| Creator | Home for Aged Men (Boston, Mass.) |
| Title | Home for Aged Men (Boston, Mass.) records |
| Dates | 1874-1918 |
| Identification | CC 35 |
| Quantity | 1.5 linear feet (3 manuscript boxes) |
| Collection Abstract | The records of the Home For Aged Men include reports, correspondence and receipts, the latter of which were retained since so little information on the Home is available. The materials in this collection record the early development of the Home for Aged Men. The reports reflect 19th-century attitudes toward the care of the elderly. The superintendents' reports cover the time period from 1884 to 1917. The superintendents during this time were Sarah W. Lincoln, Katherine A. Malloy and Helen L. Mallory. The visiting doctor's reports date from l9l3 to l9l8. The doctor during this time was Frederick M. Briggs. |
| Historical Abstract | The Home for Aged Men, a privately-funded home in Boston, was incorporated on April 2, 1860 and opened on November 6, 186l "for the purpose of providing a home for and otherwise assisting respectable aged and indigent men." The founders were Moses Grant, William Ropes, and Albert Fearing. Presumably, this institution was the first of its kind for men in the United States. The Home for Aged Men first opened at 17 South Street, Boston on November 6, 1861, where it remained for the next nine years. On February 2, 1870, in search of more living space, the Home moved to 133 West Springfield St., Boston, the location of Boston's first lying-in hospital. On August 8, 1956, in honor of a past president and director, Charles Edward Rogerson, the name of the home was changed to Rogerson House. |
| Language | Material is in English. |
| Location | Collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Archives staff for more information. |
Collection is open.
Copyright for materials resides with the creators of the items in question, unless otherwise designated.
Please contact the College Archivist with requests to publish any material from the collection.
[Identification of item: description and date], Home for Aged Men (Boston, Mass.) records, CC 35, Simmons College Archives, Boston, MA, USA.
Transferred from the Simmons College School of Social Work Library, 1991
Accession number: 81.011
Processed by Ann Collins, May 1984
Supervised by Megan Sniffin-Marinoff
The processing of this collection was funded in part by a grant from LTC. Moxie F. Goll (Ret.).
This collection guide was encoded as part of the LEADS project by Alyson Bowers, December, 2012
The Home for Aged Men, a privately-funded home in Boston, was incorporated on April 2, 1860 and opened on November 6, 186l "for the purpose of providing a home for and otherwise assisting respectable aged and indigent men." The founders were Moses Grant, William Ropes, and Albert Fearing. Presumably, this institution was the first of its kind for men in the United States.
The precursors to early homes for the aged were almshouses (also called public homes, poor farms or asylums) established in the early 1700s which provided the bare necessities of life to the socially disadvantaged, including the indigent elderly who often suffered from a variety of ailments. The inmates of the almshouses were usually supported by a community who segregated the elderly from the larger society. Privately-supported homes for the aged began to develop in the 1840's and 1850's at about the same time in that century that voluntary social agencies began to be organized, with little or no relationship between the two. The homes were often founded by religious denominations, immigrant aid societies and fraternal orders and attempted to provide spacious, clean quarters and nourishing food, and stood in sharp contrast to the almshouse. Many also provided medical, paramedical, and social services.
The corporation of Boston's Home for Aged Men would not accept any applicant who was born and raised in poverty. These men had to have been respectable, productive citizens of the community, who had fallen on 'hard times'. In many cases the inmates' only other alternatives to the Home were destitution or the almshouse. To guarantee the 'quality' of their applicants, the directors required a one hundred dollar entrance fee from those who were to be supported entirely by the corporation. While non-denominational, the Home was Christian-oriented; the third "House-Rule" states that every "inmate, except in case of sickness, is expected to attend family prayers." Other rules prohibited the consumption of liquor and the smoking of tobacco in the house.
Occupants were required to provide furniture and articles for the room they were to occupy. This would usually include an iron bedstead, bed, mattress and bedding. Those admitted who were supported by relatives or friends were placed in furnished rooms and were required to give satisfactory security to the committee for the payment of the sums named in their terms of admission.
Nineteenth century institutions for the aged attempted to create a "home" where the inmates would view themselves as members of a large harmonious family. This attitude is evident in the annual reports of the Home for Aged Men and reinforced by their published rules. Rule 5 reads, "A general table will be provided for the inmates, at which all who are able must attend punctually, and endeavor, by order and genial intercourse, to make such occasions seasons of agreeable recreation." In addition, Rule 21 reads, "To preserve order and harmony in the family, entire obedience must be paid to all the rules and regulations adopted for the government of the home." The men, upon becoming inmates, agreed to obey all rules and regulations and understood that this compliance gave them the right to remain in the home.
To enforce the rules, a superintendent or matron was appointed by the board. It was her duty to insure that order, neatness, and good conduct prevailed in the home. Other paid positions included a doctor, cook, assistant cook, launderers, chamber girls, table girls, an "engineer", and a seamstress. The Home for Aged Men first opened at 17 South Street, Boston on November 6, 1861, where it remained for the next nine years. On February 2, 1870, in search of more living space, the Home moved to 133 West Springfield St., Boston, the location of Boston's first lying-in hospital. On August 8, 1956, in honor of a past president and director, Charles Edward Rogerson, the name of the home was changed to Rogerson House.
The records of the Home For Aged Men include reports, correspondence and receipts. The materials in this collection record the early development of the Home for Aged Men. The reports reflect 19th century attitudes toward the care of the elderly. The superintendents' reports cover the time period from 1884 to 1917. The superintendents during this time were Sarah W. Lincoln, Katherine A. Malloy and Helen L. Mallory. The visiting doctor's reports date from l9l3 to l9l8. The doctor during this time was Frederick M. Briggs.
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
Collection is arranged into three series:
Part of the School of Social Work Library Charities Collection.
Note: The annual reports of The Home for Aged Men are not part of this collection, but part of the Simmons College School of Social Work Annual Report Collection.
This series consists of monthly reports addressed to the Board of Directors of The Home for Aged Men. Folders one through three are devoted entirely to superintendents' reports which describe deaths, illnesses, and gifts to the home. Needed repairs are also reported.
The first doctor's report to the Board is dated September 2, 1913, and is found in folder four. The remainder of these reports are interspersed chronologically with the superintendent's reports through folder eight. The doctor's reports consist of a brief summary of the condition of the inmates health and a report of recent deaths with comments about the circumstances surrounding those deaths.
Box 1
The correspondence series consists of two letters. One is a letter addressed to the trustees of The Home for Aged Men from a man requesting admission to the home. The other letter, dated June 10, 1881, is written by the president of the Home, and refers to the letter of admission.
Box 1
The receipts series consists of three subseries: service, beneficiary and general. The service subseries consists of treasury receipts from monies paid out to employees of the Home for Aged Men. The beneficiary subseries consists of treasury receipts of monies paid out to beneficiaries of the Home. The general subseries consists of receipts for goods and services purchased by the Home.
Box 1
Box 1
Box 2
Box 2
Box 3
