Records of the Christ Child Society
The collection includes correspondence, photos, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, as well as organizational records such as minutes of meetings and financial ledgers. There are also several publications on the history of these organizations included in this collection. A more pointed discussion of th...
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| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | View the finding aid online. |
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| LEADER | 07057ntc a2200385Ia 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | cuamarc_ACUA_042 | ||
| 008 | 040320u9999\\\\xx\\\\\\\\\\\\000\0\eng\d | ||
| 099 | |a ACUA 042 | ||
| 110 | 2 | 0 | |a The Catholic University of America, The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives |
| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Records of the Christ Child Society |
| 300 | |a 45 linear feet; 76 boxes | ||
| 351 | |a ArrangementThe Records of the Christ Child Society consists of three subgroups:Subgroup 1: Personal Papers Of Mary Virginia Merrick, 1880 (1900-1955) 1965 (Boxes 1-10)Subgroup 2: Organizational Papers of the Christ Child Society of Washington, D.C., 1884 (1905-1979) 1999 (Boxes 11-63)Subgroup 3: Organizational Papers of the National Christ Child Society, 1908 (1948-1984) 1988 (Boxes 64-76) | ||
| 506 | |a Restrictions on AccessResearchers may not examine the autobiography and spiritual diary of Mary Virginia Merrick without the permission of the National Christ Child Society. Anyone interested in using the personal papers of Mary Merrick in publications should also seek permission of the national headquarters. | ||
| 520 | 2 | |a The collection includes correspondence, photos, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, as well as organizational records such as minutes of meetings and financial ledgers. There are also several publications on the history of these organizations included in this collection. A more pointed discussion of the contents of these collections appears below, as introductions to the box listings for each record group. | |
| 544 | 1 | |a Related MaterialThe Christ Child Society worked with several organizations, whose records are kept here. Several leading Catholics maintained friendships to Mary Merrick and officers of Christ Child. In addition, many members of the Catholic University faculty were friends of the Christ Child Society which was active in Brookland and other neighborhoods throughout the city. Related ACUA collections include:Records of Catholic CharitiesPaul Furfey-Mary Walsh PapersHenry Hyvernat PapersWilliam J. Kerby Papers (especially NCCW)Antoinette Margot PapersNon-CUA Collections include:John Burke Papers at the Paulist Archives in Washington, DC. | |
| 545 | |a In 1886, Mary Virginia Merrick (1866-1955), who lived much of her life confined in bed because of a back injury suffered as a child, founded the Christ Child Society in the Washington area. This society provided a formal structure to Merrick's philanthropic activities; for several years, Merrick and her friends sewed children's clothes and made toys for poor families, particularly at Christmas. Within ten years, the scope of the Society's activities expanded to administering settlement houses which provided poor relief, health care, and educational services to poor Catholics. In addition, the Christ Child Society developed a Fresh Air Program and established a visiting committee to identify deserving families. But, the appeal of the Christ Child Society was firmly grounded in the imagery of the Christ Child and the inspirational life of Mary Merrick. | ||
| 546 | |a English | ||
| 561 | |a Custodial HistoryThe Christ Child Society Collection consists of three separate groups of records: the personal papers of Mary Virginia Merrick; the Christ Child Society of Washington; and the National Christ Child Society. The Christ Child Society of Washington and the National Christ Child Society transferred the papers of their own organizations. Both were involved in the transfer of the personal papers of Mary Virginia Merrick.During the late 1950s, officers of national and local societies assembled the personal papers of Mary Virginia Merrick as a collection to be used for a biography. Mildred Merrick, Mary's younger sister, and Mary Hawks, a former president of the National Council of Catholic Women and Mary Merrick's close friend, assembled a collection of correspondence, consisting generally of letters written by Mary Merrick. Hawks and Mildred Merrick included only a few letters received by Mary Merrick to protect the privacy of Merrick's correspondents. These letters address more than the affairs of the national and local organizations of the Christ Child Society. Mary Merrick wrote extensively of her illnesses and their treatment, religious beliefs, household affairs, and much more. The Christ Child Society of Washington deposited these papers at CUA in 1978.A large portion of the organizational papers of the Christ Child Society of Washington were recorded by Mary Virginia Merrick. Over the years, these records have become part of the papers of the Washington chapter. After Merrick's death, several officers, sometimes with short tenure, were involved in creating the records. The records of the Society's activities, both before and after Merrick's death, generally reflect the organization of the Society as a whole. The records include minutes of Board of Directors, the financial records of the treasurer, papers of each committee and department compiled by their respective officers.The National Christ Child Society consists of records held in its national headquarters in Washington, in addition to some records submitted by each president. The records include NCCS publications, most notably the Voice of the Christ Child (1923-1934) edited by Mary Virginia Merrick, the records of the convention of NCCS, the historical record submitted by each chapter, and the correspondence of national presidents (after 1950) who often acted as NCCS' representative or liaison to national Catholic organizations. Initially, the records from these organizations were maintained in two separate manuscript collections (Ms. No. 42: The Christ Child Society of Washington, including the personal papers of Mary Virginia Merrick; Ms. No. 103: The National Christ Child Society). Primarily because of Mary Merrick's important role in these organizations until 1955,the subject matter of these organizations overlap. As a result, the Archives staff combined these collections into a single collection with three discrete record groups so that researchers could easily consult the pertinent records in all three groups: The Personal Papers of Mary Virginia Merrick; the Christ Child Society of Washington; and the National Christ Child Society. | ||
| 600 | 1 | 0 | |a Burke, John J. |q (John Joseph), |d 1875-1936. |
| 600 | 1 | 0 | |a Hawks, Mary Graham |
| 600 | 1 | 0 | |a Lynch, Mother Helen |
| 600 | 1 | 0 | |a Merrick, Mary Virginia |
| 610 | 1 | 0 | |a Christ Child Society (Washington, D.C.) |
| 610 | 1 | 0 | |a National Catholic Welfare Conference |
| 610 | 1 | 0 | |a National Catholic Welfare Council (U.S.) |
| 610 | 1 | 0 | |a National Conference of Catholic Charities (U.S.) |
| 610 | 1 | 0 | |a National Council of Catholic Women (U.S.) |
| 610 | 1 | 0 | |a St. |b Vincent de Paul Society |
| 650 | 0 | |a Charity | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Church work with the poor |x Catholic Church | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Race relations | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Urban poor | |
| 651 | 0 | |a Maryland | |
| 651 | 0 | |a Washington (D.C.) | |
| 856 | 4 | 2 | |u http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/christchild.html |z View the finding aid online. |