The Mount Kemble Home was founded by seven women of Morristown. They were Rachel A. Ayers, Abby E. Babbitt, Emma Cory, Julia R. Cutler, Ella M. Graves, Sophronia A. Nobel and Louisa G. Owen, all members of the Morristown Presbyterian Church. The mission of the Home, chartered as "A Home for Worthy and Destitute Women" was to provide emergency housing free of charge for women and girls of Morristown. The impetus to found such a Home was a gift of $2,000 left by Mrs. Matthew Mitchell "for the benefit of those in need of help and home life." Additional early funding for the project came from Mr. Edwin Graves, Mrs. William L. King, and Mrs. Louisa G. Owen and other donations and annual subscriptions from the local community. In the 1920s the Home joined the Morris Community Chest. The Morris Community Chest coordinated the fund raising efforts of Morristown charities including the Mount Kemble Home. Later the Community Chest came under the leadership of the United Way of Morris County and the Home became a member agency.
In the early years the Home was located in a house donated by William L. King at the corner of Prospect and Clinton Streets. This location quickly became too small to accommodate the growing needs of the Home. In 1890 Mr. Charles Noble bought the original structure from the Home and then sold the house at 1 Mount Kemble Avenue to the Home for a reduced price while also promising a $1,000 donation. Fifteen years later in 1905 another philanthropist, Mr. Alfred Whitney, pledged to finance an addition to the house doubling its size, as well as to provide an endowment for its upkeep. It was at this time that the Home changed its name to "The Old Ladies Home." The name was again changed in 1940 to its current name "The Mount Kemble Home."
According to the founding documents of The Mount Kemble Home, it was to be managed by a Board of Managers consisting of seven women, originally the founders. Three trustees were appointed by the Board of Managers to advise them in matters of real estate. There was also a female house matron appointed by the Board to oversee the day to day management of the Home. The management of the Mount Kemble Home has not changed much since its original organization. The most notable difference is that the Board of Managers is no longer limited to women or to seven individuals. Today the Mount Kemble Home continues to serve as a welcoming home for female senior citizens of Morris County.
Sources:
Cutler, Elizabeth Lee.
The Records of the Mount Kemble Home give evidence to the administrative and financial history of an historic Morristown social institution. The Mount Kemble Home has served as a home for disadvantaged women of the area, particularly senior citizens, since 1883. The bulk of the material in this collection dates from 1883 to the 1970s.
This series contains handwritten minute books from 1883 to 1945, Admissions Committee changes to the application for residence from 1954, limited annual reports from the late 1960s, and a few letters of correspondence.
This single item series consists of a bound register of residents.
This series contains legal papers concerning monies left to the Home, correspondence regarding financial matters, audit reports, and requests for funding.
The public relations material consists of a promotional brochure for the Mount Kemble Home and related newspaper clippings.
This material is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archives access policy. Records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. Material in the Records of the Mount Kemble Home may be photocopied, but because this material is a permanent part of the History Center's collections, researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the edge copier for bound material.
Records of the Mount Kemble Home. North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library
Processed by Anne Trepcos, Fall 2006