Union Settlement Association records, 1896-1995
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- Ms Coll[Union S.A,MS# 1149
- Bib ID:
- 4079915 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Union Settlement Association (New York, N.Y.)
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 31 linear feet ( 59 document boxes, 5 flat boxes, 8 tube boxes)
- Language(s):
- English .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
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The following boxes are located off-site: 1-59. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Boxes 53-59 contain program records of a confidential nature and are closed to researchers, with the exception of Union Settlement Association staff, board members, or their approved agents, until 2050. All other records are open to research.
Description
Summary
The Union Settlement Association Records document a century of the settlement's activities, and provide a unique view of the first wave of the settlement movement in America. They document social conditions, demographic change, political activity, philanthropy and social work in East Harlem with a strong emphasis on the urban renewal period of the 1950s and '60s. The records include: annual reports, board minutes and committee files, headworker and executive director files, program reports, community organization files, and visual materials such as photographs, maps and architectural drawings.
The origins and early history of Union Settlement Association are documented by publicity brochures, annual reports, board minutes, and headworker correspondence, included in the "Administration" and "Board of Directors" series. These items are supplemented by photographs and scrapbooks in the "Audio-Visual Materials" series, and by several printed histories filed in "Administration.".
The impact of public housing development on East Harlem is well documented by records in the "William Kirk Files" and "Administration" series. In addition to records of Union Settlement sponsored programs and activities such as the East Harlem Project and the Franklin Plaza housing co-op, there are extensive files on such community organizations as the East Harlem Schools Committee, Massive Economic Neighborhood Development, Metro-North Association and Metro North East Harlem Housing Society. The "Board of Directors" series contains committee files, reports and correspondence that provide additional insight on the period and the development of settlement programs in response to community change.
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Series I: Administration, 1896-1995
Includes brochures and promotional material, budgets and financial statements, correspondence and biographical information on headworkers Gaylord S. White and Clyde Murray, publications, reports, records of East Harlem community organizations, and staff meeting minutes.
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Series II: Board of Directors, 1898-1980
Includes correspondence, committee records, minutes and memos, member rosters and biographical information.
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Series III: Nora Bowen Files, 1957-1971
Records of Director of the East Harlem Project include community organization minutes, correspondence, program planning files, reports.
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Series IV: Fundraising, 1914-1970
Includes appeals, benefit records, foundation correspondence.
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Series V: William Kirk Files, 1953-1971
Records of Executive Director include correspondence, memos, program reports and planning files, community organization minutes and correspondence, United Neighborhood Houses files.
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Series VI: Alber Mayer Files, 1960-1976
Records of architect and urban planner who worked on Franklin Plaza and other East Harlem developments. Includes correspondence with Union Settlement, and project files. Architectural drawings by Mayer are included in "Series VIII - Audio-Visual Materials," described below.
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Series VII: Programs and Services, 1901-1995
Includes correspondence, memos, reports, statistical and narrative reports, proposals, flyers and announcements. Also includes program case files that are restricted; see page 1 for additional information.
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Series VIII: Audio-Visual Materials, circa 1900-1994
Includes black and white photographs, posters, maps, architectural drawings and scrapbooks.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 9 series.
- Series I: Administration, 1896-1995
- Series II: Board of Directors, 1898-1980
- Series III: Nora Bowen Files, 1957-1971
- Series IV: Fundraising, 1914-1970
- Series V: William Kirk Files, 1953-1971
- Series VI: Alber Mayer Files, 1960-1976
- Series VII: Programs and Services, 1901-1995
- Series VIII: Audio-Visual Materials, circa 1900-1994
- Series IX: Oversize Materials
- Series X: Union Settlement Archived Web Site, 2022-present
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
The following boxes are located off-site: 1-59. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Boxes 53-59 contain program records of a confidential nature and are closed to researchers, with the exception of Union Settlement Association staff, board members, or their approved agents, until 2050. All other records are open to research.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator for Manuscripts, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Union Settlement Association records, Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Ownership and Custodial History
Gift of Union Settlement Association, 1994.
The records of Union Settlement Association were surveyed by archivists from the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives New York City Settlement House Records Survey Project in December of 1993. The survey identified for preservation 50 linear feet of records and recommended that they be donated to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University. The Union Settlement Association Board of Directors accepted this recommendation and donated the records to Columbia University in 1994.
At the time of the donation the bulk of the records were roughly arranged in eight series, which were maintained in processing the collection. The collection now measures 31 linear feet, contained in 59 document cases, 5 oversize storage boxes, and 13 oversize rolls.
The records were processed from January through March 1996 by James Moske and Holly MacCammon of the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives New York City Settlement House Records Preservation Project, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Processing was supervised by Bernard Crystal, Curator of Manuscripts, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Records: Source of acquisition--Union Settlement Ass'n. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1994. Accession number--M-1994.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Records Added to RLIN HR 05/13/2002.
The Union Settlement Association Records were identified for preservation by the New York City Settlement House Records Survey of LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, LaGuardia Community College, The City University of New York. The survey was funded by a 1993-94 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The survey was conducted by: Richard K. Lieberman, Director, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives; Sarah Lederman, Project Coordinator; and Holly MacCammon and James Moske, Project Archivists. Emily Marks and Suzy Edelstein of United Neighborhood Houses lent invaluable assistance to the project. Julius C. C. Edelstein has provided inspiration and guidance from its inception.
Donation of the records was coordinated by: Jean Ashton, Director, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University; Bernard Crystal, Curator of Manuscripts, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University; and Eugene Sklar, Executive Director, Union Settlement Association.
The records were processed and this finding aid prepared by James Moske and Holly MacCammon of LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, with funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Revision Description
2010-03-30 Legacy finding aid created from Pro Cite.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Biographical / Historical
During the late 1800s Manhattan's East Harlem experienced a dramatic increase in population and economic activity as transportation lines were extended into the area and new housing was constructed. Successive waves of Irish, German, Jewish and Italian immigrants moved into tenement buildings and formed a vital community, establishing small businesses, benevolent societies and fraternal organizations. But the dense concentration of population also gave rise to a host of urban problems: poor housing, inadequate health care, lack of educational opportunities, and crime.
A similar increase in the social problems attending urban growth led reformers and philanthropists in England to establish Toynbee Hall, the first settlement house, in 1884. Originally distinguished by the commitment of educated upper and middle-class volunteers to "settle" in working class communities in order to understand their problems first-hand, the settlement model was imported to the United States in 1886 when Neighborhood Guild was established on New York's lower east side. American settlement houses were in the vanguard of efforts to provide social services in their neighborhoods through such programs as kindergartens, day care, hot lunches, health clinics, visiting nurses, camps, playgrounds and arts education. In addition, the settlements joined Progressive-era reform movements for improved housing, public health, and sanitation.
In 1893 members of the Alumni Club of Union Theological Seminary decided to establish a settlement house, and chose the growing neighborhood of East Harlem as the site for their work. In May of 1895, Seminary alumni William McCord and William T. Holmes moved into a second floor tenement at 202 East 96th Street. Within a year the settlement moved to larger quarters at 237 East 104th Street, where it remains to this day. With McCord as its first headworker, Union Settlement established a kindergarten and penny provident bank, maintained a public playground, and hosted clubs for adults and children. McCord was succeeded in 1901 by Gaylord S. White, who oversaw an expansion of activities to include summer camps, housing and health investigations, a music school, and the hosting of a nursing center operated by Henry Street Settlement. With its growing programs the settlement was soon cramped for space; a new building was erected and opened in 1913.
During the 1920s and '30s East Harlem's demography began to change as African-Americans and Puerto Ricans moved into the neighborhood. A significant number of Italian families remained in the area as well. This predominantly working class community was hit hard by the depression, and Union Settlement responded by establishing such programs as aid for the unemployed, a cooperative grocery, and a nursery school. The settlement was led during this period by Helen Harris, who later served as Director of United Neighborhood Houses. Harris was succeeded in 1940 by Clyde Murray, who worked during his tenure for the integration of an increasingly diverse East Harlem community through leadership in such organizations as East Harlem Council for Community Planning (originally founded at Union Settlement in 1912 as South Harlem Neighborhood Association); by expanding settlement programs to include consumer education, senior citizen activities; and through the incorporation of the formerly independent Sunnyside Day Nursery into Union Settlement.
During the 1950s and '60s East Harlem was the site of extensive construction of low-income public housing projects. Under the leadership of William Kirk, Union Settlement developed new programs to serve the changing community, such as a credit union, College Readiness (later federally funded as Upward Bound), Head Start, and services based in public housing facilities such as the Union-Washington Community Center at George Washington Houses. Established programs were expanded as well, including senior services and music education, the latter run during this period by the dynamic Blake Hobbs. Once again the growth of settlement activities demanded additional space. As part of a complex including the Leggett Memorial Children's Center and Gaylord White House, a new Union Settlement building was completed in 1964. In addition to expanding programs and services, Union Settlement led efforts to involve East Harlem residents in planning of urban development in the area. The East Harlem Project, run jointly with James Weldon Johnson Community Centers Inc., fostered citizen participation in urban planning around such issues as housing and schools. The settlement also worked with community organizations like the Metro-North Association and Massive Economic Neighborhood Development to plan additional social services and housing development in East Harlem.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, Union Settlement has continued to develop innovative programs for East Harlem residents, such as Settlement Home Care, providing home attendants for over 400 homebound elderly; adult education focusing on English as a Second Language; and co-sponsorship of Project Linkage, a senior housing with social programs; mental health counseling; and services for the HIV+ population through the East Harlem HIV+ Care Network. Executive Director Eugene Sklar, who first joined the settlement staff during the 1950s, now oversees the work of a thriving settlement beginning its second century in East Harlem.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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