Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Series 2: Ladies Home Building
Series 4: Resident Information
Ladies Home of Plainfield, 1910-2007.
Catherine Webster Home, circa 1927.
Finding aid written and encoded by Sarah Hull in November 2009;
collection processed in October 2009 by Sarah Hull.
Finding aid updated in March 2011.
| Title: | Records of the Ladies Home of Plainfield, 1910-2007. |
| Creator: | Ladies Home of Plainfield; Catherine Webster Home |
| Size: | 7 linear feet of records Comprised of 9 boxes: Six (6) 10” x 15” x 12” archival storage boxes One (1) 5¾" x 12¾” x 8" shoe box One (1) 31¼” x 5” x 5” blueprint canister One (1) 1½” x 14½” x 11½” photograph box |
| Repository: | Plainfield Public Library, Local History Department, 800 Park Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060 | Abstract: | The Records of the Ladies Home of Plainfield document the creation and history of the Home from 1910 to 2007. This collection documents the founding, funding, growth and activities of the Ladies Home program and its residents. Record types include minutes, program-related documents, financial records, resident records, correspondence, photographs, blueprints, newspaper clippings, and assorted ephemera. |
| Language: | The records are in English. |
Administrative Information
Access & RestrictionsPreferred CitationThe Records of the Ladies Home of Plainfield are available for research.
Access is restricted to materials prepared by the Local History department staff. All materials must be viewed in the Plainfield Room and may not be removed to another area of the library without permission of the Library Director or designee. Materials must be handled carefully and kept in order. Materials must not be leaned upon, altered, folded, ripped, or traced upon. Marks may not be added or erased from materials. Materials must be returned directly to Local History department staff and inspected before the researcher leaves the Plainfield Room.
One photocopy may be made (by Plainfield Public Library staff) of each document for the purpose of research; official Local History departmental reproduction fees may apply. Permission to publish must be obtained by the Plainfield Public Library Board of Trustees as delegated to the Library Director. Permission to publish does not constitute a copyright clearance. The researcher is responsible for further copyright restrictions. The Plainfield Public Library is not responsible for the misuse of copyrighted material.
Certain series within this collection are restricted (see below).Acquisition InformationIdentification of item; Date (if noted); " The Records of the Ladies Home of Plainfield,” Box and Folder Number; Local History Department, Plainfield Public Library, Plainfield, New Jersey.
Processing InformationThe collection was donated in 2002 and 2010 by the Ladies Home of Plainfield.
This collection was processed by Sarah Hull in 2009. The finding aid was written and encoded by Sarah Hull in November 2009. Finding aid content follows the guidelines suggested by Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
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Historical Note
The Ladies Home of Plainfield was incorporated on June 10, 1910, under the New Jersey act of 1898 related to incorporations not for pecuniary profit, to give effect to the Last Will and Testament of Catherine R Webster. Incorporators were Charles J. Fish, George D. Hallock, Horace G. Philips, Clarence B. Vail, Charles B. Vail, J. W. Buttfield and Ernest R. Ackerman. On August 3, 1916, the Plainfield Trust Company was appointed Substitute Administrator with the Will Annexed and Trustee under the Will of Catherine R. Webster after John Van Winkle resigned as executor and trustee of the estate for reasons of ill health. The original co-executor of Webster’s will, Joseph Coward, had passed away on July 25, 1907, leaving Van Winkle in control of the estate.
After unavoidable delays due to the First World War, high building costs, and inadequate endowment to maintain a Home such as Catherine envisioned, the property at 313 Franklin Place was purchased on April 1, 1927 for $34, 856.91. The Catherine Webster Home first opened in the fall of 1927. Entrance requirements were as follows:
- Any woman between the ages of sixty-five and eighty years may apply.
- Applicants must have been a resident of New Jersey for some time.
- Applicants must have been in reasonably good health (Doctor’s certificate required)
- Applicants must have furnished a guarantee of payment by two responsible persons acceptable to the Finance Committee, covering payment of weekly board, all expenses of illness (doctors, nurses, etc.) and funeral expenses.
- Applicants must have agreed to obey house rules that make for harmonious living.
The Ladies Home of Plainfield served as a residence until the 1990s when it was closed. The vacant building on Franklin Place was bought in August 2006 by the local Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). Their original plan to convert the building to eight apartments for women in need of transitional housing was withdrawn in March 2007 after objections were raised by area neighborhood associations.
There is no relationship between the Ladies Home and the YWCA. As of November 2009, the building is a privately-owned residence.Written by Anna Henderson in August 2008
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Biographical Note
Catherine Randolph Webster was born in her grandfather Webster's homestead on Watchung Avenue on March 6, 1825. Her mother, for whom she was named, died when Catherine was three weeks old and her father was fatally injured by a fall from a hay-mow when she was 4 years old. She was raised by her grandparents in Plainfield, living in a house on the corner of East Second and Church Street from age 12 until her death at age 83 on October 15, 1906. Her grandfather, a well-known builder, had constructed the home; it was demolished in 1937 along with its neighbor to make way for a gas station.
Catherine was educated in the Plainfield School system and later attended seminary in Rensselaerville, New York. She was a birthright member of the Friends’ Meeting and was actively identified with many charitable works in Plainfield. The Ladies Home of Plainfield, otherwise known as the Catherine Webster Home, was established by her will, which states:“All the remainder of my estate which may remain in the hands of my executors or the survivor of them, I do give, devise and bequeath the same to my executors of the survivor of them in trust for the following use, the real estate remaining unsold, to be sold at such time and in such manner as they may think best for the purpose of said trust, and make execute and deliver good and sufficient deed or deeds for the same, and from the funds in their hands, I do authorize and empower my said executors of the survivor of the, to purchase a lot of land in the city of Plainfield, New Jersey, of suitable size on which to erect or assist in erecting a building for the purpose of founding a Home for the aged and infirm women, to be know as a “Ladies Home” a deed for the said tract of land so purchased with its improvements thereon, to be executed and delivered by my executors or the survivor of them to a corporation to be organized for the purpose of said Ladies Home, to be held by it and its successors and assigns forever, for the purposes aforesaid, the remaining part of my personal estate, I do order and direct shall be invested and kept invested by my executors on good security for the purpose of said trust, and held by them until the founding of said Ladies Home and shall then be used by them in assisting to build and complete said building, and the balance of said funds remaining in their hands to be transferred and assigned to said corporation when created and fully established, as an endowment fun for the purpose of assistant in the support and maintenance of the same.”
Written by Anna Henderson in August 2008
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Scope and Content Note
The records of the Ladies Home of Plainfield include a variety of historical material spanning from 1910 to 2007, with the bulk of records dating between 1930 to1980. Record types include: resident records, program policies, meeting minutes (bound and unbound), correspondence, financial records such as cash books, receipts, bank statements and investment information, blueprints, and photographs. The two largest series are financial records and correspondence.
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Organization and Arrangement
The Records of the Ladies Home of Plainfield are arranged into five series:
Series 1: Program Materials, 1910-2007, undated.
Series 2: Building Materials, 1926-1997, undated.
Series 3: Financial Records, 1929-1991.
Series 4: Resident Information, 1927-1991.
Series 5: Correspondence, 1927-1965.
Series 6: Photographs, 1934-1998, undated.
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People:
Van Winkle, John
Webster, Catherine Randolph (1825 – 1906)
Organizations:
Ladies Home of Plainfield
Places:
Subjects:
Nursing homes – New Jersey
Old age homes – New Jersey
Plainfield, NJ – Clubs and organizations
Plainfield, NJ – History
Women’s history
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Related Items
Blueprints: D-4582, D-8618, and D-12795.
Collier Photographs: Catherine Webster Home, exterior and Catherine Webster Home, porch.
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Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
This collection consists of paper documents, photographs and blueprints which do not require any additional technology for access.
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Series Description
Series 1: Program Materials [1910--2007, undated]
Series Description Return to the Table of Contents Series 2: Building Materials [1926--1997, undated] Series Description Return to the Table of Contents Series 3: Financial Records [1929--1991] Series Description Return to the Table of Contents Series 4: Resident Information [1927--1991, undated] Series Description Return to the Table of Contents Series 5: Correspondence [1927--1965] Series Description Return to the Table of Contents Series 6: Photographs and Blueprints [1934 --1998, undated]
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