Thirteen Club (Defiance, Ohio) records

Collection – Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-0001

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The records of the Thirteen Club of Defiance, Ohio consist of minutes, programs, financial records, program books, club histories, and photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1893-2002

Extent

1.48 Cubic Feet (4 letter manuscript boxes)

Creator

Thirteen Club (Defiance, Ohio) (Organization)

Scope and Contents

The activities of the Thirteen Club of Defiance, Ohio are recorded in detail through the minutes and program books, which cover a period of more than one hundred years. The minutes are complete, although the dates of some of the volumes overlap. Researchers should take care to see that they have searched both volumes for the dates needed. Minutes include the date, time, and place of each meeting, activities and program. The program books are nearly complete, with early records lacking only for the program year1919-1920; dates in the 1970s and 1980s are somewhat more scattered.

Treasurer's Ledgers are complete for the years from1893-1960. These records list members' names and dues paid as well as expenses of the club and their purpose.

Club histories and lists of officers were prepared in 1975 and 1993. A photograph of members' children from 1907 and several photographs from the 100th anniversary celebration in 1993 complete the collection.

Biographical / Historical

The Thirteen Club was organized in September 1893. Membership numbers varied for the first few years, but in 1895, the club consisted of thirteen women and remained so after that time, as the Thirteen Club. Meetings were held on the first and third Mondays of each month, from September through May.

Musical entertainment and spoken presentations made up the bulk of the programming, and social gatherings with the families of members were held on special occasions throughout the year. Service projects over the years included gift baskets to needy families at Thanksgiving and Christmas, planting a tree in honor of George Washington's bicentennial, and charitable gifts to causes such as the Red Cross and Children's Home.

The club celebrated its centennial year in 1993. By 2003, members found it increasingly difficult to meet regularly, and the club was disbanded and the records donated to the Center for Archival Collections.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The records of the Thirteen Club of Defiance, Ohio were donated to the Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University, on May 6, 2003. The collection was transferred by Ann Bowers, Curator of Manuscripts, Center for Archival Collections, with the cooperation of Edna Solether.