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Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home collection

Call Number

1985.102

Date

1883-1967, inclusive

Creator

Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home

Extent

0.63 Linear Feet in one and a half manuscript boxes.

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home collection consists primarily of annual reports spanning the years 1883 to 1967, though there are gaps in the reports, most prominently of which are the years 1917 to 1927 and 1931 to 1941. Also included in the collection are three tickets for fundraising events hosted by the Home (1880, 1890, and 1891), three programs for the Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home Annual Fair (1952, 1965, and 1966) and two miscellaneous publications (1888 and 1854). The Methodist Episcopal Church Home for the Aged and Infirm was established for the care of elderly men and women who were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Home, incorporated on May 10, 1883, was located in what is today the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, and sought to provide a comfortable residence for the elderly residents. This included room and board, clothing, employment, medical aid, religious privileges, and a respectable burial upon death.

Historical note

The Methodist Episcopal Church Home for the Aged and Infirm was established for the care of elderly men and women who were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Home, incorporated on May 10, 1883, sought to provide a comfortable residence for the elderly residents. This included room and board, clothing, employment, medical aid, religious privileges, and a respectable burial upon death.

Requirements for admittance included that residents must be at minimum 65 years old, have no means of adequate financial support, nor have living relatives who could provide for them. Further, to be admitted, a resident must have been a member, in good standing, of the Methodist Episcopal Church for 10 years, five of which as a member of a Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church. Finally, no person could be admitted who had a physical or mental condition, such as insanity or epilepsy, that could be considered detrimental to the interests of the Home. If a person acquired such illnesses after admittance, the Home would find a more appropriate facility for the resident and would bear no further legal responsibility for the care of the person.

The Home's first location was a rented building on the corner of McDonough Street and Stuyvesant Avenue in what is today the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. When the Home outgrew this facility, a new building was constructed. The new building, designed by Brooklyn architect Mercein Thomas and completed in 1889, was located at Park Place and New York Avenue on the border between today's Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. As of 2010, the building is the home of the Hebron Seventh-day Adventist Bilingual School.

Scope and Contents note

The Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home collection consists primarily of annual reports spanning the years 1883 to 1967, though there are gaps in the reports, most prominently of which are the years 1917 to 1927 and 1931 to 1941. Also included in the collection are three tickets for fundraising events hosted by the Home (1880, 1890, and 1891), three programs for the Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home Annual Fair (1952, 1965, and 1966) and two miscellaneous publications (1888 and 1854).

The annual reports list the board of managers from each church, committee members, the secretary's annual report, the treasurer's report (with detailed financial information for the year), names of financial benefactors of the Home, and the Home's constitution (including articles, bylaws, and amendments).

The Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home Annual Fair programs contain lists of the committees and committee members that hosted the fairs, memorials to deceased Methodist Episcopal Church members, lists of participating Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal churches and the committee members for each church, and advertisements of individual and corporate donors and sponsors of the fairs.

The first miscellaneous publication, titled "A statement regarding the Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home," pertains mainly to the justification and description of a new building for the Home. It includes fold-outs of an architectural rendering of the proposed building, fold-outs of floor plans, and information regarding the architect, Mercein Thomas. The second miscellaneous publication contains the minutes of the 34th session of the New York Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church, held in Brooklyn, N.Y. in March of 1864.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church Home collection, 1985.102, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was formally accessioned in 1985, donor unknown.

Collection processed by

Patricia Glowinski

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:19:04 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English.

Processing Information note

Minimally processed to the collection level.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society

Container

Box: 1985.102 1 of 2 (Material Type: Text)
Box: 1985.102 2 of 2 (Material Type: Text)
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201