In the 19th century landowners undertook charitable activity both through organisations and individual work. Among organisations in which they participated were Arch-Brotherhoods of Mercy, Societies of Charity, the Company Of Sisters of Charity or the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The latter was brought to the Greater Poland in 1850. A year later two other conferences were established in Poznan. After 1855 in Greater Poland many other conferences were established, which led to the establishment of the Higher Council meant to coordinate their activity. The duty of the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was to visit the sick at their homes every week. They were supposed to support them financially and spiritually. The best source of information about the activity of the conference of St. Vincent de Paul are various reports. It is from the reports that we may learn how many families remained in the Society’s care each year, how much food and what kind of clothes were distributed. As the charitable activity of the landowners has not been thoroughly analysed so far, the research in this direction is worth undertaking.