Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Business Girls’ Group No. 2 Records (Z/0594).
Creator/Collector: Members of Business Girls’ Group No. 2.
Date(s): 1943-1946.
Size: 0.10 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH staff, 1983; Finding Aid by MDAH intern Danielle Dixon, 2023.
Provenance: Gift of Charlotte Capers, of Jackson, Mississippi, on July 15, 1950.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Business Girls’ Group No. 2 Records (Z/0594), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

History:

Business Girls’ Group No. 2

Business Girls’ Group No. 2 was a subgroup of the Women’s Auxiliary of Saint Andrew’s Parish that performed acts of service for both the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church of Jackson, Mississippi, and the community at large. The auxiliary’s division into groups was meant to increase efficiency in gathering information, preparing maps for missions, conducting research for and writing papers on missionary topics, and seeing that general missionary goals both foreign and domestic are achieved. In 1944, the roster consisted of 48 members: 33 active and 15 inactive, with an average of 14 attending monthly meetings.

The Business Girls’ Group No. 2 maintained several ongoing projects from 1943 to 1946. The group regularly sent cards and gifts to church members who had fallen ill, represented the group in social events hosted by the church, and had members present a varied range of researched topics during the monthly meetings. Notably, the group adopted a year-long project in March 1944 in which members would prompt visiting servicemen on leave from World War II to fill out guest registry cards. These cards would contain the soldier’s name, names of their loved ones, and home addresses. The group would ensure that these cards were collected at the end of Sunday service and presented to Rector Walter B. Capers, who would then write letters to the soldiers’ parents or the rector for the church attended prior to the war. Parents often wrote back expressing gratitude for the church members’ hospitality.

The Women’s Auxiliary subgroups held an annual drawing that determined the groups women were assigned to for the following year. In April 1944, attendance for the monthly meeting would reach approximately 100 members, with Dr. Walter B. Capers declaring the auxiliary’s division a success. By that winter, however, the groups began addressing structural issues, with Group No. 1 inactive and Group No. 2 considering disbandment. In 1945, the women’s groups were reorganized completely, with Group No. 2 reformed into Group No. 10 by 1946.

 

Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church (Jackson, Miss.)

In 1839, the Domestic Missionary Society sent Reverend Daniel S. Lewis of New York to Jackson, Mississippi, in order to organize the small group of Episcopalians who had settled there into a parish. Lewis moved on once the group was self-sustaining, and members of the Vicksburg Christ Church organized services until a permanent minister could be appointed. The Mississippi Diocese admitted the parish as Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in March 1843, with Norman W. Camp being appointed as church leader on November 9 of that year. By 1844, a survey of the congregation reported a membership of thirty families and a Lord’s Supper Church Offering of $12.96. Early member families included the surnames Langley, Sawkins, Yerger, and Barrows, among others, which would remain present in church records for generations.

Saint Andrew’s operated out of a Methodist church outbuilding at the time of its establishment, but by 1847 raised enough money to construct its own hall, which reached completion on February 24, 1850, with William Mercer Green consecrated as the first bishop of Mississippi within it that same day. The building was destroyed in 1853 during the Civil War as part of the burning of Jackson, but the cornerstone for a new building in the same location was laid in 1870. This building, too, was eventually abandoned in favor of a Gothic-style cathedral big enough to house its now over four hundred members on May 20, 1917. A parish house meant for hosting smaller gatherings and events followed between 1923 and 1924. Walter B. Capers ascended to leadership in 1919 as rector, where he remained for 40 years before retiring, with Saint Andrew’s eventually becoming the designated cathedral of the Diocese of Mississippi in 1966.  The church currently operates under the name St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral.

 

Women’s Auxiliary of Saint Andrew’s Parish (Jackson, Miss.)

The Business Girls’ Group was formed as a subgroup of the Women’s Auxiliary of Saint Andrew’s Parish. Despite women organizing most missionary endeavors, they were historically excluded from leadership and governance positions in the church, and so to circumvent this the Women’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions was established nationally in 1872. Under this formal body, women were able to not only create more diverse advocacy programs and hold additional services independent of the full congregation, but also leverage the importance of their role in organizing missions to receive funding for programs focused on education, healthcare, and addressing poverty. The auxiliary also eventually adopted the characteristics of societal guilds prevalent in the 1920s, with members hosting outings, gatherings, and enrichment activities that were purely social in function.

The Women’s Auxiliary of Saint Andrew’s Parish was established in 1900, drafting a living constitution in the same year. According to the constitution, the auxiliary’s overarching goal was to deepen community interest in the foreign and domestic efforts of the Board of Missions. Amongst individual members, the aim was to undertake daily prayer, study theocratic workings to implement missions, and encourage embarking on or helping to prepare those missions. The regular orders of business for a meeting included the call to order, devotionals led by officers, roll call, a reading of the previous meeting’s minutes, the president’s report, officers’ reports, special committee reports, a general discussion of theological material, matters of general interest, payment of dues, and an official adjournment. By the 1940s, Saint Andrew’s swelling congregation of nearly 700 necessitated the auxiliary’s division into smaller groups of around forty members each.

As a result of wider social changes beginning in the 1960s, the church’s traditionally patriarchal leadership relaxed on a national level and gradually began allowing women to adopt greater official roles. By 1971, women were granted places in the vestry and elected representatives to attend national conventions. Social guilds decreased in popularity around this time, as women took on jobs comparable to men and thus worked outside the home. In order to better reflect the increasing powers women acquired, the Women’s Auxiliary was renamed to the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) group. The ECW continues to organize missions and provide relief to impoverished and at-risk demographic groups.

 

Charlotte Capers

Charlotte Capers, a member of the Business Girls’ Group No. 2 from 1943 until its reorganization into Group No. 10 in 1946, donated this collection to the Department on July 15, 1950. She often discussed group activities with her father, Walter B. Capers, arranging for him to speak during meetings or seeking his counsel for different obstacles the group encountered. As rector, he advised them not to disband during a dinner she hosted for the group’s officers in December 1944. Capers acted as Vice Leader in 1943, the Chair of the Social Services Committee in 1945, and a member of the Executive Committee in 1945.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection contains correspondence, a report and roll list, and minute books of the Business Girls’ Group No. 2 of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, of Jackson, Mississippi.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1943; 1945.

This series consists of two pieces of correspondence. The first is a note by Rector Walter B. Capers, dated December 27, 1943, addressed to "Margaret" thanking the Business Girls' Group No. 2 for a book given as a Christmas gift. A second note dated April 2, 1945, and signed by Nannie Julienne, the treasurer of the Women’s Auxiliary, thanking Ruth Ray for a comprehensive list of members.

Box 1, Folders 1-2

 

Series 2: Report and Roll List, December 1, 1944.

This series contains a president’s year-end report dated December 1, 1944, describing the membership numbers, the Business Girls’ Group No. 2’s year-long service project, the confirmation that the year’s pledge had been reached, and the average number of members in attendance at each meeting. The report is authored by Kathryn Weir. A roll list was included with the report naming 48 members of the Group, divided into two columns: 33 active and 15 inactive.

Box 1, Folder 3

 

Series 3: Minute Book, 1943-1945.

The first volume of minutes contains short descriptions of meeting proceedings, short descriptions of the programs shared by each month’s volunteer members, reminders for tasks that the Business Girls’ Group No. 2 needed to complete, and who served refreshments, among other information. Entries are authored by Charlotte Nichols, Madel Morgan, and Ruth Ray, from February 8, 1943 to January 8, 1945. The volume contains 40 pages and measures 17 x 21.5 cm.

Notes to the researcher: 
In the entry dated June 14, 1943, a member written down as “Mrs. W.C. Thompson” [Ruth Elizabeth McPherson Thompson (1903-1996)] gave a talk about Japanese culture, presenting Japanese books and clothing among other goods that she had acquired during her time living in Japan, to a warm reception from the group.

In the entry dated May 8, 1944, Bishop Duncan Montgomery Gray, Sr. gave a lecture on the new diocesan structure replacing the Diocese of Mississippi’s administration in late 1944.

Box 1, Folder 4

 

Series 4: Minute Book, 1945-1946.

The second volume of minutes describes Business Girls’ Group No. 2 meetings that took place during 1945. Matters discussed during these meetings included a monthly lesson taken from An Outline of the Prayer Book by Frank E. Wilson, a report of actions taken by subcommittee chairmen since the last meeting, the reminder to pay dues, a progress report for ongoing mission projects, and who served refreshments. The last record of minutes was taken the following January. Entries are authored by Ruth Ray, from January 8, 1945 to January 14, 1946. The volume contains 34 pages and measures 17 x 21.5 cm.

Notes to the researcher: 
In the entry dated May 14, 1945, an issue of discussion is the recommended removal of children to Camp Bratton-Green for the duration of summer in response to a perceived spike in violent acts committed by African-American juveniles in downtown Jackson. This is under investigation by a member listed only as “Mrs. Gluyas,” who is unlisted in the surviving roster.

Box 1, Folder 5

 

Box List:

Box 1
Folder 1: Correspondence, Rector Walter B. Capers to "Margaret," December 27, 1943. 
Folder 2: Correspondence, Nannie Julienne to Ruth Ray, April 2, 1945. 
Folder 3: Report and Roll List, December 1, 1944. 
Folder 4: Minute Book. 1943-1945. 
Folder 5: Minute Book. 1945-1946.

 

Appendix: List of Business Girls’ Group No. 2 Officers organized by year

1943:
Leader: Martha Watkins
Vice-Leader: Charlotte Capers
Secretary: Charlotte Nichols
Treasurer: Shirley Chichester

1944:
Leader: Kathryn Weir
Vice-Leader: Martha Ann Dyer, switching to Betty Lester in March
Secretary: Madel Morgan
Treasurer: Morrison Alley

1945:
Leader: Ruth Ferris
Vice-Leader: Sara Barbour
Secretary: Ruth Ray
Treasurer: Alice Chilton

1946:
Leader: Ruth Ray
Vice-Leader: Alice Chilton
Secretary: Margaret Wells
Treasurer: Betty Lester