The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, writings, and the financial records of Le Secours Français, an American relief organization founded by Mrs. Seton Porter during World War II to aid the civilian population of France.

The organization Secours Français was an American relief organization founded by Mrs. Seton Porter during World War II to aid the civilian population of France. Mrs. Seton Porter (maiden name: Frederica Berwind) married Henry Herman Harjes, a partner at Morgan Harjes & Co. in Paris, in 1911. During the First World War, H.H. Harjes was a chief representative of the American Red Cross in France and founder of an American ambulance section. Mrs. Seton Porter, then Mrs. Harjes, also aided in the war effort by establishing a military hospital named La Cantine de la Malmaison in September 1914 that operated until the end of the war in 1918. For her efforts, she was decorated by the French army with the Legion d'honneur and the Croix de Guerre with Palm. H. H. Harjes died in 1926, leaving Frederica with a desire to aid war-torn France, as she had done with her late husband. She subsequently married Mr. Seton Porter in 1936, three years before she would found Le Paquet au Front, the organization that would later become Le Secours Français. Mrs. Seton Porter acted as chairman for the organization, with Miss Gladys Lillie as her executive secretary. Mrs. Seton Porter died in June 1954.

2 manuscript boxes (0.8 Linear Feet)

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