Hull-Culver Family papers, 1848-1948

  • IdentificationMSHull64
  • TitleHull-Culver Family papers MSHull64
  • PublisherSpecial Collections
  • LanguageEnglish
  • RepositorySpecial Collections
  • Physical Description0.75 Linear feet
  • Date1848-1948
  • AbstractBusinesswoman Helen Culver, acting in the name of her deceased cousin, Charles Jerold Hull, made substantial philanthropic contributions to several Chicago institutions. The collection consists of photocopies of correspondence, newspaper clippings and reports about the business affairs of Charles Hull, his children and his relationship with Helen Culver.
  • OriginationHull-Culver Family

Old Resource ID was HullCulver

Businesswoman Helen Culver, acting in the name of her deceased cousin, Charles Jerold Hull, made substantial philanthropic contributions to several Chicago institutions. Charles Hull was a real estate developer who invested heavily in the Near West Side of Chicago. He built a family home there in 1856. After the death of his wife in 1860, Hull's cousin, Helen Culver moved into their household on South Halsted Street. Culver cared for the Hull children and assisted Charles Hull in his real estate office. Upon his death in 1889, Culver inherited his home, business, and fortune.

In 1889, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr sublet the Hull family home from Culver in order to open the Hull-House settlement house. Through the years, Culver became a major donor to Hull-House, contributing land and money to the settlement, and a member of the Hull-House Board of Trustees. In 1896 Culver financed the building of four biology laboratories for the University of Chicago.

Culver continued to run a successful real estate practice until her retirement in 1900. Retirement did not dim her interest in reform issues and she financed a study by University of Chicago political scientist Charles E. Merriam and the publication of The Polish Peasant by University of Chicago sociologist W.I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki. Culver died in 1925 in Sarasota, Florida. Her nephew, Charles Hull Ewing, inherited the family business and continued to be involved with the Hull-House settlement.

The collection consists of photocopies of correspondence, newspaper clippings and reports about the business affairs of Charles Hull, his children and his relationship with Helen Culver. It also contains materials pertaining to Hull-House fundraising, activities and residents.

Hull-Culver Family papers, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago

  • Names
    • Culver, Helen C., 1832-1925 -- Archives
    • Hull, Charles J. (Charles Jerald), 1820-1889 -- Archives
    • Hull-House (Chicago, Ill.).
  • SubjectMidwest Women's History.