USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The city of Cincinnati : a summary of its attractions, advantages, institutions and internal improvements, with a statement of its public charities > Part 9
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Persons who are sick and are able to pay for nursing, may have suitable accommodation in the rooms of the hospital, and be treated by their own physician, under the rules; and those who may be strangers here, and unexpectedly fall sick, or those who might be other- wise inconveniently situated in a hotel or boarding house, and require the best care, can find it here.
By paying $300 for a year, or by endowment in trust of $3,000, benevolent societies or persons may support or endow a single bed, and have the privilege of send- ing a patient to occupy it for a year, or permanently.
The extent of operations of this institution is contin- ually widening, and it is hoped that, at no distant day,
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the funds will be raised to erect a commodious edifice for its use.
The following items are from the regulations :
Application for admission of patients may be made at the hospital, or to any member of the Executive Committee. Patients will be admitted without refer- ence to their religion, and may be visited by clergy- men of their own selection.
No cases of contagious diseases are admitted. Chronic or incurable cases will be retained no longer than med- ical treatment and nursing are essential to the relief or amelioration of suffering.
The friends of patients are admitted from 10} to 12 A. M. every day, excepting Sundays.
All visitors are respectfully requested to leave when the bell rings at the expiration of the visiting hour.
On Sundays visits to the patients are permitted only in cases of extreme sickness.
Officers of St. Luke's Hospital Association.
Right Rev. C. P. McIlvaine, D. D., President.
Right Rev. G. T. Bedell, D. D., First Vice-President. Wm. Proctor, - T. G. Odiorne, Vice-Presidents. Henry Probasco,
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Managers.
William Proctor,
H. Probasco,
G. H. Barbour,
John Cinnamon,
C. Wann,
A. L. Frazer,
Gideon Burton,
C. F. Bradley,
James A. Frazer,
George H. Smith,
G. K. Shoenberger,
George T. Stedman,
Samuel Davis, Jr.,
H. D. Huntington,
D. B. Pierson,
W. J. M. Gordon, John H. Hewson,
T. G. Odiorne,
S. S. Rowe,
Wm. Henry Davis,
William Walter,
J. H. French,
R. Wilson Lee,
William A. Proctor,
Isaac C. Collins,
Seth L. Thompson,
William M. Bush,
H. B. Bissell,
William B. Trott,
Z. B. Coffin,
E. J. Miller,
P. W. Strader.
B. Homans, Jr.,
BOARD OF COUNCIL AND ADVICE.
Right Rev. C. P. McIlvaine, D. D. Right Rev. G. T. Bedell, D. D.
Rev. Richard Gray,
Rev. G. D. E. Mortimer,
J. H. Elliott,
Francis Lobdell,
" E. P. Wright, " Wm. Allen Fiske,
" R. T. Kerfoot, Wm. A. Snively,
" Samuel Clements,
D. H. Greer.
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
T. G. Odiorne,
Wm. Henry Davis,
William Proctor, G. H. Barbour,
John Cinnamon, A. L. Frazer, C. F. Bradley. Wm. Henry Davis, Treasurer. S. S. Rowe, Secretary.
AUDITING COMMITTEE.
C. F. Bradley, Isaac C. Collins.
DAILY ATTENDING PHYSICIANS.
A. L. Carrick, M. D. H. Ludington, M. D.
B. Taylor, M. D. W. I. Wolfley, M. D.
CONSULTING PHYSICIANS.
C. G. Comegys, M. D. Israel S. Dodge, M. D.
Geo. Mendenhall, M. D. N. Foster, M. D.
ATTENDING SURGEONS.
P. S. Conner, M. D. O. D. Norton, M. D.
CONSULTING SURGEONS.
Thomas Wood, M. D. W. H. Mussey, M. D.
OCULIST. E. Williams, M. D.
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The attention of benevolent persons, who may be dis- posing of their property for charitable use, is directed to the following
FORM OF BEQUEST.
Igive and bequeath to "ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL ASSOCIA- TION of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the City of Cin- cinnati, Ohio," a Corporation created in the year 1865, under the laws of the State of Ohio, or to the Treasurer thereof, for the time being, for its corporate purposes, the sum of- dollars.
Dated at -.
FORM OF DEVISE OF REAL ESTATE.
I give and devise to "ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION Of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the City of Cincinnati, Ohio," a Corporation created in the year 1865, under the laws of the State of Ohio, or to the Treasurer thereof for the time being, for its corporate purposes, all that, etc. (here describe the property).
Dated at --.
WIDOWS' HOME.
This asylum for aged women was originated in 1848. After struggling through the first years of its existence, it became fixed in the public opinion as an object worthy of benevolence.
The charter was granted in 1851, the corporators being Robert Buchanan, Edward D. Mansfield, Davis B. Law-
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ler, Lucius Brigham, Rufus King, Wesley Smead, John Stille, and others. The establishment of the Home upon a permanent footing, was largely owing to the personal efforts of Wesley Smead, at that time a banker of the city.
The following description of this institution is taken from the valuable and interesting book, lately pub- lished, on the "Suburbs of Cincinnati."
"The object of the institution is to provide a home for aged and indigent females, who can give satisfactory testimonials of good conduct and respectable character. Persons under sixty years of age are not admitted, though this is not an invariable rule.
The fiscal affairs of the Home are under the control of a Board of Trustees of three gentlemen, and the im- mediate management of all matters pertaining to the household is reposed in a Board of Managers, consist- ing of twenty ladies. The present Matron is Mrs. M. Oves, and the number of persons in the Home forty- six ..
The house is on the west side of Highland Avenue, immediately opposite the German Protestant Orphan Asylum. It consists of a large main three-story brick edifice, facing the south, with wings of two stories on both east and west, and a basement throughout the en- tire building. The house is airy, with good halls, com- fortable, well-furnished rooms, a parlor for the reception 11
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of guests, and a room set apart for religious worship and other meetings. The location is an eligible one, and the surroundings desirable and pleasant.
The institution has an endowment fund, but this but partially defrays the current expenses. The benevolence of the community is looked to for the remainder.
The members of the family are compelled to do no more work than is desirable. Those who are able are expected to make their own beds and sweep their rooms each morning, to sew, knit, assist in domestic duties, and render all the service they can for the benefit of the in- stitution and for those who are more helpless than them- selves.
All that is necessary for their comfortable support is provided from the funds of the Society, and no person is allowed, under any circumstances, to leave the insti- tution for assistance or work. Religious exercises are supplied by Rev. Joseph Emery, City Missionary, who preaches on alternate Wednesday afternoons. Services are also held by Rev. J. F. Wright, pastor of the Meth- odist Church in Mount Auburn; Rev. J. F. Lloyd, of High Street Church; Rev. J. Pierson, of Mears Chapel ; and Rev. J. M. Straeffer. In addition to these, the stu- dents of Lane Seminary, during the session, hold regu- lar Sabbath afternoon exercises."
This institution has done, and is doing, a noble work. Many aged, indigent women who, in better days, were
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surrounded by refinement and culture, have here been sheltered and cared for, and their declining days made brighter by the kindly offices of Christian benevolence.
The following regulations are observed :
1. No person shall be admitted into the asylum but those who bring satisfactory testimonials to the pro- priety of their conduct and the respectability of their character.
2. When they are pensioners on any church, benev- olent institution, or society, it is expected their pen- sions will be continued, to assist in their support, and their funeral expenses will be defrayed.
3. No person under sixty years of age will be admit- . .ted; but the managers may, at their discretion, admit persons under that age, if satisfied that they have be- come helpless by premature old age.
4. Every person admitted as an inmate must pay a fee of one hundred dollars in advance.
5. No inmate who may be dismissed, or shall quit the asylum without the consent of the managers, will be re-admitted.
Officers.
Mrs. A. N. Riddle, President. Mrs. John Shillito, Vice-President. Mrs. Wm. Proctor, Treasurer. Miss Clarissa Gest, Secretary.
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Managers.
Mrs. A. E. Chamberlain, Mrs. H. Thane Miller,
" R. Buchanan,
Edw. Sargent,
" C. H. Stille,
" David James,
" J. P. Kilbreth,
" T. Maddox,
" Lawson,
" R. M. Corwine,
" G. D. Smith,
" G. H. Pendleton,
" J. Graff,
" McCormick,
" Thos. Butler,
Benj. Bruce,
" Oliver Perin,
Brooks Johnson,
" Eleanor Douglas,
" Theo. Cook.
Matron, Mrs. Oves.
Assistant, Mrs. Dryer.
Fiscal Trustees.
A. E. Chamberlain, Edward Sargent, W. W. Scarborough.
THE WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
of Cincinnati was organized in June, 1868. The idea of its establishment originated with one of the most active members of the Young Men's Christian Associ- ation, a student of Lane Theological Seminary.
There had come under his attention the condition of the poorly-paid working girls of the city, and the thought was suggested to him of an organization that should do for young women what another association was already doing for young men.
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After much deliberation and planning, the matter had at length become so well matured, that he deemed it time to take others into his counsels. Accordingly, he visited some two hundred ladies in the city, ex- plained to them his views, showed the results he hoped to secure, met objections with convincing arguments, and at last won over to his views and side so many of the earnest Christian women of the city, that he thought a meeting might be safely called. So, one afternoon in the summer, after two months of hard preliminary work, in response to a call published in the papers, a small number of ladies assembled in the hall of the Y. M. C. A., for the purpose of forming a Women's Christian Association. Probably the hot weather kept some away; perhaps, too, the time was not yet fully ripe for the consummation of the work. At all events, after a little consultation, of a rather informal character, the meeting adjourned to meet again in the autumn. Early in October, invigorated by their summer wanderings, the ladies assembled once more.
Every one seemed to recognize the fact that the pro- posed institution, properly managed, would prevent the ultimate ruin of many a young stranger unused to the dangerous allurements of city life, and give a pleasant, cheerful home, at the mere cost of living, to others whose meager salaries would make such com-
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forts otherwise impossible. The only wonder was, that such a work had not long ago been undertaken. This time all meant work, and before the meeting adjourned, the movement had been inaugurated.
The plan that was adopted, looked, in the first place, to the establishment of a boarding-house for women. Of course, this is but a single direction of the many in which the association proposes to work. Its scope will be as comprehensive as that of the Young Men's Association. But all the ladies seemed to feel that more than any thing else there was needed a house where young women, strangers in the city, either in poorly-paid services, or in none at all, might find a safe and comfortable home. So to the work of raising funds for the leasing of a suitable building they at once applied themselves.
Five thousand dollars were needed. This amount was secured, and the association found itself upon a firm basis of successful operation, with a host of good friends and well-wishers.
A commodious building was leased, at No. 27 Long- worth Street.
The churches were especially active in giving assist- ance. All denominations joined heartily in the work, the Presbyterian shaking hands with the Swedenbor- gian, the Baptist with the Unitarian, the Methodist and Episcopalian with the Christian. The only rivalry
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was to see which society should do most good with its money. Each church took upon itself the fitting up of a single room, aiming in its purchases to secure comfort. The result was, that the twenty-seven rooms in the building were provided neatly with black wal- nut furniture, oiled, with cheerful carpets, and other tasteful fittings. More attractive, cozy, comfortable rooms are hardly to be found in the city.
Upon the day of the opening of the Home, in March, 1869, these rooms were thronged. More than two thousand persons visited them, and the visitors were enthusiastic in their praise of the manner in which the work had been done.
In this, as in all large cities, there exists a class pe- culiarly needing sympathy and care. Attracted by the glitter of a city life, or seeking a livelihood for them- selves, many young women leave quiet country homes, and flock to the crowded city. Far from home and protectors, inexperienced, friendless, and alone, they stand dismayed amid the perplexities, temptations, and wrongs of a great metropolis. They look in vain for a protecting hand and a sympathizing word. The common boarding-house is no place for them, and they can not pay half the prices demanded in those of a better class. At this point "Evil, with proffered hand and treacherous smile, stands ready to lead them on to ruin."
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A prominent object of the institution is to furnish to such a temporary shelter. For these, the Home, with its welcome, comfort, and Christian influence, is open.
It is not to be thought of as a public institution, neither is it an ordinary boarding-house, where the lonely ones may live friendless and forgotten. It is a retired, pleasant home, the social and religious influ- ences forming its chief characteristics.
A new and wide field of benevolence has thus been entered.
The Home will become the head-quarters of the great army of Christian women of the city. Bureaus will be organized, and new departments of Christian activity will be created. A field as broad as that oc- cupied by the Young Men's Christian Association will be opened. A work as noble, as comprehensive, as vast, as important as the most tireless of workers could wish, will be afforded.
Officers.
Mrs. Dr. John Davis, President.
Vice-Presidents.
Mrs. S. S. Fisher, Mrs. W. W. Scarborough,
A. D. Bullock, J. F. Perry,
" Alphonso Taft, " Dr. E. Williams.
Mrs. H. W. Sage, Recording Secretary.
" Robert Brown, Jr., Corresponding Secretary. ยท
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI. 169
Mrs. Dr. W. B. Davis, Treasurer.
Miss A. C. Crossette, Auditor.
Managers.
Mrs. D. W. Clark,
Mrs. George W. McAlpin,
A. F. Perry,
Elizabeth Dean,
B. F. Brannan,
Murray Shipley,
C. J. Acton,
Mary J. Taylor,
Jacob D. Cox,
" W. M. Bush,
Thane Miller,
Miss Mary Fitz,
Frank Whetstone,
Hester Smith,
A. J. Howe,
Mary H. Sibley,
C. L. Thompson,
Julia Carpenter.
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
The Young Men's Christian Association of Cincin- nati deserves a high rank among the charities of the city. The suggestions of a wise and thoroughly earnest and practical Christianity are carried out in its present organization and methods of labor. The scope of these, and the means and ends of its usefulness, are well set forth in the following language :
" The Christian Association, in proportion to its mem- bership and their activity, becomes a moral police wherever it is established, arresting the vicious in their mad career, preventing much of the sin that promises to ripen into crime, removing or diminishing, so far as
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its influence extends, the teeming temptations of city life, and attracting toward itself the confidence and love of those whose rescue has thus been wrought. By its well-arranged system of practical fraternity, the institution provides employment for the unemployed, homes and churches and friends for the stranger, nurses and physicians for the sick, and all this without other incentive than the consciousness of discharging duty and the hope of winning souls to Christ. It makes not mem- bership the sole title to its benefits, it exacts no oaths of secrecy, it assumes no prerogatives of power or privi- lege, it puts forth no pretension to peculiar sanctity."
On the evening of the 8th of October, 1848, a band of young men organized, in Cincinnati, a "society for mutual improvement in grace and religious knowledge." At first, the Central Presbyterian Church only was rep- resented, but, three months later, January 8, 1849, they had discovered a ready sympathy with their objects on the part of others, and the organization was extended to all denominations, founded on the broad principle of Christian union.
Its meetings, with a view to mental and spiritual improvement, were occupied by reports of the members from mission fields at a distance, of home work among the churches of the city, and of personal experience, especially in labors with young men whom they sought to bring in-if Christians, to work with them; if not
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Christians, that they might do them good. A special membership was provided identical with the present " Associate Membership." Later, in 1850, a "Contrib- uting Membership " was formed.
The society was designated, early in its history, as the "Young Men's Society of Inquiry ; " later, April, 1849, as the "Cincinnati Society of Religious Inquiry ; " then, in the spring of 1853, when the existence of similar organizations had become known and sympathies had been exchanged, the addition to the title of "Young Men's Christian Union" was made; and, in 1858, the latter title was used exclusively. In May, 1863, the name "Young Men's Christian Association " was adopted to secure uniformity in title with the kindred organizations which had now been formed in every section of the country.
The early progress of the Cincinnati society had been gradual but sure. It became a power in the community known and felt by a large number, especially of young men. Its life was quickened when, in 1853, it learned of other societies which had been established with iden- tically the same objects, at London, in June, 1844; at Montreal, December, 1851; and at Boston, December 29, 1851. The societies at London and Cincinnati were entirely independent of, and unknown to, each other until about this time. In 1853, the number of associa- tions had increased to twenty-five.
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Thus, the cause had come to be a power in the whole land, and with its growth each society grew. A con- federation was formed of nearly all the associations on the continent in 1855, and from that time the institu- tion began to assume larger proportions, and greater uniformity and wisdom of purpose.
The Cincinnati association pursued its work with success till 1861. The breaking out of the civil war then interfered seriously with its operations, and, for two or three years, it practically ceased to exist.
On the 18th of July, 1865, the present society, in full sympathy with the former organization, adopted a con- stitution, which, as amended May 7, 1867, is now in force.
The first meetings were held in the lecture room of the Seventh Street Congregational Church, until a room was procured at No. 54 West Fourth Street.
The accommodations here being insufficient, new quar- ters were sought. The present premises of the Associa- tion, at 200 and 202 Vine Street, were first occupied in September, 1865. At this time, William J. Breed was President. His administration was marked with vigor and unprecedented success, and the institution took rank among the leading forces arrayed against the vice, pau- perism, and crime of the great city. In 1868, H. Thane Miller was elected President, and the Association has received a new impetus in its glorious work. It has
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felt in its every department the earnest spirit and en- thusiasm of such a leader.
The object of the Association is to promote the men- tal, moral, and spiritual welfare of the young men of Cincinnati.
The plan has been to divide the work into depart- ments, each under the care of an efficient committee, and to have the whole field under the supervision of an executive board. Reports from all committees are made in writing, once a month, and are read at the business meeting of the Association.
THE READING ROOM is free to all. It has been con- stantly open from eight A. M. to ten P. M., and has been a pleasant resort for thousands of homeless young men.
THE MUSIC ROOM adjoins the reading room, and is made as homelike as possible, with pictures and illu- minated texts on the walls, a piano, cabinet organ, and other attractions. This is designed for the large class of homeless young men who wander up and down the streets, cheerless and forlorn, and who, because they are homeless, are so easily beguiled into the gilded haunts of vice and infamy. In this room they meet pleasant faces, a smile of welcome, and a cordial grasp of the hand.
Social meetings are held on the third Tuesday even- ing of the month, to which ladies and gentlemen are
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cordially invited. Readings, recitations, music, and conversation fill the evening.
THE CONVERSATION ROOM is open every evening, and has been visited by not less than twenty thousand young men during the year. As many as three hun- dred and fifty have been present in a single evening. All enjoy the innocent games, and as soon as they cross the threshold realize the necessity of gentlemanly lan- guage and deportment. This room has kept many young men from scenes of dissipation, and has proved the start- ing point toward a better life.
A lyceum has been established, under the auspices of the Association, and weekly meetings are held. Essays, debates, and criticisms occupy the evening.
Missionary work has been carried on most successfully. There are many institutions of relief, punishment, and reform, with every attention paid to the physical wants of the inmates, but no adequate provision made for their spiritual wants. A committee was appointed to super- vise the field, and volunteers came forward to visit the jail, the city prison, the work-house, hospitals, and other public institutions, on the Sabbath. Religious tracts and papers were distributed, personal conversa- tions were held with the patients and prisoners, and religious services conducted in the wards and chapels.
A Bible class, conducted by clergymen and laymen alternately, is held every Sunday. A noonday religious
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service has been regularly sustained, and one or more evening prayer meetings every week. On the Sabbath, the Gospel has been proclaimed at every possible point specially adapted to collect an audience of non-church- goers ; parks, market-spaces, theaters, and public halls have been turned into places of prayer.
THE STRANGER'S HOME, open during the cold season, proved a great benefaction to hundreds of homeless wan- derers. A building was engaged with sufficient space for a large kitchen, dining room, and dormitories; charita- ble persons, in different parts of the city, purchased tick- ets, and, when needy persons applied to them for assist- ance, tickets were given, with directions where to find the "Stranger's Home." Tickets can not be converted into money, nor spent for liquor. More than one hundred men frequently slept there at night who would otherwise have been inmates of the station-houses. In the day- time they were provided with plain, wholesome food, and with bathing facilities. Cleanly habits were strictly en- joined, good order preserved, good morals taught.
COFFEE ROOM .- It is nearly three years since the Workingmen's Coffee and Reading Room was opened on the corner of John and Columbia Streets. It speed- ily became self-supporting, and has proved of great benefit to the class for whom it was specially designed. The aim was to furnish coffee and soup as substitutes for beer and stronger drinks, at a price so cheap that
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men would come from motives of economy. The plan was successful.
The drinking saloons in the vicinity have lost cus- tomers, and in four instances have suspended opera- tions entirely.
An employment register is kept, looking to the re- lief of young men by finding for them situations. Hundreds of young men every year receive temporary assistance in the way of shelter, food, clothing, or transportation to distant homes. Friendless strangers, in hotels and boarding-houses, are cared for in sick- ness and death. Thus widely is this glorious institu- tion stretching the arms of its usefulness. Its achieve- ments shall be unmeasured in time, and its far-reaching results known only in eternity.
Officers of the Association.
H. Thane Miller, Prest. R. S. Fulton, Rec. Secy.
W. J. Breed, Vice-Prest. John H. Cheever, Treas.
H. P. Lloyd, Cor. Secy. L. Sheaff, Superintendent.
Executive. Committee.
H. Thane Miller, H. P. Clough,
W. J. Breed,
W. R. Kidd,
H. P. Lloyd, Cyrus S. Bates,
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