Papers of Blanche Ames, 1860-1961

Materials on suffrage in Massachusetts in the early 1900s and on birth control in Massachusetts in the 1940s comprise part of this collection. The largest portion, however, concerns the New England Hospital (formerly the New England Hospital for Women and Children) in the 1950s.

The chartered purposes of the New England Hospital were: 1) to provide medical care for women and children by women physicians, 2) to assist in the medical education of women physicians and 3) to train nurses. These purposes were threatened in the early 1950s when the Nurses Training School was closed, and when a controversy arose with United Community Services of Metropolitan Boston over various issues and especially over the question of hiring male physicians. The Hospital, already in financial straits, faced a loss of United Community Services funds. Blanche Ames compiled the records of the United Community Services/New England Hospital controversy, available here both in their original form and on microfilm. During the controversy, Blanche Ames and other members of the Board of Directors hoped to improve the Hospital's finances and to adhere to the chartered purposes--primarily by reopening the Nurses Training School and by continuing to hire only women physicians. Their efforts included an initiation of new fund-raising activities and a re-examination of bequests to the Hospital. Many wills and other documents, mainly from the 1880's to 1920, can therefore be found in this collection.