1919-1986
Box List to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The Dean Foundation for Little Children records are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@nxadmin.net.
Abstract
This collection consists of records of the Dean Foundation for Little Children, including administrative records, papers of president Ernest Jacoby, legal and financial papers, historical material, and records of Camp Wediko.
Historical Sketch
The Dean Foundation for Little Children is a charitable organization founded in 1928 to distribute grants to organizations in the Boston area that provide medical and social services to children.
Collection Description
The records of the Dean Foundation for Little Children contain administrative records (1928-1983) primarily related to finances, investments, and officer elections, including meeting minutes, notices, financial reports, and correspondence; papers (1956-1986) of Ernest Jacoby, president of the foundation for many years, including meeting minutes, financial reports, and correspondence, as well as letters, reports, notes, and printed matter concerning the selection of beneficiaries; legal and financial papers and correspondence (1928-1941) related to the sale of the Dean estate in Weston, Mass. that provided the foundation's initial endowment; and historical material on founders Charles A. Dean, his wife Minnie Palmer Dean, their daughter Eleanor H. D. Pearse, and her husband Langdon Pearse, compiled by trustee Blake H. Field for his history of the foundation. The Ernest Jacoby papers include correspondence with Blake H. Field, John F. Madden, Eleanor H. D. Pearse, Arria Weir Sands, Mary "Polly" (Morrill) Elwell Sands, Jonathan Strong, and many others. The collection also contains records (1963-1984) of Camp Wediko (run by Wediko Children's Services, formerly Guidance Camps, Inc.), one of the children's camps that received funds from the foundation. Included are minutes, budgets, and Jacoby's correspondence with Richmond Holder, Robert A. Young, and others.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Dean Foundation for Little Children, Inc., 1984, with additions, 1986. Additional gift of Ernest Jacoby, 1984.
Restrictions on Access
The Dean Foundation for Little Children records are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@nxadmin.net.
Box List of the Collection
Preferred Citation
Dean Foundation for Little Children records, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.