The International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement was founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland. After witnessing the aftermath of the 2nd War of Italian Independence at Solferino, Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, created the organization to provide non-partisan care to the wounded and sick in times of war.

On May 21, 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Association of the Red Cross. While Barton modeled the American Red Cross after the International Red Cross, she also complemented the original charter of the organization with additional services. Her humanitarian vision included assistance and services in times of natural disaster and calamity as well as war.

Early relief efforts included; assistance in Galveston, Texas after a hurricane-caused tidal wave destroyed the city in 1900, aid to the victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and post-disaster relief for the Cherry, Illinois mine collapse of 1909. Within weeks of the outbreak of World War I in Europe, an American Red Cross mercy ship sailed out of New York harbor on September 12, 1914. On board were American doctors and nurses who had volunteered to help relieve the suffering of European war victims.

By September 19, 1914, the citizens of Morristown had also begun contributing to the relief efforts. Citizens organized a Bridge Tournament at the home of a Mrs. Charles Bradley on Madison Avenue in Morristown to benefit the Red Cross Relief Fund. Having met with great success at the Bridge Tournament, citizens again organized to sell Christmas Seals at Christmastime, 1914. This time, the proceeds benefitted efforts to stop the spread of tuberculosis in the United States.

A Book of Minutes from the collection confirm that an Executive Committee had been elected and was active in the late 1890's. It wasn't until the United States joined the Allies in Europe in 1917 that the Morristown community wholeheartedly supported the creation of an official Morristown chapter within the Atlantic Division of the Red Cross Organization. On February 9, 1917, at the Post family home in Macculloch Hall, an organizational meeting was held to secure the requisite fifteen signatures to formalized the chapter.

According to an article in the from March 2, 1917, community members were urged to enlarge the Red Cross membership in Morristown. The slogan, "WAKE UP MORRISTOWN" was officially used by the Red Cross to encourage people to lend support to the Preparedness campaign of the American Red Cross. Throughout 1917 and 1918, a Jerseyman article from October 1926 estimated that the number of members enrolled exceeded 7,000 within the central chapter and various auxiliaries throughout Morris County.

The first meeting of the Morristown Chapter was held on March 9, 1917 in the parish house of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. After a few meetings in the parish house, the meetings were moved to the permanent location of 77 South Street. Soon after moving in to the Chapter House, a workroom was added. As the Red Cross began its preparedness campaign, the workroom became a heavily trafficked area.

Standing Committees had been appointed at the first meeting and they oversaw the preparedness activities. Centered on the production of many supplies, these activities produced mostly military and hospitals items. These items included surgical dressings and garments as well as wool mufflers, socks, sleeveless jackets and wristlets for the navy. The Chapter House was also used for the teaching of hygiene/home nursing classes and as a hospital for returning military personnel.

According to the 1926 , a countrywide campaign for contributions for the Red Cross War-Fund was held during the week of June 19-25, 1917. Again, reports conflict as to the actual amount collected. The from 1926 claimed that $514,716.07 was contributed, while the from August 3, 1917 claimed the Morristown Chapter to have collected $154, 718.07. (Without the actual documents to clarify which amount is correct, I would err on the side of caution and accept the figure from the 1917 article as the more accurate figure).

Another significant event during the year of 1917 was the formation of the Red Cross Motors Corps in July and August. The Motors Corps was essential in the delivery of garments and surgical dressings to Auxiliary Chapters and the transporting of Home Service workers to their calls. Though the war came to an end in late 1918, volunteer enrollment numbers in both 1918 and 1919 continued to increase.

Even though the fighting abroad had ceased, post-war programs were in great demand. European refugees needed to be sheltered, clothed, and feed. An interesting article from the , dated March 21, 1919, put out the call for donations of clothes. The article advised that some articles wouldn't be appropriate, such as ball gowns and top hats.

Apart from the needs of the European refugees, the relief efforts of the Red Cross were occupied by an influenza epidemic in Northern New Jersey. At its height in 1918, the epidemic took a toll on communities and Red Cross chapters alike. The Morristown Chapter organized the cooking and delivery of food to Morristown Memorial Hospital, All Soul's Hospital, The Morris County Children's Hospital, the Neighborhood House and Picatinny Arsenal.

The 1920's show a shift in the types of relief work run by the Morristown Chapter. Immediately after the war, the Chapter facilitated the adjustment of disability claims and government insurance for ex-soldiers and their families. (President Wilson had commanded the Red Cross form a War Council in 1917, in order to respond to the needs and demands of both the front and civilian life). Also in the 1920's there was a transition from wartime relief concerns to disaster relief activities.

In 1921, Morristown residents were asked to contribute to the relief of 100,000 field workers in the Cotton Belt from the Pellagra Plague. Much closer to home, Morristown residents were asked to donate to the relief of 183 families who suffered from the July 1926 explosion of the Lake Denmark Naval Depot in Parsippany, NJ. Two months later, the Morristown Chapter contributed $2500 to a national relief fund set up for the victims of a Florida tornado/hurricane.

From the later half of the 1920's, throughout the Great Depression, and before the beginning of the Second World War, the Morristown Chapter of the American Red Cross continued it's humanitarian relief efforts. Minutes from 1927 show that the Director of the American National Red Cross, Mrs. Mabel T. Boardman, thanked the Morristown Chapter for their support of the people of the Mississippi Valley after flood waters devastated millions of acres of crop land. Other work of that time involved financial help to ex-serviceman, natural disaster relief efforts from Vermont to the Virgin Islands, and efforts to alleviate the distress of many unemployed men.

In June of 1932, the Veteran's Hospital Committee was established. This committee oversaw the formation of the Gray Lady Program. The Gray Ladies (known as such because of the gray uniforms they wore) provided non-medical service in Army, Navy and Veteran's hospitals during WWII and following the hostilities. January of 1933 saw very heavy demands from the unemployed and the chapter sustained a significant emotional loss when one of the founders of the chapter passed away. Mrs. Frederick Winston Merrell died on March 30, 1934. She had been the granddaughter of Commodore Matthew Galbraith Perry of Maple Street.

By September of 1939, as World War II was raging in Europe, the Central Committee of the American Red Cross gave $1 million dollars to help finance the most urgent relief needs. Once again, chapters across the country grew rapidly as medicine and clothing were sent from the United States to the war refugees. The Red Cross sponsored War Fund Drives and Blood Donor Drives as well as civil defense, home nursing, and nutritional courses. The Red Cross also recruited nurses on behalf of the military and by 1944 7.5 million citizens volunteered for chapter work.

Scrapbooks from the 1940's of the Morristown Chapter of the Red Cross serve as testimonials to the patriotism, courage and dedication of hundreds of women from the Morris County area. Many served as military nurses, some were Gray Ladies (they even encouraged their male friends to become Gray Men), and others volunteered for the Nurses' Aide Corps. This was the most successful nursing program run by the American Red Cross. 212,000 volunteers performed 42 million hours of service performing non-technical work in order to give nurses more time for their medical duties.

The many scrapbooks of the collection are filled with newspaper clippings, newsletters, meeting minutes, poems, letters and photographs from these times. In 1941, the Chapter House moved to 29 Elm Street thanks to a special fund, which raised $7, 500 in just a few days.

By the 1950's, and the beginning of the Korean War, fewer volunteers were serving with the Red Cross nationwide. However, according to the American Red Cross website, the years from 1950 to 1959 were considered to be the decade of disasters. Scrapbooks from this decade indicate that floods and tornadoes across the nation required the National Red Cross to expend over $1,000,000. New Jersey experienced it's own flooding as well. In 1955 the Delaware River flooded parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Morristown Chapter raised over $9,000 for a special fund and Canteen units served in Lambertville, New Jersey and Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania.

While the decade of the 1960's brought with it much social, cultural and technological change, the role of the American Red Cross remained much the same. However, new social realities and fragmentation within the organization created new challenges. The Morristown Chapter continued to donate blood, provide disaster relief and prepare care packages for the military services(known as "Friendship Kits") in Vietnam. The Chapter also offered services to men in the military and their families, as well as First Aid Courses and a Water Safety Program.

The reported on May 3, 1967 that the Morristown Chapter of the American Red Cross celebrated its 50th Anniversary at the Morris County Golf Club. In the collection are also some photographs of a retirement party from 1967, as well as photographs and color slides documenting other events.

Throughout the 1960's the American Red Cross continued to unite communities around the country in overcoming disaster wrecked by hurricanes. In 1960, 1961, 1965, 1967, 1969 and 1972, hurricanes swept through the East, New Orleans and Texas. An earthquake shook Anchorage, Alaska in 1964 and the Red Cross was there to provide food, shelter and clothing. They continued their relief efforts in Vietnam until the war ended in 1973 and initiated an Indochinese civilian relief operation in 1975.

Closer to home in Morristown, the chapter was very busy helping the community. A California earthquake in early 1971 saw the chapter house providing support to Morris County family members whose relatives lived close to, or in, the earthquake zone. Later that year, Morristown suffered it's own natural disaster when the Whippany River overflowed its banks due to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Doris. The storm left 22 Morristown residents, from the ages of 3 months to 83 years, homeless for weeks. Immediately sheltered in the Calvary Baptist Church, a Red Cross 6-man Disaster Relief Committee moved them to the Neighborhood House, which served as a temporary housing facility.

The year 1974 saw the beginning of a Meals on Wheels Program, for which the Red Cross coordinated efforts with other organizations. That year the Red Cross began delivery to 13 clients in Morristown. In the collection there are numerous photographs from this time that document a Corporate Blood Drive from 1975, and Youth Service Programs at both Morristown High School and Morris Plains High School. The Morristown Chapter continued aiding the Vietnam veteran's and their families with a program called Voices from Home, as well as establishing a Talking Book Program.

Sadly, the early 1970's saw the Morristown Chapter of the Red Cross saying goodbye to one of its treasured volunteers. After 50 years and 23,702 hours of service, Marjorie F. Pierson passed away in 1973. A devoted volunteer since 1917 when she joined the Motor Corps, Miss Pierson later served as the Secretary for the Board of Directors from 1927-1973.

In May of 1981, the American Red Cross celebrated its 100th Anniversary. With a new century of service about to begin, the Red Cross announced it would start a health awareness campaign. Health and Safety Programs would shift from traditional teaching methods focused on prevention of emergencies to long-range health goals. Another nation-wide challenge for the Red Cross was the changing face of its volunteers corps and the new needs which arose.

Between 1981-1985, there was a 19 percent decrease in volunteering among single people. This loss of volunteer interest became a focus of study groups in order to investigate and improve upon particular policies of the organization. Traditional programs remained at the corps of the Red Cross charter while courses took on an individualized approach to an individual's needs, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, skill levels and physical abilities.

A new program to begin at the Morristown Chapter focused on the high school students of Morristown High School. By 1980 the Safe Rides Program had begun helping students home on the weekends if they had been "partying" too much. These materials are mainly photographs, but also include letters and newspaper clippings from this program as well as other Safe Rides programs not related to the Red Cross.

The early 1990's saw the United States at war in the Persian Gulf. Once again, the Red Cross continued their wartime service to both soldiers and their families.The Morristown Chapter played an important role collecting blood, establishing links of communication between the military and their families and preparing for wounded at the Lyons VA Hospital. In the community, local flower shops sold yellow ribbons in support of our troops. Their proceeds were then donated to the Morristown Chapter of the Red Cross.

The Morristown Chapter was involved with disaster relief, youth training and AIDS awareness in the 1990's as well. A Morris Plains resident, Sue Hands-Renwick volunteered to coordinate flood relief efforts in Minnesota while teenagers were trained in babysitting and after-school tutoring. The AIDS epidemic was the focus of a lot of the Red Cross' publicity and the collection contains a letter from a volunteer in St. Marten's, the Virgin Islands, who had been there to help clean up after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.