “to aid and assist the poor, sick, aged, or otherwise needy people of St. Paul.” Both Amherst's wife and daughter had similar provisions in their wills to form charitable organizations after they died.
Amherst H. Wilder's business operations and family life were closely intertwined. He had numerous business interests beyond the Wilder charities and this is reflected in the Wilder family papers through the A. H. Wilder & Company records, the O. F. A. Insurance Company records, the Superior Water, Light, and Power Company records, stock and bond registers, and estate papers.
Fanny Spencer came to St. Paul from Utica, New York to visit her brother and soon met Amherst H. Wilder. They got married in 1861. During the late 1880s their home was built on Summit Avenue in St. Paul near the James J. Hill residence.
Fanny S. Wilder survived both her husband and daughter, and she died April 5, 1903, three months after her daughter Cornelia.
She named Victor M. Watkins as the executive officer of the executors of her will and of any corporation formed with the provisions of her will.
Cornelia Day Wilder was born in 1868. It is thought that Cornelia's volunteer work with the poor influenced her parents philanthropy, and that she had a very close relationship with her father. She worked with her father during the last years of his life on ideas for an endowment to serve the poor and needy in St. Paul.
She married Dr. T. E. W. Villiers Appleby in 1897. She met him while volunteering for the Society for the Relief of the Poor, and he signed an ante nuptial contract reserving all power over the Wilder fortune to Cornelia Day.
Cornelia Day Wilder Appleby died childless on January 20, 1903. After Cornelia died Dr. T. E. W. Villiers Appleby attempted to have the ante nuptial set aside but the courts upheld it. Cornelia left him an annual income of $10,000. Dr. T. E. W. Villiers Appleby agreed to a cash settlement with the trustees of the estate.
The Wilder family's vision was to “aid and assist and to furnish relief and charity for the worthy poor, sick, aged, or otherwise needy people of the said City of St. Paul.” The wills of Amherst H. Wilder, his wife Fanny S. Wilder, and his daughter Cornelia Day Wilder Appleby set up charities to honor this vision.
Between 1903-1910 the Wilder estates and charities were involved in litigation as a result of potential heirs who sought to set aside the Wilder family wills. The wills were challenged in five different lawsuits. The Charity created by Amherst H. Wilder did not begin until 1906 and those founded by his wife and daughter did not start until 1909.
The three separate charities, all named for Amherst H. Wilder, merged in 1910 to become the Amherst H. Wilder Charity. The consolidation was approved April 17, 1909 and occurred in December 1910. The net worth of the Amherst H. Wilder Charity in December 1910 was approximately $2.6 million.
In 1953, the Amherst H. Wilder Charity's name was changed to the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.
These documents are organized into the following sections:
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation photograph collection is cataloged separately in the Minnesota Historical Society sound and visual collections.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics
should
Access to the microfilmed minutes and financial reports, 1910-1971 (M436) and microfilmed board meeting minutes, 1971-2006 (M679) is restricted for fifty (50) years from creation date. Please consult the reference staff for more information.
M436: Minutes and financial reports, 1910-1971: St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society, [197-?]. 35 mm.
M679: Board meeting minutes, 1971-2006: St. Paul, Minnesota: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, August 2006. 35 mm.
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation; St. Paul, Minnesota.
Accession numbers: 2972; 10,220; 10,229; 11,388; 12,334; 14,556; 15,845; 16,287; 16,634
This finding aid brought together three previously separate portions of records and papers created by the Amherst H. wilder family and the charitable foundations they endowed. These were the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation records, originally 15.5 cubic feet; the Amherst H. Wilder and family papers, originally 15.0 cubic feet; and microfilmed Amherst H. Wilder Foundation minutes and financial reports (M436 and M679). These three portions were combined into one collection when the heavy presence of mixed family and Foundation records apparent in accession number 16634 prompted their integration.
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Catalog ID number: 001716515
Family papers include records of the Wilder family and Wilder estates, arranged by family member, except for a few miscellaneous items. Estate papers can be found with each family member. Estate papers include financial records, wills, and documents related to litigation involving the Wilder estates. Some real estate records are also available.
Amherst H. Wilder's business interests (including railroads in Minnesota and Iowa, and water and power interests in Minnesota and Wisconsin) are reflected in records from the A. H. Wilder & Company, O. F. A. Insurance Company, St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad Company, and Superior Water, Light, and Power.
Includes final decree and change of trustees.
Includes other documents used in preparing the formal Wilder estate inventory done in 1895.
Includes plats of Fanny S. Wilder's homestead, and other properties sold across Minnesota.
Amherst H. Wilder's first job in St. Paul was working with James and Henry Burbank, his cousins. By 1866 he and his brother-in-law James C. Merriam bought out the Burbanks and operated the company as A.H. Wilder & Company.
For the Wilder family and estates.
Records of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation and its three predecessor charities that were formed by Wilder family wills: the Amherst H. Wilder Charity, the A. H. Wilder Charity Founded by Fanny S. Wilder, and the Amherst H. Wilder Charity Founded by Cornelia Day Wilder Appleby.
These records focus mostly on financial records (cashbooks, ledgers, journals, cash registers, balance books) and include real estate records, board meeting minutes, financial reports, published materials, subject and agency files, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and transcripts of an oral history project that interviewed Amherst H. Wilder board members and executives.
Includes drafts of article about the Wilder family and foundation and copies of oral history interviews with friends of the Wilder family by Jerry Vessels. Compiled by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.
Founded by Amherst H. Wilder in his last will. Organized into a charitable corporation in April 1904.
Founded by Fanny S. Wilder in her will. Organized into a charitable corporation June 1903 and began operations in 1909.
Founded by Cornelia Day Wilder Appleby in her last will. Organized in May 1905 and began operations in 1909.
Formed in 1910 as the Amherst H. Wilder Charity through a consolidation of the three separate charities founded by the estate of each Wilder family member, the name of the Amherst H. Wilder Charity was changed to Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in 1953.
This series includes minutes and financial reports, financial records, board meeting minutes, subject and agency files, and published material.
Volumes 1-2 include annual financial reports.
Volume 1 includes copies of the Amherst H. Wilder Charity's articles of association and bylaws.
Volume 3 also contains the changes in bylaws that were effected when the organization's name was changed to the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation on September 22, 1953.
Formed by merger of the three existing Wilder family charities in December 1910.
Includes all three Wilder family charities (Amherst H. Wilder, Cornelia Day Wilder, and Fanny S. Wilder).
Includes balance book, estate of Cornelia Day Wilder Appleby,
Includes index.
Includes number of each application, and references to minutes and letterbook.
Subject and agency files contain correspondence, statistics, reports, budgets, case histories, and miscellaneous information on a number of public and private health and social service agencies. Some larger files concern the Central Registration Bureau, 1915-1938; Community Health and Welfare Planning Council (an agency of the United Fund), 1957-1972; the Community Information System 1968-1973; day care centers, 1911-1980; a foster home study, 1960-1963; Metropolitan St. Paul Hospitals Committee, 1959-1969; St. Paul neighborhoods, 1969-1970; St. Paul Rehabilitation Center, 1949-1962; Selective Service screening project, 1942-1946; Wilder Dispensary, 1924-1960; and a WPA study, 1932-1936.
Correspondence, budget and payroll, and agency information.
Manual, correspondence, and newspaper clippings relating to the establishment of a permanent camp near St. Paul.
Correspondence, reports, and statistics, relating to a central registration bureau to coordinate benefits and services to individual families by different agencies.
Miscellaneous correspondence relating to various organizations.
Includes information on family welfare and emergency committee.
Correspondence, agency profiles, and minutes regarding a church-sponsored ecumenical organization incorporating Christian values into social action.
Correspondence and workshop papers.
This organization was part of the Greater St. Paul United Fund and Council. The Wilder Foundation Research Department did many of the research papers for the Greater St. Paul United Fund and Council. The folders include bylaws, correspondence, inventory of organizations, reports, papers of the Community Priorities Committee, the Loft (Summit University Teen Center) project reports, and information on unmarried mothers.
Includes neighborhood elections, Gerald B. Ouderkirk correspondence, multi-service policy, pilot center programs, and Robert Swanson correspondence.
Correspondence, proposals, agency statistics concerned with establishing a central information system to manage, compare and retrieve information from a variety of public and private agencies serving the community.
Includes statistics 1911-1980; minutes 1942 1943; and reporting procedures, 1951.
Reports, papers, and subcommittee minutes.
Minutes, correspondence, active boarding homes, training manuals, and reports. Includes list of prospective boarding homes.
Includes committee minutes, basic data, and an evaluation made by the American Public Health Association at the request of the advisory committee of the Council of Social Agencies.
Reports by Perrie Jones on her experiences beginning the service, how it was received, and what was needed to make it more efficient. Includes a list of books ordered with a gift of the American Library Association.
This council surveyed hospital facilities in St. Paul prior to the building of the St. Paul Ramsey Hospital. Includes 1944 health surveys, analysis, reports, daily hospital census, resource data, medical staffing, and publicity.
Includes material gathered to create neighborhood service centers, including correspondence, community profiles, minutes, and studies.
Includes Lower East Side, Payne Minnehaha, South St. Anthony, Summit University, Thomas Dale (Frogtown), and West 7th neighborhoods.
Includes indenture, quit claim deeds, memoranda, correspondence, blueprints, and miscellaneous material relating to land owned by Wilder and John Merriman.
Correspondence and report by the Minnesota Foundation evaluating the health and welfare agencies in Duluth and the program of the Ordean Foundation. Includes data on expenditures for community health and welfare services in Duluth.
Correspondence from Greater St. Paul United Fund and Council, Inc. relating to agency requests.
Includes correspondence, annual reports, 1949-1951, building fund information, memoranda, admission statistics, and 1962 dedication of new facility.
Report of medical inspections.
Community Services Committee.
The Wilder Foundation participated in this project; includes summary of methods and operations, correspondence, reports, and source data.
Material relating to state agencies administering approved public assistance programs.
Correspondence, program descriptions, and information on food and recreational programs.
Includes history.
Includes St. Paul Baby Welfare Association and statistics.
Delinquency project.
Includes wills, articles of incorporation, and bylaws.
Includes statistics and information about Dr. Hyman S. Lippman.
Research studies.
Summaries and activities of various agencies.
Correspondence, annual reports, 1947-1960; social service annual reports, 1949-1957; history, photograph album (partial), and statistics.
Patient personal and clinical cards.
Correspondence, dedication of new building, 1952; and 1962 Open House.
Newspaper clippings of strike and memoranda.
Includes Frank Rarig report and memoranda.
Includes estimates, statistics, and contracts.
Dedication lists, and speech, newspaper clippings, floor plans, publicity, and other materials. Includes Wilder Infirmary and Victor M. Watkins Convalescent Home.
Includes information on Youth Council, employment committee, and various projects.
Includes minutes, reports, and budgets.
Includes statistics, case histories, and correspondence relating to families on relief.
Prepared for the Planning and Research Council, Greater St. Paul Community Chest and Council, Inc. by the Amherst H. Wilder Department of Research and Statistics.
Prepared 1950.
Prepared 1950.
Includes correspondence addressed to Victor M. Watkins, after the death of Amherst H. Wilder. The correspondence also includes substantial information about the Breck Mission and Farm School (also known as Breck School and the Wilder Farm College).
Victor M. Watkins was the financial secretary and a close advisor for Amherst H. Wilder. He became the first president of the Amherst H. Wilder Charity until he died in 1921. He served as a trustee for the Wilder estates.
Includes newspaper clippings about the Wilder family, the Wilder wills, court cases involving the wills, Dr. E. W. Villiers Appleby, the Wilder Foundation, agencies and people connected with the Foundation.
The oral history project consists of various interviews conducted with board members, past and present, and leaders of the Wilder Foundation.
In the interview of Leonard H. Wilkening, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Wilder Foundation, some of the topics discussed include his childhood and family history; his employment with the YMCA in Iowa; working for the United Way; initial work for the Wilder Foundation; meeting and working with Frank M. Rarig, Wilkening's predecessor for the Chief Executive Officer position; some early programs Wilkening was involved with, such as the Candlelight program; empowering women back in the 1970s; health needs of the community and the Miller Hospital; issues in need of addressing such as crime, housing, senior needs, etc; concentration of efforts on the poor communities; decision making system and roles of the board; budgeting and finances; children's services; the Energy Park; reaching out to the community in various ways; importance of the Saint Croix Camps and the Wilder Forest; race and diversity issues; the inner city; and his retirement.
Another set of interviews was conducted with five of the Foundations former and current board members: Kennon V. Rothchild, Molly McMillian, Elizabeth “Sandy” Kiernat, G. Richard Slade, and Charlton H. Dietz.
In addition to mirroring much of what was discussed by Leonard Wilkening, some of the common ideas and subjects discussed by the interviewees include joining the Wilder Foundation and the initial projects; the board/staff relationship; Wilder Foundation as the fabric of Saint Paul; issues pertaining to diversity, socio-economic class, children, health, the elderly, housing and others; areas of particular interest to each narrator; demographics of the board over the years; and their passion for community outreach programs and helping others.
The other two interviews conducted were of Marilynn M. Lee, the former Vice President of Services to Children and Families, and Tom Kingston, the current (as of 2006) President of the Amherst Wilder Foundation. In her interview, Mrs. Lee discussed her work over the years in children and family services, beginning with an intern position at the Wilder Child Guidance Clinic, and later as the Vice President of Services to Children and Families. Tom Kingston, in his interview, discussed his initial involvement with the Wilder Foundation; initial projects and areas of focus; the Wilder mission and nondiscrimination; housing and health issues; presidency years; cultural needs of programming; children and elderly services; mental health and school services; challenges faced during his presidency; finances and program funding; and what the Wilder Foundation means to Kingston.