Daily Report, Toledo Federation of Charities, 1904-1905. Family Service of Northwest Ohio Records, MSS-075.

The Toledo Federation of Charities was the first social service agency in the city. Members of the organization included wives of some of the city’s most prominent businessmen. In the model typical of Progressive Era reformers, the women would review requests for assistance, and judge whether the recipients were “worthy” of aid. With no other agency to help them, many of those who sought help were disabled. The entry for November 1, 1904, was typical: “Young man, crippled in his right arm, called to sell stationary. Has an invalid wife.”