University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department.

Wisconsin Nurses Association. District 4 and 5 (Milwaukee).

Records, 1906-1964.

Milwaukee Manuscript Collection ES

5.2 cubic ft. (13 archives boxes)


ABSTRACT: Records of the District, the Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, and some records of the Milwaukee District of the Wisconsin League of Nursing Education. Records include correspondence with hospitals, the state board of health and the Internal Revenue Service concerning programs, civic affairs, legislation, and general problems facing the nursing profession such as unemployment or shortages of trained personnel. Also includes materials on attempts at professional self-regulation, establishment of standard fees, improved working conditions, and reduction in hours of duty. Especially well documented are efforts to recruit and train nurses in World War II. Also contains minutes of the regular monthly meetings and the board of directors, and a few files from committees.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The collection includes records of the Fourth and Fifth District of the Wisconsin State Nurses Association, the Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, and some records from the Milwaukee District of the Wisconsin League of Nursing Education. The collection is arranged in three series: General Correspondence, Corporate Records, and a Subject File. Materials in the General Correspondence and Corporate Records pertain to the Nurses Association. The Subject File contains records from the Nurses Club, the League of Nursing Education and several other professional and community organizations.

The General Correspondence includes incoming and outgoing letters of the district headquarters from the organizations concerned with health care and medicine, other organizations of nurses and medical professionals, the State Board of Health, the Internal Revenue Service, other assorted state and federal agencies, some financial institutions, and several hospitals and civic organizations in the Milwaukee area. Most of the correspondence concerns organizing programs, conventions, and symposia; the financial status of the organization; civic affairs; legislation; and general problems confronting the nursing profession such as unemployment or shortages or trained personnel. Some communications between the district headquarters and the sections and committees of the Association are included in the correspondence.

In the Corporate Records, the Minutes document the regular monthly meetings where such topics as finances, upcoming events, changes in the structure of the organization, and the activities of committees and sections were discussed. The minutes covering the period from November 1918 to September 1922 are missing. The Board of Directors Minutes concern more routine matters such as accepting new members, arranging speakers for meetings, the progress of committees, physical changes in the district headquarters, and financial matters. The Committee Records include records from only a portion of the Association's many committees and generally contain many gaps. Most committee records include some correspondence, incomplete sets of minutes from meetings and information on special projects and programs undertaken by the committees. The most complete sets of committee records are from the Jane Merrill Ray Scholarship Committee and the Committee on the Nurses Professional Registry. The records pertaining to the registry contain some statistics on the number of calls for nurses, the types of service requested, the institutions receiving services, and the number of hours of duty. The Section Records generally are more complete, especially those from the Industrial and Private Duty sections. Records of the Private Duty Section provide good documentation of attempts at professional self-regulation, the establishment of standard fees, and efforts to improve the working conditions and to reduce the hours of duty. The Financial Records are arranged chronologically and consist of treasurers' reports, monthly reports of income and expenditures, budgets, and occasional reports of special fund raising events.

Materials in the Subject File cover a variety of topics of interest to the nursing profession. The most extensive coverage is that of the organizations with which the Association cooperated. This portion of the subject file includes records from the Milwaukee District of the Wisconsin League of Nursing Education. Included in the Leagues records is an item inventory of historical materials about the Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing. The section on organizations also contains the records of the Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory prior to its merger with the Milwaukee District Nurses Association. The material son property document the legal and financial problems faced by the Association in conjunction with ownership of the Ray mansion. Efforts by the Association to recruit and train nurses for the military and civilian service during World War II are especially well documented. Materials in the subject file include correspondence, reports, some committee records, research papers, and survey results.

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: The Fourth and Fifth District of the Wisconsin State Nurses Association was organized and incorporated in 1912 as the Milwaukee County Nurses Association. The original purpose of the association was to advance the educational and moral standing of the nursing profession in Milwaukee County by extending state registration of nurses, providing a forum for discussions among nurses, preparing nurses for the duties, and promoting standards and ethics. The Milwaukee County Nurses Association affiliated with the Wisconsin State Nurses Association in 1915, and in 1916, it established a headquarters office and club at 1028 Van Burn Street. Changes in the constitution and by-laws of the Wisconsin State Nurses Association in 1918 required reorganization pf the Milwaukee County Nurses Association in the Fourth and Fifth District of the WSNA (also known as he Milwaukee District Nurses Association).
The Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory was organized in 1919 and merged with the Milwaukee District Nurses Association in 1928. Some of the objectives of this organization were similar to those of the Nurses Association, but the Club's goals also included developing a directory of nurses in Milwaukee County and securing of a building to serve as a club house and home for nurses. In 1923, Charles E. Ray, a pioneer Milwaukee banker and grain commission merchant, donated his home at 1410 North Prospect Avenue to the Club in memory of his wife, Jane Merrill Ray. At that time the property was valued at $96,000. After extensive repairs and improvements, the Nurses Club and Directory moved their headquarters to the Ray mansion in early 1924. Following amalgamation of the Milwaukee Nurses Club and Directory and the Milwaukee District Nurses Association in March 1928, the Club's property was transferred to the Association, and a board of five trustees was established to administer it.

Shortly after the merger of the two nurses' associations, the Nurses Association received notice that their property had been on the tax assessment rolls from 1924 to 1928. In order to meet the indebtedness for accumulated taxes and interest, the Association raised a $20,000 mortgage in 1929. By this time the expenses of operating and maintaining of the large headquarters began to cause financial burdens. Due to the severe financial depression, it became impractical by 1931 to operate the mansion, and the headquarters moved to remodeled stables on the back of the property. The property was sold in 1945 for $27,000 and the headquarters of the Association moved to 622 North Street.

The Milwaukee District Nurses Association kept a registry of professional nurses in the Milwaukee area and served as a placement office. Nurses were divided in to sections based on the type of nursing in which they were involved, including general duty, industrial, institutional, private duty, and public health nursing. The Association also had a variety of committees which promoted the regular activities of the Association and organized special events and activities. The Association also took an active interest in promoting legislation of concern to nurses, organizing educational programs, and sponsoring social gatherings for nurses.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:
Wisconsin Nurses Association. District 4 and 5 (Milwaukee). Records, 1906-1964. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection ES. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:
MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION ES BOX FOLDER
Corporate Records, Administration, 1930-1951 5 3
Corporate Records, Annual Meeting Minutes and Reports, 1919-1921, 1929-1953 4 5
Corporate Records, Articles of Incorporation, Constitutions, and By-laws, 1912-1953 3 6
Corporate Records, Board of Director Minutes, 1928-1940 4 6
Corporate Records, Board of Director Minutes, 1941-1954 5 1-2
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Advisory Policy Committee on Practical Nursing Service, 1946-1953 5 4
Corporate Records, Committee Records, American Journal of Nursing Committee, 1945-1953 5 5
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Committee for the 1930 ANA Convention, 1929-1930 5 6
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Committee on Nominations, 1942-1953 5 7
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Committee on the Nurses Professional registry, 1906?, 1928-1954 6 1-2
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Jane Merrill Ray Scholarship Committee, Scholarship Applications, 1940-1953 7 1-2
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Jane Merrill Ray Scholarship Committee, Scholarship Applications, 1930-1938 6 6
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Jane Merrill Ray Scholarship Committee, 1923-1957 6 5
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Program Committee, 1938-1954 6 3
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Public Relations Committee, 1947-1953 6 4
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Sociability Committee, 1940-1950 7 3
Corporate Records, Committee Records, Structure Study Committee, 1949-1953 7 4
Corporate Records, Financial Records, 1916-1951 8 5-7
Corporate Records, Historian's Notes, 1912-1949, 1956 8 4
Corporate Records, Minutes, 1912-1918, 1922-1953 4 1-4
Corporate Records, Newsletters, Newsletter of the Fourth and Fifth District of the WSNA, 1926-1955 9 1-2
Corporate Records, Newsletters, Official Bulletin of the Fourth and Fifth District of the WSNA, 1928-1932 8 8
Corporate Records, Section Records, General Duty Nurses Section, 1948-1955 7 5
Corporate Records, Section Records, Industrial Nurses Section, 1931-1958 7 6-9
Corporate Records, Section Records, Institutional Nurses Section, 1946-1949 7 10
Corporate Records, Section Records, Private Duty Nurses Section, 1922-1955 8 1-2
Corporate Records, Section Records, Public Health Nurses Section, 1936-1943 8 3
General Correspondence, 1921, 1927-1939 1 1-6
General Correspondence, 1940-1947 2 1-6
General Correspondence, 1948-1955 3 1-5
Subject File, Biographical Materials on Nurses, undated 9 3
Subject File, Civil Defense, 1950-1955 9 4
Subject File, Counseling and Placement, 1935-1936, 1943-1950 9 5
Subject File, Education and Scholarships, Clinical Nursing Reviews, 1932-1936, 1942 9 6
Subject File, Education and Scholarships, Committee on the Grading of Nursing Schools, 1926-1932 9 7
Subject File, Education and Scholarships, Committee on the Practical Nurse Program, Milwaukee Vocational School, 1947-1948 9 8
Subject File, Education and Scholarships, Miscellaneous Scholarships, 1931-1956 9 9
Subject File, Mental Health, 1945, 1948-1951 9 10
Subject File, Merger of the 4th and 5th District with the Milwaukee Nurses Club and Directory, 1927-1929, 1933 9 11
Subject File, Organizations, American Nurses Association, Miscellaneous Reports, 1931, 1939, 1948, 1952 10 1
Subject File, Organizations, Community Nursing Council of Milwaukee, 1950-1953 10 2
Subject File, Organizations, Florence Nightingale International Foundation, 1928-1941 10 3
Subject File, Organizations, Inter-Group Council for Women as Policy Makers, 1949-1953 10 4
Subject File, Organizations, Nurses Relief Association of America, 1927-1929 10 5
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, Milwaukee District, Constitution and Bylaws, 1924, 1937, 1947-1949 10 6
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, Milwaukee District, Minutes and Reports, 1942-1952 10 7
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, Milwaukee District, Board of Directors Minutes, 1943-1952 10 8
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, Milwaukee District, Committee on Membership Lists, 1939-1941, 1945-1952 10 9
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, Milwaukee District, Committee on Education, 1939-1941, 1951 10 10
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, Milwaukee District, Financial Records, 1933-1949 10 11
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, Milwaukee District, Memorabilia, 1932-1964 10 12
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, Milwaukee District, Inventory of Historical Materials on the Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing, circa 1964 10 13
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, Articles of Incorporation, 1919, 1922, 1927 11 1
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, Correspondence, 1919-1928, 1931 11 2
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, Financial and Legal Records, 1919-1934 11 4
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, Gust Book, 1919-1923 11 5
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, Minutes, 1920-1928 11 3
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin State Organization for Nurses, 1920-1952 11 7
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin State Organization for Public Health Nursing, 1941-1952 11 6
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin State Practical Nurses Association, Milwaukee District, 1951-1955 11 8
Subject File, Organizations, Wisconsin State Student Nurses Association, 1929-1948 11 9
Subject File, Papers, Nursing Profession, 1929-1948 12 1
Subject File, Personnel Policies, 1945-1947, 1952 12 2
Subject File, Property at 1410 N. Prospect Avenue, Correspondence, 1922-1939 12 3
Subject File, Property at 1410 N. Prospect Avenue, Financial and Legal Records, 1910, 1919, 1923-1935, 1945 12 4
Subject File, Race Relations, 1944-1952 12 5
Subject File, Unemployment, 1932-1945 12 6
Subject File, World War II, American Red Cross Participation, 1939-1946 12 7
Subject File, World War II, Civilian Defense and Volunteer Services, 1941-1943 12 8
Subject File, World War II, Contact with Nurse Veterans, A-K, 1945-1946 12 9
Subject File, World War II, Contact with Nurse Veterans, L-Z, 1945-1946 13 1
Subject File, World War II, Education and Training of Nurses, 1941-1942, 1945 13 2
Subject File, World War II, Lists of Discharged Nurses, 1942-1946 13 4
Subject File, World War II, Lists of Nurses in the Armed Forces, 1941-1945 13 3
Subject File, World War II, Nursing Councils for War Service, 1942-1945 13 5
Subject File, World War II, Recruitment of Nurses, 1941-1945 13 6
Subject File, World War II, War Manpower Commission, Procurement and Assignment Services, 1940-1945 13 7

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Last edited on Thursday, May 9, 2003.
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