Finding aid for the Jane Edna Hunter Papers, Series II


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Hunter, Jane Edna
Title: Jane Edna Hunter Papers, Series II
Dates: 1909-1964
Extent: 1.40 linear feet (2 containers)
Abstract: Jane Edna Hunter was the founder and director of the Phillis Wheatley Association, a residential and training center for African American women in Cleveland, Ohio. The collection consists of agendas, articles of incorporation, invoices, bylaws, checks, correspondence, a datebook, financial records, leases, a medical journal, minutes, newspaper clippings, notes, obituaries, pamphlets, poetry, press releases, receipts, reports, and a scrapbook. The collection primarily contains documents related to the personal business and financial activities of Hunter and the Phillis Wheatley Association Foundation.
MS Number MS 4867
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

Biography of Jane Edna Hunter

Jane Edna Hunter (1882-1971) was a professionally trained nurse who became a social worker after founding the Working Girls Home Association of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1911. Opened in 1913 as the Phillis Wheatley Association (PWA), the home for single African American women provided housing, employment, job training, social activities, and education. Hunter served as its executive director and executive secretary of its trustees until her retirement in 1946. The PWA became a model for clubs, homes, and employment services throughout the United States.

Born on the Woodburn Plantation near Pendleton, South Carolina, Jane Edna Harris was educated at Ferguson and Williams College, a secondary school in Abbeville, South Carolina. After a brief marriage to Edward Hunter, she attended the Canon Street Hospital and Training School for Nurses in Charleston, South Carolina and in two years moved to the Dixie Hospital and Training School at Hampton Institute, in Hampton, Virginia. Hunter migrated to Cleveland in 1905 and found employment opportunities and housing for African American women lacking. This issue led to her activism on the cause of single, migrant women. In 1911 she spearheaded the founding of the Working Girls Home. She secured funding to erect the eleven-story, half-million dollar residence and training facility of the Phillis Wheatley Association at East 46th Street and Central Avenue in 1927. In 1925 she completed law school at Baldwin Wallace College, passing the bar in 1926. Hunter served as state president and national vice president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) during the 1930s to 1940s and edited its state newsletter, the Queen's Garden. She was a founding member of the board of the Negro Welfare Association of Cleveland, which later affiliated with the National Urban League; a founder of St. Mark's Presbyterian Church; trustee of Central State University; a director of the Empire Savings and Loan Company, possibly the first African American financial institution in Cleveland; and a director of the Union Realty Company. She was active with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Progressive Business Alliance. Hunter was the recipient of honorary degrees from Wilberforce, Fisk, Allen and Tuskegee Universities. Jane Edna Hunter was also a landlord and operated a number of rental units on Cleveland's east side. In the early 1960s she was judged to be mentally incompetent and her personal finances were handled by her attorney, Charles Hadley.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Jane Edna Hunter

click here to view the Encylopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Phillis Wheatley Association


Scope and Content

The Jane Edna Hunter Papers, Series II, 1909-1964, consist primarily of agendas, articles of incorporation, invoices, bylaws, checks, correspondence, a datebook, financial records, leases, medical journal, minutes, newspaper clippings, notes, obituaries, pamphlets, poetry, press releases, receipts, reports, and a scrapbook.

This collection is of value to researchers studying African American women's history, social work, the Phillis Wheatley Association, African American women entrepreneurs, African American philanthropy, and Jane Edna Hunter. The collection primarily contains documents related to the personal business and financial activities of Hunter and the Phillis Wheatley Association Foundation.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by document type, then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 3527 Phillis Wheatley Association Records; MS 3544 Jane Edna Hunter Papers; and PG 74 Phillis Wheatley Association Photographs.

Separated Material

All photographs have been removed to the photograph and print collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

African American social workers -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
African American women -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Charities.
Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Hunter, Jane Edna, 1882-1971.
Phillis Wheatley Association (Cleveland, Ohio)
Phillis Wheatley Association Foundation.
Women volunteers in social service -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4867 Jane Edna Hunter Papers, Series II, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Jennifer Patton, 2000

Processing Information

Processed by Thelma Pierce and Samuel W. Black in 2002

Detailed Description of The Collection

Jane Edna Hunter Papers, Series II 1909-1964 undated

Box Folder
1 1 Account books, Cleveland Trust 1934-1962
1 2 Agendas, Phillis Wheatley Association 1949-1956
1 3 Articles of incorporation, Phillis Wheatley Association 1912-1947
1 3 Articles of incorporation, Promoters Investment Group undated
1 4 Bills, business and personal 1961-1964
1 5 Bylaws, National Phillis Wheatley Foundation 1953
1 6-9 Checks 1951-1965 udnated
1 10-18 Checkbook receipts 1949-1961 1964
1 19 Correspondence 1930-1965
1 20 Date book 1938
1 21-22 Deposit slips 1956-1965
1 23 Financial notes 1920-1963 undated
1 24 Financial records, miscellaneous 1930-1951 undated
1 25 Financial records, nursing care 1963-1964
1 26 Financial records, National Phillis Wheatley Foundation 1934-1963
1 27 Financial records, statements 1954-1965
1 28 Financial records, statements, United States Fidelity and Surety Company 1960
1 29 Financial records, stocks and bonds 1935-1965
1 30 Investment records 1960-1963
1 31 Journal 1913
1 32 Leases 1956-1958
1 33 Ledgers 1960-1963
1 34 Legal documents 1912-1963
Box Folder
2 35 Medical journal 1962
2 36 Membership card, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 1930
2 37 Minutes, National Phillis Wheatley Association Foundation 1946-1954
2 38 Miscellaneous material 1956-1962 undated
2 39 Money receipt booklet 1960-1961
2 40 Newspaper clippings 1949-1981 undated
2 41 Notes 1938 undated
2 42 Obituary, Julia West Hamilton undated
2 43 Poetry 1928
2 44 Press releases 1947-1949
2 45 Programs, National Phillis Wheatley Association Foundation 1957
2 45 Programs, unveiling of the painting of Jane Edna Hunter 1957
2 46 Property appraisals ca. 1960
2 47 Record of employees' hours 1962
2 48 Rent receipts 1952-1962
2 49 Reports, National Phillis Wheatley Association Foundation 1949-1953
2 49 Reports, Glenville Urban Renewal Steering Committee 1963
2 50 Rules, National Phillis Wheatley Association Foundation 1953-1954
2 51 Scrapbook undated
2 52 Tax statements 1961-1964