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  • Creator Names Infant Welfare Society of Chicago.
  • Title Infant Welfare Society of Chicago records [manuscript], 1903-1976.
  • Physical description 20 linear ft. (31 boxes and 5 pkgs.)
  • Collection summary
    • Minutes, reports, and scrapbooks of the Infant Welfare Society, IWS, organized in 1911 to distribute pure milk to families in some of the city's poorer neighborhoods and to provide nurses to instruct mothers in the care of their babies; and of its predecessors the Children's Hospital Society and the Milk Commission of Chicago. Also present are later reports, press releases, minutes, programs, brochures, and newsclippings of IWS, especially of its Woman's Auxiliary in the city and suburbs, which raised funds and provided volunteers for IWS stations in Chicago that offered prenatal care and services for mothers, infants, and young children. The IWS's initial goal was to lower the infant mortality rate in the city; later services expanded to include mental health and welfare.
    • Authors of the IWS records include Judge Julian Mack, the first IWS president; Lucius Teter, president for 18 years; Dr. Henry Helmholz, medical director; and Minnie H. Ahrens, superintendent.
  • Acquisition information Gift of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago, Woman's Auxiliary in 1974 (M1974.0018) plus an addition in 1978.
  • Finding Aids Note Descriptive inventory available online for a portion of the collection.
  • Location of Other Archival Materials Note Related material at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, includes the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago collection of visual materials (1980.0170), which contains over 900 photographs, many of which date from the 1910s and show IWS nurses in the homes of immigrant mothers demonstrating how to care for their babies, as well as publications of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago, cataloged separately.
  • Biographical or Historical Note The Chicago Woman's Club's Reform Department started a campaign for a children's hospital in 1903 and founded the Children's Hospital Society, which appointed a Pure Milk Commission, which became a separate organization in 1908: the Milk Commission of Chicago. In 1911, the Milk Commission rejoined the Children's Hospital Society to expand the range of its programs, and the new organization was named the Infant Welfare Society (IWS) to reflect its wider scope.
  • Names
    • Infant Welfare Society of Chicago Archives.
    • Ahrens, Minnie H.
    • Helmholz, Henry.
    • Mack, Julian W. (Julian William), 1866-1943.
    • Teter, Lucius, 1873-1950.
    • Children's Hospital Society (Chicago, Ill.)
    • Infant Welfare Society of Chicago. Woman's Auxiliary.
    • Milk Commission of Chicago.
    • Ahrens, Minnie H.
    • Helmholz, Henry.
    • Mack, Julian W. (Julian William), 1866-1943.
    • Teter, Lucius, 1873-1950.
    • Children's Hospital Society (Chicago, Ill.)
    • Infant Welfare Society of Chicago. Woman's Auxiliary.
    • Milk Commission of Chicago.
  • Subjects
    • Charities Illinois Chicago Metropolitan Area 20th century.
    • Child mental health services Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Child welfare Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Children Health and hygiene Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Fund raising Illinois Chicago Metropolitan Area 20th century.
    • Infant health services Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Maternal and infant welfare Illinois Chicago Societies, etc.
    • Milk hygiene Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Social work with immigrants Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Women Illinois Chicago Metropolitan Area Societies and clubs.
    • Women volunteers in social service Illinois Chicago Metropolitan Area 20th century.
  • Geographic coverage Chicago (Ill.) Social conditions 20th century.
  • Genre
    • Minutes. aat
    • Newspaper clippings. aat
    • Press releases. aat
    • Reports. aat
    • Scrapbooks. aat
  • Geographic name United States Illinois Cook County Chicago.
  • Finding aid URL Finding aid available online http://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/M-I/InfantWelfare.htm