Children’s Friend & Service, an antipoverty group in Providence, R.I., is suing Rhode Island Hospital to force it to honor the bequest of a woman who donated $4,000 to the hospital in her will two months before she died in 1912, reports The Boston Globe.

Louisa G. Lippitt said in her will that she wanted the money to be used to create a permanent bed for a poor person in need of health care.

An administrative assistant at the poverty group found documents about the gift while searching through archives for the charity’s forthcoming 175th anniversary.

Charity officials say they believe that the hospital received the donation but never provided a free bed as requested by Ms. Lippitt, who said in her will that she wanted to give Children’s Friend Society of Providence, the current charity’s predecessor, the right to refer patients to the hospital.

After finding the certificate, Children’s Friend talked to the hospital about setting aside a bed for its needy clients. When the two sides could not come to an agreement, Children’s Friend sued the hospital.

Lawyers for the hospital have asked that the lawsuit be dismissed on the grounds that the gift was originally made to Children’s Friend Society and that the current organization was not established until 1949.

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