Guide to the James N. Jarvie Commonweal Service Records

The James N. Jarvie Commonweal Service began in 1925, when James Newbegin Jarvie conceived the idea of establishing a fund to provide financial assistance and service to aged persons 65 years and older, of culture and education, of the Protestant faith, and residing in the greater New York area.

Born in 1853 in Manchester, England, James Newbegin Jarvie emigrated to America with his family in 1855. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and Bloomfield, New Jersey. As an adult, he worked with the New York firm of Arbuckle Brothers, sugar and coffee merchants, with which firm he later became a partner. In 1906, at the age of fifty-three, he withdrew to establish himself in finance and investments. He was active on the Board of many businesses, and very active as a philanthropist. He served as a member of the National Board of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America for 13 years, and was a member of its Finance Committee and an active contributor to the work of the Board. He was married in 1909, although his wife died tragically in 1912. The couple had no children.

James N. Jarvie established the Commonweal Fund in 1925 with an original gift of $1,000,000. During the first few years of its existence, the concept of the fund was established: "To offer financial aid and friendly service to elderly folk, sixty-five and beyond, within the Protestant faith and residing within the Greater New York area; persons of culture and education whose former comfortable circumstances had been reversed and who, in their declining years found themselves without sufficient means of support." An emphasis of the fund was to provide personalized service and financial assistance, in a confidential manner. Efforts were made to maintain the individuals in their homes, and to provide assistance to them for the remainder of their lifetimes. In addition, it should be noted that the fund supported all individuals of Protestant faiths, not only Presbyterians.

The original Board of Trustees of the Fund included James N. Jarvie, President; Mr. John M. Perry, Vice-President; as well as his three nephews, James Turner, Secretary and Treasurer; Mr. Henry M. Worcester, and Mr. Coll J. Turner. Mr. William P. McCulloch, former Assistant Treasurer of Princeton Theological Seminary, was named executive to help direct the fund's activities; he remained with the fund until 1946.

The name of the Corporation was formally changed to the Jarvie Commonweal Fund in 1927. At the time of James N. Jarvie's death in 1929, the Fund became the residuary legatee of his estate, and under the terms of his will received $28,500,000. The original Board of Trustees continued as Directors of the Jarvie Commonweal Fund, with James Turner becoming President of the Board of Trustees. However, the Depression of the 1930s caused some financial hardship on the fund, with many securities being greatly reduced in value.

In 1933, James Turner decided to anchor the service in an established organization which would agree to carry on the purposes of the Fund outlined by James N. Jarvie. In 1934, an agreement was executed between the Jarvie Commonweal Fund and the Board of National Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Under this agreement the Board of National Missions assumed all monetary and service obligations of the fund.

The Jarvie Commonweal Service was handled by the Board of National Missions until 1972. From 1973 until 1987 it was handled by the Program Agency; in 1987 it became part of the Social Justice and Peacemaking Unit.