Records of the Home for Needy Confederate Women (SC-23), 1898/2007

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
VMFA Archives
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Margaret R. and Robert M. Freeman Library
200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23220-4007
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Roxanne Winfield
Phone: (804) 340-1497
Phone: (804) 340-1495
Restrictions:

The collection is minimally processed. Requests to perform research must be submitted to the VMFA Archives at least one business day in advance.

Terms of access:

The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.

Preferred citation:

Records of the Home for Needy Confederate Women (SC-23). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
2.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes; 68 folders
Abstract:
The collections documents the administration of the Home for Needy Confederate Women, a large residential building for destitute female relatives of Confederate veterans for over 50 years. The collection includes administrative files, applicant and resident files, and financial files, among other related ephemera.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Records of the Home for Needy Confederate Women (SC-23). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

This series is comprised of correspondence, including letters regarding solicitations, donations, visits, interest in the Home's welfare, and updates on efforts of members of the Board.

This series is comprised of meeting minutes, policies, history of the Home, estate files, registers, dealings with state agencies, and the closing of the Home in 1989 and relocation of the residents.

This series is comprised of files regarding residents and/or applicants to the Home. Typical files include the application, correspondence, and papers pertaining to her assets, as well as basic information, Confederate lineage, next of kin, and medical files.

This series is comprised of financial files including audit reports, annual and quarterly reports from financial institutions involved with the Home's endowment fund and investments, files pertaining to stocks/bonds, Board resolutions regarding purchases and sales, ledgers, bills, receipts, statements, and reports to state agencies. Taken together, these records reveal the Home's frequently fragile financial situation.

This series documents the various real estate holdings of the Home, including the buildings housing the Home itself as well as those acquired through residents of the Home. Series 3 also includes information relating to properties turned over to the Home by residents upon admittance.

This series is comprised of various other materials such as newspaper articles, photographs, publications, and other ephemera.

Biographical / historical:

The monumental limestone building on the west boundary of the present Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' grounds was built in 1932 as a residence for destitute female relatives of Confederate veterans. In operation for over fifty years, the home was closed by its board in 1989. Assuming ownership of the building, the Commonwealth of Virginia designated it as a memorial to the women of the South and transferred its care to VMFA. Today, renovated and renamed the Stan and Dorothy Pauley Center, it houses museum offices and meeting rooms as well as the headquarters of the Virginia Association of Museums.

Funded through private donations and state support, the Home for Confederate Women was designed by architect Merrill Lee, who was inspired by the neoclassical lines and motifs of the White House. Its soaring ionic portico faces Sheppard Street.

Source: History of the VMFA Grounds

Custodial history:

The collection was donated in August 2017 by Mason Montague Bavin, goddaughter and executor of the estate of Janet Roy Nunnally Burhans, who was the last President of the Home for Needy Confederate Women. The Home had been founded by her grandmother, Elizabeth Lyne Hoskins Montague. Burhans was the third President of the organization, serving after her mother, Janet Montague Nunnally, and her grandmother.

Processing information:

In general, during processing, all publications are removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings and original newspaper clippings are photocopied, with identifiers transferred, and then destroyed. Original folder titles are retained, when provided.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into six series. Correspondence files are arranged chronologically.

Series 1
Correspondence, 1924-1997, undated
Series 2
Administrative Files, 1898-1997, undated
Series 3
Resident and Application Files, 1914-1998
Series 4
Financial Records, 1908-1993
Series 5
Property Files, 1924-1989, undated
Series 6
Other Records, 1910-2007, undated