Wednesday Morning Club Records 1885-1945 Guide to the Collection

Table of Contents Collection Summary Historical Sketch Sources Collection Description Acquisition Information Organization of the Collection Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms

Collection Summary

Historical Sketch

The Wednesday Morning Club was founded in 1869 by members of the New England Women's Club desiring greater freedom in discussion than a large club could allow. They organized a "Conversational" modeled after the Chestnut Street Club, where "all subjects might be discussed with safety and every member would return a true echo." The meetings were held every Saturday morning through the winter months for the next twelve years at Berkeley Hall. "The object was personal culture. Pleasant friendships were made, and the habit of thinking quickly, responding promptly, and refuting without arguing was formed, greatly to the intellectual advancement of the members, of whom there were usually about twenty present."

In 1881, the members, greatly reduced by death and removals, recruited additional members from the New England Women's Club. They elected a president and with almost forty members continued the "Conversationals" for four more years at 3 Park Street . The name was changed to the Wednesday Morning Conversationals to reflect a change in the meeting day.

By 1883, the nearly forty members proved too large for successful conversations and many members had begun to rely on notes during the conversations. As a result a shift was gradually made from conversations to full length papers presented by members. The club was renamed the Wednesday Morning Club. The meetings were held in members' homes and invited guests were often present. A set of by-laws was adopted and the membership was limited to forty.

Because many members were associated with other clubs, meetings were changed in 1888 to the first and third Wednesday of each month from November to May. In 1889, the meeting dates were changed again to the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. In 1895, the club became a member of the Massachusetts State Federation of Women's Clubs and, in 1908, became a member of the General Federation. Membership in the Wednesday Morning Club was by nomination and a vote of the Board of Directors. A waiting list was established for women seeking membership when the club had reached its maximum of forty members.

The club seal was created by Mrs. B. E. Cole during her Presidency from 1893- 1895. A complete history of the seal was presented at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the club in 1919.

Between 1900 and 1910, there was a shift from members presenting their own papers to soliciting outside speakers to address the club on their area of expertise. This continued until the club disbanded in 1945. The most common discussion topics were geography, travel, English literature, American and European history, and Western art.

In 1917, the Board of Directors voted to destroy a collection of old letters and papers pertaining to the affairs of the Wednesday Morning Club.

The club celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 1944. In 1945, remaining club members voted to disband the club due to a decline in membership. The club made arrangements to leave its records to the Massachusetts Historical Society. The final meeting of the club was a luncheon held in May 1945.

Sources

All quotes are from the Wednesday Morning Club yearbooks, Series V, Box 6.

Collection Description

The records of the Wednesday Morning Club, housed in 7 boxes contain loose records and bound volumes documenting the history of the club from c. 1890-1945. The records have been divided into five series: Administrative Records, Member Records, Meetings, Federation of Women's Clubs, and Printed Materials.

The bulk of the collection consists of Administrative Records, both loose and bound. The bound volumes of Administrative Records are primarily minutes of the general meetings, but also include minutes of the annual and business meetings, financial records, and attendance records.

The collection also contains records of the Massachusetts Federation of Women's Clubs and the Boston City Federation which were larger organizations made up of many women's clubs.

The yearbooks contain a listing of the meetings for the year and the meeting topics, as well as a history of the club seal, the club constitution and by-laws, the club history, lists of officers, lists of committees, and an occasional list of past presidents or a necrology. The printed yearbooks can serve as a good index to the minutes and researchers are advised to examine the yearbooks first or in conjunction with the minutes.

Acquisition Information

The records were the gift of the estate of Mary G. Pulsifer, through Morris C. Blake, executor, August 1958.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

The collection is arranged in five series: Administrative Records, Membership Records, Meetings, Federation of Women's Clubs, and Printed Material. Bound volumes follow loose records at the end of each series or sub-series.

Preferred Citation

Wednesday Morning Club records, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.