Table of Contents
- Collection Summary
- Administrative History
- Scope and Content Note
- Subject Headings
- Related Material
- Administrative Information
- Access and Use
- Encoding Information
- Container List
Collection Summary
| Repository: | Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries |
|---|---|
| Creator: | Vassar College--Infirmary |
| Title: | Vassar College Infirmary Registers |
| Dates: | circa 1880s-1931 |
| Quantity: | 3.4 cubic feet (12 boxes) |
| Abstract: | Bound registers from the Vassar College Infirmary, containing logs of student and staff sick visits, symptoms, prescriptions, and treatments. |
Administrative History
In its early decades, Vassar College had a small infirmary and convalescents’ room located in the southeast corner of Main Building’s fourth floor, staffed by the resident physician, her assistant, and a few nurses. As the college expanded, in 1897 the physician, Dr. Elizabeth Thelberg, rented a nearby house for eight dollars a month to accommodate more patients. Two years later, the college began negotiations with the architectural firm York and Sawyer, the architects for the recently completed Rockefeller Hall, for a more permanent medical building, to be known as Swift Infirmary in memory of Charles W. Swift.
Swift Infirmary, or "Swift Recovery" opened in 1900. Vassar’s health facilities continued to expand after the construction of Swift: first with Metcalf House, the physician’s house, in 1915—also by York and Sawyer—and later, in 1940, with Baldwin Infirmary replacing Swift, which could no longer accommodate the needs of the larger and modern college.
Source: "Swift Hall," Vassar College Encyclopedia, 2014.
Chronology of Resident Physicians, 1865-1946- Alida C. Avery, 1865-1873
- Helen Worthing Webster, 1873-1881
- Mary E. Allen, 1881-1884
- Lucy M. Hall, 1884-1887
- Elizabeth B. Thelberg, 1887-1890, 1892-1930
- Gertrude A. Farwell, 1890-1892
- Jane North Baldwin, 1930-1946
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of 12 bound registers and one accompanying index from the Vassar College Infirmary, containing logs of student and staff sick visits, symptoms, prescriptions, and treatments.
TopAccess and Use
Access
This collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library without any additional restrictions.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to quote (publish) from unpublished or previously published material must be obtained as described in the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library .
Subject Headings
Organizations:
- Vassar College--Administration
Subjects:
- Physical fitness for women
- Therapeutics--Nineteenth century
- Therapeutics--Twentieth century
- Women in medicine--Nineteenth century
- Women in medicine--Twentieth century
- Women's colleges--New York (State)--Poughkeepsie
- Women--Diseases--Treatment--Nineteenth century
- Women--Diseases--Treatment--Twentieth century
- Women--Education
Places:
- Poughkeepsie (N.Y.)--History
Document Types:
- Medical records
- Registers (lists)
VCL Categories:
- Vassar College Administrative Offices and Functions
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Vassar College Infirmary Registers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.
Processing Information
Processed by Emma Gronbeck, January 2023.
Acquisition Information
Presumably transferred to the College Archives from the Infirmary at an unknown date.
Container List
| Box 1 | Infirmary Register, circa 1880s (32 x 15 x 4 cm) |
| Box 2 | Infirmary Register, 1881-1882 (25 x 21 x 4 cm) |
| Box 3 | Infirmary Register, 1882-1883 (25 x 21 x 4 cm) |
| Box 4 | Infirmary Register, 1883-1884 (25 x 21 x 4 cm) |
| Box 5 | Infirmary Register, 1884-1887 (35 x 30 x 5 cm) |
| Box 6 | Prescription Register, 1885 September - 1887 February (35 x 29 x 3 cm) |
| Box 7 | Infirmary Register, 1892-1893 (36 x 24 x 5 cm) |
| Box 7 | Infirmary Register Index, 1892-1893 |
| Box 8 | Infirmary Register, 1896-1897 (33 x 18 x 4 cm) |
| Box 2 | Infirmary Register, 1897-1902 (26 x 20 x 2 cm) |
| Box 9 | Infirmary Register, 1909-1915 (36 x 29 x 8 cm) |
| Box 10 | Infirmary Register, 1916-1921 (36 x 29 x 8 cm) |
| Box 12 | Infirmary Register, 1922-1928 (unbound, 36 x 28 x 4 cm) |
| Box 11 | Infirmary Register, 1928-1931 (37 x 32 x 9 cm) |
Return to the Table of Contents
Details
Bound registers from the Vassar College Infirmary, containing logs of student and staff sick visits, symptoms, prescriptions, and treatments.
