Philadelphia Club of Medical Women records

Collection

Identifier: WM-394

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection houses the administrative records of the Philadelphia Club of Medical Women from 1926-2016. The bulk of the records date from 1936-2007. Formats covered in this collection include meeting minutes, correspondence, membership lists and applications, financial records, and program planning information. The records are organized in this order; the exception being the folders titled “Meetings,” which contain meeting minutes, financial records, meeting announcements, correspondence, and membership lists. These folders are located at the beginning of the collection and are not dispersed by category, but rather by year. This collection may be useful to researchers interested in the progression of topics of interest to female social organizations and medical women ranging from 1936 to 2016. This collection may also provide the opportunity for analysis of the social circles of female medical women in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Dates

1967 - 2015
Majority of material found within 1985 - 2005

Creator

Philadelphia Club of Medical Women (Organization)

Biographical / Historical

The Philadelphia Club of Medical Women was founded in 1926. The club was created in order to “encourage among its members social intercourse and a free discussion of matters affecting physicians.” The organization was founded when the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and the Woman’s Hospital of Philadelphia separated. Some of the women working in the institutions wanted to remain friends, and thus established the Philadelphia Club of Medical Women. The original members of the club consisted of 50 women, including Doctors Clara Marshall, Frances Van Gasken, and Alice Tallant. The club was organized with a Board of Directors, consisting of the President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer as well as an Executive Committee, composed of the Board of Directors, past presidents, and a historian. Although the unifying principle is medical in nature, the Philadelphia Club of Medical Women was and remains a social club. Executive Committee meetings of the fall and winter would often take place in member’s homes, while the spring and fall member meetings would take place in venues such as the Cosmopolitan Club of Philadelphia, Merion Cricket Club, local restaurants, or museums. The member meetings would include a social hour or cocktails, dinner, and often had some form of entertainment, ranging from speakers on interior decorating, to medicine in exotic animals, to “Painting with a Twist” sessions. The Philadelphia Club of Medical Women is still in existence and fulfilling its goal of bringing fellowship to female medical professionals as of winter 2016. Bibliography: “Bylaws 1936,” Box 1/Folder 2, Philadelphia Club of Medical Women records, 1926-2016, Drexel University College of Medicine Legacy Center Archives

Extent

1.66 linear feet (4 document boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

This collection contains the administrative records of the Philadelphia Club of Medical Women. The records date from 1926-2016. The collection contains meeting minutes, membership lists and applications, financial records, correspondence, and program planning information.