Summary Information:
- Call Number: bMS 11166
- Title: The Society for Ministerial Relief. Executive Committee Records, 1910-1932.
- Repository: Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-1911
- Quantity: One volume
Administrative Information:
- Acquisition Information: Gift of Unitarian Universalist Association, 2006.
- Access: There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Biographical Information/Historical Note:
The Society for Ministerial Relief was: "Formed
1848; incorporated 1850 as the Society for the Relief of Aged
and Destitute Clergymen; the name changed to the Society for
Ministerial Relief by an Act of the Massachusetts State
Legislature, March 9, 1905. This society was organized to
afford pecuniary relief to aged Unitarian clergymen who need
such help. The interest of the invested fund is distributed
semi-annually, in May and November, by the Executive
Committee, to such persons as are qualified, according to the
requirements of the constitution, to receive aid, as follows:
'All Unitarian clergymen who have been ordained as
pastors or evangelists, and who have reached the age of
fifty-five years, who have retained an unspotted moral
character, and who need pecuniary assistance may be placed on
its list of beneficiaries. The claims of each applicant shall
be set forth in writing by two of his clerical brethren who
are well acquainted with his condition and
circumstances.' The names of beneficiaries are never
published. The society is also authorized to hold a special
fund, the income of which may be used to aid the widows of
Unitarian clergymen in necessitous circumstances; but this
fund is still small in comparison with the needs which it is
expected to meet. Rev. James De Normandie, D.D. Boston, President;
Rev. Edward Hale, Chestnut Hill, Secretary; Henry
Endicott, Boston, Treasurer."
American Unitarian Association Yearbook, 1909.
Scope and Content:
These minutes (May 23, 1910, to May 10, 1932) record the deliberations of the Society concerning the appropriation of funds to various Unitarian clergymen and their families.