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The Illinois Soldiers' Widows' Home at Wilmington was created in 1895 as a home for indigent mothers, wives, widows, and daughters of honorably discharged veterans (L. 1895, p. 23). The home originally was governed by five trustees who were appointed by the Governor to operate it under the supervision of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. In 1909 the Soldiers' Widows' Home, like all other state charitable institutions, came under the supervision and control of the Board of Administration (L. 1909, p. 102).
The Department of Public Welfare assumed these duties in 1917 and retained jurisdiction over the home until the creation of the Department of Mental Health in 1961 (L. 1961, p. 2666). The Soldiers' Widows' Home was closed in 1963 and all women residing there were sent to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Quincy, which had been transferred to the Department of Children and Family Services (L. 1963, p. 1061).
Access to some of these records is restricted according to the provisions of P.A. 79-453 and the State Records Act of 1957 as amended.
260.001
ADMISSION FILES. Ca. 1896-1960. 10 cu. ft. No index.
Files contain applications for admission, supplementary documentation of eligibility, and correspondence related to admission or problems arising after admission to the widows' home. Admission application comprises a certificate of identification, a certificate of applicant's physical condition, and a notarized statement which lists woman's name, age, height, race, birthplace, birth date, and trade or occupation; woman's relationship to veteran (wife, mother, or daughter); date of marriage, if veteran's wife; date of veteran's death; war in which veteran served and duration of service; dates and places of enrollment and discharge; veteran's rank, company, and regiment, and cause of discharge; amount of pension received by applicant and value of any property owned; number and ages of living children; name, address, and relationship to applicant of person to notify in case of sickness or death.
Documents submitted to establish eligibility for admission include birth, marriage, and discharge certificates; certificates of service; pension statements from the federal Bureau of Pensions; notices from Veterans Administration concerning pension rates; and statements of inheritance.
260.002
RESIDENT CARD FILE. 1895-1961. 0.25 cu. ft. No index.
Information on each card includes woman's name, register number, age, birthplace, occupation, and relationship to veteran; veteran's name, rank, company, and regiment; woman's county of residence; description of any disability; whether literate; pension number and amount of pension; dates of admission, readmission, discharge, or death; names and addresses of nearest relatives; and occasional burial wishes and burial place. Beginning ca. 1920 cards also include woman's race and religion and war in which veteran served.
260.003
DEATH RECORD. Ca. 1902-1954. 913 cards. No index.
Card for each deceased woman includes woman's name, register number, relationship to veteran and war in which he served, and dates of woman's birth and death.
260.004
JOURNAL. January 1903-June 30, 1961. 1 vol. No index.
Journal is of general accounts with other state institutions and of interdepartmental transfers of property. Dated entries include description of supplies, appropriation, or fund name to be debited or credited and amount of debit or credit. Inventories of institutional property often were listed yearly in June or July. Journal entries are infrequent before 1920.
260.005
RECORD BOOK. 1960-1963. 1 vol. Index.
Record book includes lists of women, arranged by county; women and their identification numbers; women and their birthdays; women over ninety years old; new admissions and deceased women as of March 1960; women and their status (e.g., transferred to Quincy, discharged, deceased); and women on active and inactive waiting lists. Volume also includes women's answers to a questionnaire given at the closing of the home in 1963.
260.006
PHOTOGRAPH FILE. No date. 21 photographs. No index.
Black-and-white photographs are of Illinois Governors
Altgeld, Tanner, Yates, Deneen, Dunne, Lowden, Small, Emmerson, Horner, Stelle, Green, Stevenson, and Stratton and eight matrons of the Illinois Soldiers' Widows' Home.
These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
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