A Missing Tradition: Women Managing Charitable Organizations in Richmond, Virginia, 1805–1900

Historical research on charitable organizations in Richmond, Virginia, reveals the roles women played in founding, managing, and developing agencies that have survived since the 1800s. Findings from an examination of the records of 24 agencies and associated secondary sources suggest that many of the ways in which women worked reflect characteristics that writers would later describe as alternative, collectivist, and feminist. Women created traditions in Richmond that nurtured the growth and development of sustainable health and human service cultures. The study concludes that one such tradition, missing from the literature, describes typical patterns of work in charitable agencies. More than merely an alternative approach, this missing tradition has been obscured by dominant approaches that became privileged in human services management.