Biography:

"The Merchants Fund is a Philadelphia charity established in 1854 to provide charitable gifts to business persons facing financial hardships. It evolved from the Mercantile Business Association, an organization dedicated to providing business advice, networking opportunities, and protection from financial failure or defualt due to illness, old age, or disability." (From their website)

The collection consists primarily of administrative, financial, and legal records of the Fund.  There are board minutes, business and legal correspondence, and tax returns. There are also extensive files on beneficiaries that include wills and estate papers. Other financial records include audit reports, treasurer's reports, tax- and Social Security-related records, and reports on the "Oliver Fund." Among the records are also several volumes, some dating to the mid 1800s. These include ledgers, cashbooks, bound annual reports, and bound minutes.