| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Family Service Association of Cleveland |
| Title: | Family Service Association of Cleveland Photographs |
| Dates: | 1875-1967 |
| Extent: | 0.40 linear feet (1 container) |
| Abstract: | The Family Service Association of Cleveland was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1867 as the Cleveland Bethel Union. It extended its services to all the city's poor, transients and unemployed in 1873 and renamed itself the Bethel Relief Association. It merged in 1884 with the Charity Organization Society (founded 1881) and was renamed Bethel Associated Charities, with the added function of investigation and registration of all cases. In 1900 it changed its name to Cleveland Associated Charities and began an era of modern social casework. In 1945 it adopted a new name, Family Service Association, and changed its focus from relief to professional casework services. It merged in 1976 with the Travelers Aid Society and various day care centers to form the Center for Human Services. The collection consists of individual portraits of Family Service Association staff members and views of families and neighborhoods served by the Family Service Association of Cleveland. Included are views of early twentieth century slum conditions in some of the neighborhoods served. |
| PG Number | PG 254 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
The Family Service Association of Cleveland has served the people of Cleveland, Ohio, as a social service organization dedicated to the preservation of family life since 1884. The earliest predecessor agency of the Family Service Association was the Western Seamen's Friends Society, organized in 1830 to conduct missionary work among Great Lakes sailors. The Cleveland Bethel Union, founded in 1867 by twenty Clevelanders, among whom were Daniel P. Eels, Mrs. Hiram Little, Mr. and Mrs. Marcus A. Hanna, Henry C. Blossom, General and Mrs. James Barnett, Solon L. Severance, John G. Jennings, Edwin Cowles, Henry A. Sherwin, Mrs. Henry Chisholm, Loren Prentiss, Edward C. Pope, and John D. Rockefeller, absorbed the function of the Western Seamen's Friends Society and in addition maintained a lodging house and soup kitchen for families residing in the Flats neighborhood of Cleveland. In 1873 the Bethel Union formed the Bethel Relief Association to extend relief to a larger number of the city's poor, transients, and unemployed. A rival society, the Charity Organization Society, was established in 1881 and advocated thorough investigation before distributing relief.
In 1884 the Bethel Relief Association and the Charity Organization Society merged to form the Bethel Associated Charities. This new organization combined citywide relief to the worthy poor with accurate, systematic, and full investigation and registration of all cases.
In 1900 the title of the organization was changed to the Cleveland Associated Charities. James F. Jackson, the association's longest serving superintendent, took office in 1904 and served until his death in 1927. His arrival marked the start of modern social casework in Cleveland. In contrast to the usual practice of importing social workers from other cities, Jackson established an in-house training program. These classes were transferred to Western Reserve University School of Applied Social Sciences upon its creation in 1916. During Jackson's tenure, the National Association of Societies for Organizing Charity, later called the Family Service Association of America, was organized by the Cleveland Associated Charities and fifty-seven other charter members.
Between 1900 and 1930, the structure of the Cleveland Associated Charities grew to accommodate specific community demands. District offices were established to provide services to a broader range of the population: by 1916 there were seven district offices, and by 1933 there were twelve. Several committees focusing on particular problems or needs, such as the Home Economics Committee, the Sewing Center Committee, and the Child Study Committee, were established shortly after World War I.
During the Great Depression, the Cleveland Associated Charities faced large deficits in operating funds due to the huge increase in demand for relief. It operated under the threat of insolvency until the Federal Emergency Relief Administration ruling of August 1, 1933 required federal funds to be administered by public agencies. Consequently, the Cuyahoga County Relief Administration took charge of over one thousand of the staff, twelve district offices, and nine district committees. The Cleveland Associated Charities was reorganized into six district offices. Under Helen Hanchette, the first woman General Secretary, the association again focused on rebuilding and conserving family life, and in June 1935 the subtitle "Institute of Family Service" was added to its name. Psychiatric counseling, interrupted during the Depression, was resumed.
In 1945, the association adopted the new name Family Service Association of Cleveland. In the post- World War II period, professional case work services, rather than direct relief, became the sole focus of the organization. Financial assistance to clients had been reduced through the decades and was eliminated in 1956; case work fees were charged. The association took an active role in local child protective services and homemaker services for the elderly. In 1976 the Family Service Association merged with the Traveler's Aid Society and various day care centers to form the Center for Human Services. Today, the organization is known as the Center for Families and Children.
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Bethel Union
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Charity Organization Society
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Associated Charities
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Traveler's Aid Society
The Family Service Association of Cleveland Photographs, ca. 1875-1967, consist of individual portraits of Family Service Association staff members and views of families and neighborhoods served by the Family Service Association of Cleveland. Included are views of early twentieth century slum conditions in some of the neighborhoods served. The collection includes approximately 100 black and white photographs that measure 8 x 10 inches and smaller.
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of social services, charity, education, and neighborhood change in Cleveland, Ohio, during the twentieth century.
None.
Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult MS 3920 Family Service Association of Cleveland Records.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 254 Family Service Association of Cleveland Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
These photographs were removed from MS 3920 Family Service Association of Cleveland Records. Gifts of the Family Service Association of Cleveland and the Center for Human Services in 1960, 1976, and 1982.
Series I: Families and Neighborhoods 1906-1967 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Cooking class ca. 1930 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | FTW counseling ca. 1930 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Families 1906 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Families and neighborhoods, including the Flats, Broadway, Huron, and Lakeside Avenue 1907 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Families and neighborhoods, including Bailey Court, Barber Street, and Franklin Alley 1909 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Families and neighborhoods, including the Haymarket District and Eagle Hill 1911 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Families and neighborhoods, unidentified 1913 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Greenhouse ca. 1958 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | International conference ca. 1924 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Permanent Floors, 5592 Ridge Road ca. 1958 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Picnic 1951 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Project Enable 1966-1967 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Residence, 5660 Ridge Road ca. 1958 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Ridge Road at Virginia Avenue ca. 1958 | |||||||||
Series II: Portraits ca. 1875-1960 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Margaret Lewis Alwood ca. 1920 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Ruth Baldwin 1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Mrs. Celena Baxter ca. 1925 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Anna B. Beattie ca. 1920-1930 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Constance Bell 1917 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Mabel Berry ca. 1925 | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Gertrude Bogart ca. 1925 | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | Margorie Boggs ca. 1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Lucille K. Corbett 1928 | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Florence Day ca. 1923 | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | Margaret Mensley Deeley 1921 | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Ruth Dunscombe 1958 | |||||||||
| 1 | 27 | Fred M. Goldenbogen 1899 | |||||||||
| 1 | 28 | Catherine M. Haley ca. 1923 | |||||||||
| 1 | 29 | Helen W. Hanchette ca. 1920-1940 | |||||||||
| 1 | 30 | Charlotte Henry 1952 | |||||||||
| 1 | 31 | Marion Homlin 1951 | |||||||||
| 1 | 32 | Margaret Hull ca. 1925 | |||||||||
| 1 | 33 | Flora Hyman 1921 | |||||||||
| 1 | 34-41 | James F. Jackson ca. 1875-ca. 1926 | |||||||||
| 1 | 42 | Jean Kirkpatrick 1951 | |||||||||
| 1 | 43 | Ruth Locher 1950 | |||||||||
| 1 | 44 | Elizabeth Lyman 1920 | |||||||||
| 1 | 45 | Dorothy Wheeland Lynde 1928-1929 | |||||||||
| 1 | 46 | Elsie McChesney ca. 1919 | |||||||||
| 1 | 47 | Marion Coals McGowan ca. 1921 | |||||||||
| 1 | 48 | Malcom Nichols 1916 | |||||||||
| 1 | 49 | Ralph Overmeyer and Nancy Uebelmesser ca. 1955 | |||||||||
| 1 | 50 | Myrtle Perry ca. 1920 | |||||||||
| 1 | 51 | Bocelle M. Pralt ca. 1935 | |||||||||
| 1 | 52 | Mrs. Lucella Rampe 1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 53 | H. N. Raymond ca. 1895 | |||||||||
| 1 | 54 | Stockton Raymond ca. 1930 | |||||||||
| 1 | 55 | Georgia Royer Reynolds 1919 | |||||||||
| 1 | 56 | Agnes Schroeder ca. 1920 | |||||||||
| 1 | 57 | Mildred Schuch 1921-1922 | |||||||||
| 1 | 58 | Dr. Henry C. Schumacher 1930 | |||||||||
| 1 | 59 | William R. Seager ca. 1900 | |||||||||
| 1 | 60 | Ernest Smith ca. 1940 | |||||||||
| 1 | 61 | William R. Smith ca. 1950 | |||||||||
| 1 | 62 | Myra Thomas 1951 | |||||||||
| 1 | 63 | Pauline Marshall Thomas 1923 | |||||||||
| 1 | 64 | Helen Walker 1923-1924 | |||||||||
| 1 | 65 | Virginia Shackleford Williams ca. 1928 | |||||||||
| 1 | 66 | Elaine Zdara 1916 | |||||||||