Series 2: Administrative, 1875-1919

This series contains records pertaining to the administration and management of the House of Relief under the charge of New York Hospital’s Board of Governors. Regulations, decisions, and activities are documented in the minutes of various committees. Minutes of the Board of Governors House of Relief Visiting Committee meetings are of particular interest. This committee regularly observed and recorded the hospital’s condition and operation on a professional level, and reports included patient statistics in the “House Surgeon’s Weekly Report.” Volume I records that a committee of six governors was placed in charge of all aspects of operation of the House of Relief, and documents the change in name from “House of Relief Committee” to “Visiting Committee” on August 9, 1876. Volume II includes recommendations to replace the House of Relief on Chambers Street with a new building.

In addition, records relating to plans for and construction of the new House of Relief on Hudson Street, as well as for the annex, are included, arranged in chronological order and by committee. They include costs associated therewith, records relating to administration, and payroll statistics for personnel employed. Specifications prepared by the architectural firm J. C. Cady & Co. for the construction of the Hudson Street building consist of written descriptions and charts (no drawings) relating to all aspects of construction - such as carpentry, masonry, and wiring. Records relating to the construction of the annex of the House of Relief, the “Laundry & Stable Building”, consist mainly of communication of the Chairman of the Building Committee, Hermann H. Cammann, with general contractors Robertson & Potter and Geo. Vassar’s Son & Co., Inc. They include correspondence, estimates, modifications, and revisions.