Collection: Minute book of the Massachusetts Infant Asylum

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of a minute book, 1887-1902, of the Massachusetts Infant Asylum. The volume contains minutes of the monthly meetings of the Asylum’s directors and the annual and special meetings of the corporation. Some miscellaneous items, such as lists of officers, are interleaved in the volume. The minutes are arranged chronologically. The minutes of the Asylum’s board deal primarily with policy, goverance, financial, and administrative affairs. The board minutes include information regarding building renovations, relations with other similar organizations, revisions of the by-laws, the election of officers, and reports from various committees.

The board minutes also contain monthly statistics and other information about the admission to, discharge from, and deaths in the Asylum of infants. The minutes of the annual meetings record the submission of reports by the board, physician, and treasurer. The reports or a description of their content are not included. When need arose, special meetings of the corporation were called to address an issue of pressing importance. Minutes of these meetings are also included in the volume.