LEGAL DOCUMENTS, 1856 - 1998

The Widows Home of Dayton Collection chronicles the history of the home from its inception in 1870 through 2002. The collection was donated to Wright State by Janett S. Cavender, President of the Board of Directors of the Widows Home. The collection is 10 linear feet filling 24 hollinger boxes. The collection includes pictures, slides, deeds, daily census records, board minutes, newspaper clippings and administration records, including budgets and fund raising activities from the beginning of the home to the present. The property shall be open to the research public without restrictions except one, and that is that the names of residents of the Widows Home of Dayton and the dates of their residency will become available to researchers upon the death of the resident. Copyrights are dedicated to the public, but any publication of material from the collection should include the credit line, "From the Widows Home of Dayton Collection housed in Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries."

SERIES I ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

This series of papers includes histories of the Home written at different times from the early 1900's until the 1990's. Some of the histories are dated, others are not. There are also legal documents showing the process by which a person gained admission to the home. The legal documents also include wills, birth and death certificates of early residents. Fundraising and donations were necessary to keep the Home in operation and include papers from Harvest Home, charity fundraisers and financial gifts to the home. Building information includes the code of regulations, building plans from the Widows Home and feasibility studies. There are patient census records from 1936, 1993, 1994 and 1995. The reports from the committees range in dates from 1886 to 1997. Administrator's reports range in date from 1986 until 1997. Board minutes range in date from 1891 until 1995. All of these records give the researcher a good overall view of the development of the Home since its inception in 1870, to the present day.

SERIES II FINANCIAL RECORDS

This series includes daily expense reports and activities from 1889 to 1896, and from 1915 to 1920. This gives the researcher an idea of daily life in the early days of the Home, and the generosity of the community who donated food and money. Monthly expense records date from 1932 to 1934. There are records of various funding projects from 1915 until 1929, records of the building fund monthly expenses from 1950 until 1952, and the building fund bankbook from 1959 to 1968. Finance Committee reports range in date from 1931 until 1949. Financial statements range in date 1969 until 1993. Budget and audit reports range in date from 1950 until1996. Endowments reports range in dates from 1961 until 1998.

SERIES III PHOTOGRAPHS, SLIDES AND SCRAPBOOKS

This series contains many slides, pictures and scrapbooks containing the pictures of current and former residents. Most of the photographs and slides are of the residents celebrating various holidays, along with numerous photographs of the interior, exterior and grounds of the Home. Unfortunately, while there are dates on many of the slides and photographs, only a few of the individuals are identified. The researcher will need to know who they are looking for and what the person looked like while using this series, unless they just want general pictures for a project.