Research

Scope and Content Note

These are minutes of committee meetings and reports of committee visits to the Girls' Division.

Although the bylaws required the committee to meet monthly, there is often a gap of several months between recorded meetings. There are no records for the years 1832 to 1854. The minutes contain information about the following: names and addresses of committee members; record of attendance at meetings, including fines assessed for absence; and names of committee members who visited the House of Refuge. Committee reports usually discuss the following: conditions of facilities, clothing, and food; discipline and relations between matron and inmates; education and recitation of Biblical verses; and health of inmates and staff.