B. INSTITUTIONAL CARE OF POOR CHILDREN
The Bethesda Orphan House, Georgia, 1739-1742
1. George Whitfield raises funds for an orphan house in Georgia, 1739-1740
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, pp.176-178.
George Whitefield (1714-1770) combined evangelistic fervor for saving souls with prowess in fund raising. The principal object of his philanthropic labors was the orphan house in Georgia which he projected in 1738 on his first visit to America [1a]. Late in 1739, after the Georgia trustees awarded him 500 acres of land for the orphanage, Whitefield returned to America. The incident describes occurred in the course of this second visit, when Whitefield was about twenty-five years of age.
Mr. Whitfield, in leaving us, went preaching all the Way thro' the Colonies to Georgia. Settlement of that Province had lately been begun; but instead of being made with hardy industrious Husbandmen accustomed to Labour, the only People fit for such an Enterprise, it was with Families of broken Shopkeepers and other insolvent Debtors, many of indolent and idle habits, taken out of the Goals, who being set down in the Woods, unqualified for clearing Land, and unable to endure the Hardships of a new Settlement, perished in Numbers, leaving many helpless Children unprovided for. The Sight of their miserable situation inspired the benevolent Heart of Mr. Whitefield with the Idea of building an Orphan House there, in which they might be supported and educated. Returning northward he preach'd up this Charity, and made large Collections; for his Eloquence had a wonderful Power over the Hearts and Purses of his Hearers, of which I myself was an Instance. I did not disapprove of the Design, but as Georgia was then destitute of Materials and Workmen, and it was propos'd to send them from Philadelphia at a great Expence, I thought it would have been better to have built the House here and brought the Children to it. This I advis'd, but he was resolute in his first Project, and rejected my Counsel, and I thereupon refus'd to contribute. I happened soon after to attend one of his Sermons, in the Course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a Collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my Pocket a Handful of Copper Money, three or four silver Dollars, and five Pistoles in Gold. As he proceeded I began to soften, and concluded to give the Coppers. Another Stroke of his Oratory made me asham'd of that, and determin'd me to give the Silver; and he finish'd so admirably, that I empty'd my Pocket wholly in to the Collector's Dish, Gold and all. At this Sermon there was also one of our Club who being of my Sentiments respecting the Building in Georgia, and suspecting a Collection might be intended, had by Precaution emptied his Pockets before he came from home; towards the Conclusion of the Discourse however, he felt a strong Desire to give, and apply'd to a Neighbour who stood near him to borrow some Money for the Purpose. The Application was unfortunately to perhaps the only Man in the Company who had the firmness not to be affected by the Preacher. His Answer was, At any other time, Friend Hopkinson, I would lend to thee freely; but not now; for thee seems to be out of thy right Senses.
2. Whitefield's description of Bethesda, 1740
George Whitefield's Journals (London, 1960), pp. 395-397; first published 1738-1741.
Bethesda was the second orphanage in Georgia, German settlers having established one at Ebenezer in 1738. Both Bethesda and Ebenezer were modeled after the orphanage at Halle, Germany, founded by August Francke. [2a]
Savannah
Friday, January 11, 1740. Went this morning, with some friends, to view a tract of land, consisting of five hundred acres, which Mr. Habersham, whom I left schoolmaster of Savannah, was directed, I hope by Providence, to make choice of for the Orphan House. It is situated on the northern part of the colony, about ten miles from Savannah, and has various kinds of soil in it; a part of it very good. Some acres, through the diligence of my friend, are cleared. He has also stocked it with cattle and poultry. He has begun the fence, and built a hut, which will greatly forward the work. I choose to have it so far off the town, because the children will be more free from bad examples, and can more conveniently go up on the land to work. For it is my design to have each of the children taught to labour, so as to be qualified to get their own living. Lord, do Thou teach and excite them to labour also for that meat which endureth to everlasting life!
Thursday, Jan. 24. Went this morning and took possession of my lot. I called it Bethesda, that is, the House of Mercy; for I hope many acts of mercy will be shewn there, and that many will thereby be stirred up to praise the Lord, as a God Whose mercy endureth for ever.
Tuesday, Jan. 29. Took in three German orphans, the most pitiful objects, I think, I ever saw. No new negroes could look more despicable, or require more pains to instruct them. They have been used to exceedingly hard labour, and though supplied with provisions from the trustees, were treated in a manner unbecoming even heathens. Were all the money I have collected, to be spent in freeing these three children from slavery, it would be well laid out. I have also in my house near twenty more, who, in all probability, if not taken in, would be as ignorant of God and Christ as the Indians. Blessed be God, they begin to live in order. Continue this and all other blessings to them, for Thy mercies' sake O Lord.
This day I began the cotton manufacture, and agreed with a woman to teach the little ones to spin and card. I find annual cotton grows fairly well in Georgia; and to encourage the people, I bought to-day, three hundred pounds weight, and have agreed to take all the cotton, hemp, and flax that shall be produced the following year through the whole province. Though there are fewer inhabitants in Savannah, yet I think they are in a better situation than when I was here last. They now live independent on a public store. Provisions (flour especially) are much cheaper, cattle more plentiful; and if any manufacturer can be raised among themselves, to prevent them exporting so much money, they may yet do well. My congregations are as large as usual. The Court House is generally full; and I keep as near as possible to my old way of proceeding. We have the Sacrament every Sunday, and public prayer and exposition twice every day in the week.
Wednesday, Jan. 30. Went with the carpenter and surveyor, and laid out the ground whereon the Orphan House is to be built. It is to be sixty feet long and forty wide. The foundation it to be brick, and is to be sunk four feet within, and raised three feet above the ground. The house is to be two stories high, with a hip roof: the first ten, the second nine feet high. In all, there will be nearly twenty commodious rooms. Behind are to be two small houses, the one for an infirmary, the other for a workhouse. There is also to be a still-house for the apothecary; and I trust, before my return to England, I shall see the children and family quite settled. I find it will be an expensive work; but it is for the Lord Christ. He will take care to defray all charges. The money that will be spent, on this occasion, will keep many families from leaving the colony, and in all probability, bring many others over. There are nearly thirty working at the plantation already, and I would employ as many more, if they were to be had. Whatsoever is done for God, ought to be done speedily, as well as with all our might.
Monday, Feb. 4. Met, according to appointment, all the magistrates, who heard the Recorder read the grant given me by the Trustees, and took a minute of their approbation of the same. Lord, grant I may carefully watch over every soul that is or shall be committed to my charge..
Monday, Feb. 11. Took in four fresh orphans, and set out with two friends, to Frederica, in order to pay my respects to General Oglethorpe, and to fetch the orphans in the southern parts of the colony.
3. Mistreatment of orphan at Bethesda, 1741
"Journal of Colonel William Stephens," Ga. Colonial Records, IV Supplement (1908), 166-168.
Whitefield returned to England in December 1740 leaving Jonathan Barber in charge of spiritual matters at Bethesda and James Habersham in charge of business affairs. William Stephens was secretary of the colony of Georgia.
June 16, 1741. Complaint being made to Bailiff Parker, that one of the Orphan Boys, under the Care of Mr. Whitefield, had been treated with unwarrantable Correction, by Mr. Barber the Presbyterian Minister there, he was summoned to appear at Savannah, by to the Constable, under the Hands of Mess. Parker, Fallowfield, and Pye the Recorder: To which he appeared; and the Matter was examined into by them,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Boy who had suffered (it seems) had run away to Mr. Parker for Protection, at his Plantation in the Isle of Hope; where Parker being not well at that Time, had delay'd coming to Town for near a fortnight, to have it enquir'd into; by which Means the Stripes he had seen fresh upon the Boy, did not now appear so terrible as at first: However, the Boy being now present, and stripp'd, it is yet visible from Scars and Wounds not yet healed, that great Cruelty had been used: It was denied, that the Boy was made naked to the Waist, after the Manner of common Malefactors, and lashed with five strong Twigs tied together, as long as they would hold, whereby his whole Back, Shoulders, Loins, Flank and Belly, were in a dreadful Condition. The Cause of this Severity, as alledged by the Boy, was, that he had wrote a Letter some Time before, to Mr. Parker, therein then complaining of severe Usage; which Mr. Parker now owned he received, but did not take great Notice of it, thinking it the common Case of many School-Boys under the Chastisement of the Rod; but now it was made appear, that the Boy's writing that Letter, was come to their Knowledge, and was the Occasion of his being thus dealt with and threatened to have his Punishment renewed, unless he would write to Mr. Parker again, and contradict all he had said before; which the Anguish he was under forced him to promise; but he made his Escape as aforesaid. During this Proceeding, it is said Mr. Barber found courteous Treatment; but upon offering nothing in his own Vindication, only that he thought himself the proper Judge, without Controul, in what Manner to govern the boys that he had the Care of, and questioning the Powers by which they acted; they told him, they should convince him farther of that very soon, when they intended, by Virtue of that Power, to visit the Orphan-House, and make farther Enquiry into whatever they found amiss, and appeared to them contrary to the Design of the Trustees, by their Grant: And thereupon taking the Boy away, with Intent to dispose of him by Apprenticeship, as they saw proper, they parted.
4. "Let the orphan house alone," 1742
Letter from George Whitefield presumably to the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia,
Aug. 17, 1742, in Ga. Colonial Records, XXIII (1914),392-395.
As early as 1740 disputes arose between Whitefield and the Georgia magistrates and trustees over the extent of Whitefield's authority over orphans and the autonomy of the orphan house. Whitefield was accused of taking orphans from the homes of relatives who were able and willing to support them.
. . . I am sorry also to inform Your Honrd. Gentlemen that five very small Swiss or Dutch Children, whose Parents lately died in their passage from England, have had their goods sold at Vandue, & been bound out to the Age of twenty one Years. This I think directly contrary to the Grant given me by You Honrd. Gentlemen—For thereby I was impower'd to take in as many Orphans into the Orphan-house as my fund would admit of—The Magistrates I understand also have been at the Orphan- house & claim a power to take away the Children when they please, whether the Children chuse it or complain of ill treatment or not—This grieves some of the Children, & makes others of them Insolent who are hereby taught that they have a power to go away when they will—This Honrd. Gentlemen must be very discouraging to those who are entrusted with their Education, & who I am persuaded aim at nothing but the Glory of God, the welfare of the Colony & the Salvation of the Children's souls—I suppose the Magistrates (I mean Mr. Parker & Fallowfield) have taken such liberty from some of the Instructions which were sent Honrd. Gentlemen from You some time agoe But Mr. Jones has told them they have misunderstood You—And His Excellency General Oglethorp I find has wrote to you Honrd. Gentlemen about it—By Accounts I have, our Plantation thrives well, & Mr. Habersham writes me word He hopes we shall do with white Servants—I assure you Honrd. Gentlemen I will do all I can, with the most disinterested view to promote the good of Georgia—Only I beg the Management of the Orphan-house & Orphans may be secured to me & my Successors for Ever, & the Magistrates not be suffered to disturb us when there is no ground of complaint - They acknowledged when at the Orphan-house last that the Children were taken good care of both as to Body & soul—And will it not then Honrd. Gentlemen tend much to the Welfare of the Colony that the Orphan-house should meet with all possible encouragement? . . . Indeed Honrd. Gentlemen, I do not desire to find fault - I doubt not but You have been prejudiced against me & my Friends—The Event will shew what Friends we are to Georgia—The Orphan-house will certainly be an Addition to the Colony, & the Children educated therein I trust will be the Glory of the Society to which they belong—They are bred up to Industry as well as other things, & taught to fear God & honour the King—If You please Honrd. Gentlemen I will wait upon You when I return to London, & with all humility lay these matters before You—I am glad to hear You have lately sent over a Gentleman who (as is supposed) will do justice - I think I desire nothing else & heartily pray God to bless him & You Honrd. Gentlemen & all that are concerned in the management of the Georgia affairs—I hope to be in Town in about two months—In the mean while I would beg the favour of [a] line, by Your Secretary, & also entreat You Honrd. Gentlemen to write to the Magistrates of Savannah to let the Orphan-house alone till I have laid matters before You & arrive at Georgia which God willing at the furthest will be the beginning of next Year—If I or my friends should happen to say or do any thing amiss, I assure You Honrd. Gentlemen, You shall have all possible satisfaction given You by them, as also by, Honrd. Gentlemen
Your very humble Servt.
George Whitefield
Public institutions
1. The first public orphanage, Charleston, South Carolina, 1790
"An Ordinance for the establishment of an orphan house in the City of Charleston," ratified Oct. 18, 1790, in George B. Eckhard, A Digest of the Ordinance of the City Council of Charleston, From the Year 1783 to October 1844 (Charleston, 1844), PP. 188-189.
WHEREAS, the present mode of supporting and educating poor children at different schools, has been found by experience to be attended with heavy expense and many inconveniences, and the establishment of an Orphan House properly organized and conducted, will be attended with less expense, more convenience and benefit, and may tend to give general satisfaction to the citizens, and induce the benevolent to assist in the support of so charitable and laudable an institution:
Be it ordained, That a lot of land, not less than two hundred feet square, shall be immediately laid out by the Committee of the City Lands, on the most healthy and convenient spot, and reserved for the building and erecting an Orphan House, as soon as the funds of the corporation will admit, or any practical plan to defray the expense thereof can be devised. And that all such poor orphan children and children of poor distressed or disabled parents as shall be deemed proper objects of admission by the Commissioners, who shall be vested with powers for managing the said Orphan House, shall be admitted into the same, and shall be supported, educated and maintained at the expense of the corporation, during such term and under such regulations as the City Council shall from time to time prescribe or sanction.
Until the said Orphan House shall be erected, a proper house and lot of land conveniently situated, shall be rented as an Orphan House, by the Commissioners [elected by City Council] who shall have the direction and management of the same, and who shall admit, and take charge of the clothing, maintenance and education of the children of the Orphan House; and it shall be the duty of the Commissioners to choose and appoint proper assistants, nurses and domestics, and to superintend and manage the Orphan House, the officers and servants thereof, and the children therein, to the best of their judgment and skill, subject to the control of the City Council.
It shall be the duty of the Steward of the Orphan House to see that good and wholesome provisions are sent for the use of the children and other persons residing in the Orphan House, by the butchers, bakers, and other persons employed to furnish such articles as may be necessary; to take care of the articles delivered him for the use of the Orphan House; to keep a book of fair and "regular accounts of all receipts and expenditures, which shall be subject at all times, to the examination of the Com- missioners, to perform all the duties of a good Steward, to obey the directions and regulations of the Commissioners; and to enable the said Steward to discharge faithfully the duties required of him, he shall reside in the Orphan House, and shall receive necessary provisions for himself.
A Matron of good capacity and character shall be elected by the City Council on the last Monday in October, annually, but if no Council shall meet on that day, then on the first day of the Council thereafter, as School Mistress and Matron of the Orphan House, whose duty it shall be to teach the children to read and sew, to take care that their clothes are properly made, washed and preserved, to keep the children and their rooms cleanly, and to watch over their morals and conduct; to direct the assistants and nurses, and to see that they discharge their duties faithfully, and to distribute them properly among the children, in the different rooms; to take care that the victuals provided for the children are wholesome, cleanly and well prepared; to preserve order and decorum at table and elsewhere, and to conduct the children regularly to some place of worship on the Sabbath, and to obey all the directions of the Commissioners. And to enable the said Mistress and Matron to perform her duties she shall reside in the Orphan House, and shall receive necessary provisions for herself.
The Commissioners who shall be appointed by the City Council, shall have power and authority to make and frame such rules and regulations as they may think necessary, for the good government and conducting the business of the Orphan House, and all persons therein. Provided, all such rules and regulations are presented to, and approved of by the City Council, within ten days after the same are framed, and that the City Council shall and may confirm, alter and amend or annul the same.
2. Care of children in New York City Almshouse, 1800
"Rules for the Government of the Almshouse," Oct. 6, 1800, in N.Y.C. Council Minutes, 1784-1831, II, 671.
1. Care shall be taken to provide healthy and proper nurses for such of the children as may require them; and where this can be done out of the house, it shall be preferred.
2. Such children as have arrived at a suitable age, shall regularly attend the school, provided for them, and shall be instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
3. The girls shall be taught plain work and knitting, by a proper person to be provided for that purpose, and shall be employed therein, at least three afternoons in every week.
4. Care shall be taken that the children are kept clean and neat; that they receive their food regularly, and that they behave themselves in a decent and orderly manner. They shall be allowed such sports and pastime, as may contribute to their health, but always in the presence of some discreet and sober person; and shall be kept, as much as possible, from any intermixture with the other paupers.
5. If any of the children distinguish themselves by their good behaviour and capacity, the board will direct their being instructed in the higher kinds of learning, and will take measures that they may profit thereby in their future situations in life.
6. The children shall be kept in separate apartments, according to their different sexes.
7. The schoolmaster, or some proper person, shall twice on each Sunday, read to the children, and such of the adult paupers as may chuse to attend, proper prayers and sermons, with some passages or parts of the bible, or some other religious book.
8. When any of the children arrive at proper ages, they shall be bound out to suitable trades or occupations, and provision shall be made in their indentures for their due maintenance and instruction.
9. If any of those who shall have been so bound out, shall be injured or ill-treated, the superintendent shall consider it as his duty to procure them redress. They are to be considered, in every respect, as the children of the public, under his care.
Female Associations for the benefit of children
1. Origins of the Boston Female Asylum, 1800
Abby L. Wales, Reminiscences of the Boston Female Asylum (Boston, 1844), pp.. 7-12.
In these times of excitement and movement, when societies for every imaginable purpose have become so common as for the very name to provoke a smile or a sarcasm, and yet when every new project finds friends and supporters, it is difficult to appreciate the deep yet timid feeling, which prompted a few high minded and kind hearted women, to step beyond what was then considered the limit of female duty, and associate to found, in the year 1800, an asylum for female orphan children.
Our city now numbering its hundred thousand inhabitants, then contained but twenty thousand, nor had the great tide of foreign immigration poured in its thousands of the poor; yet even then the want of an Orphan Asylum was felt; and this want was brought to express itself under apparently accidental circumstances. A case of individual wrong and suffering, in which she became much interested, was made known to Mrs. Hannah Stillman, wife of the Rev. Dr. Stillman, one of the most popular and beloved clergymen of that day. An orphan girl told her story of early destitution, and betrayal; and it was known that there were many exposed to like wants and trials. Mrs. Stillman spoke of this, and of her wish to provide an Asylum for such, to her friends. One of them, Mrs. Ozias Goodwin, had accounts of such establishments brought by her husband from Europe. A plan was talked of, and a correspondence opened on the subject in the Boston Gazette, edited by Mr. John Russell, in which that gentleman took a part, and was from the beginning a friend and helper in the project. Although several other ladies joined Mrs. Stillman, it was difficult to get a sufficient number who were willing to give their names as subscribers. It was the first time here that women had combined for any public purpose. Many looked suspiciously, and many opposed the design. Yet its friends were of that character and station in society that sympathy and confidence could not be long withheld.
The first meeting for the purpose of organizing the society, was held at the house of Mrs. Jonathan Mason Sen'r, September 26, 1800 . . . At this first meeting a plan was proposed and accepted, and several ladies were chosen to fill the offices necessary for carrying it into effect. Some of these, though expressing great interest in the object, declined for various reasons to serve in this way.
At the second meeting, the Treasurer reported that she had received donations amounting to three hundred and eighteen dollars, and annual subscriptions to two hundred and ninety-one dollars. She was directed to invest the donations in bank stock, and keep the subscriptions until called for. It was with this slender capital, the managers advertised that they were ready to receive the most needy of the orphans who might be presented, according as their means would permit. It had been agreed, that a suitable person should be provided who would take the children to board and instruct them under the supervision of the managers. Mrs. Susanna Draper was chosen for this purpose, and one dollar and fifty cents per week was to be paid for the board of each child.
At this meeting too, the first child, Betsey D., was admitted. Of this child, Dr. Stillman in his anniversary sermon says: - "The first child was admitted into this Asylum under circumstances extremely affecting. Having lost her parents when about five years of age, she was received by an aunt, affectionate but poor, who adopted her as her own. Soon after disease attacked this aunt and she expected to die. Her principal anxiety now was what would become of this destitute child. In the moment of her distress, she was visited by a friend, who told her that a place was just established under the management of the ladies of Boston for female orphan children, and that they would certainly receive the child on application being made to them. Overjoyed at this unexpected information, she exclaimed 'Thank Got! that place is provided for my little girl!' "
At the next meeting two others were admitted.
At the December meeting, it was recorded that a child having a mother in a very distressed situation was offered for admission. The original design of some of the managers seems to have been to confine the privilege of admission to those who had "neither father nor mother." And the record says there was much discussion on the subject. Some advocating strict adherence to the rule, while others pleaded for a larger construction of the term orphan. The votes being taken, eight were found to be in favor of receiving the child and five against it. She was accordingly admitted. It may be permitted to add the following words from the record: "Madam Perkins then rose and laid on the table a ten dollar bill, as a mark of her approbation of the decision. . .
From this time it was never made an objection to the admission of a suffering child that one of its parents was living.
2. Female Charitable Society, Salem, Massachusetts, 1802-1807
William Bentley, D.D., Diary, II (Salem, 1905), 408-409; III (1911), 299.
January 19, 1802. Female associations for the benefit of the female children are adopted through the United States. There has been one lately established at Savanna. There has been one at Baltimore & one in this Town, besides there are in several other places, Boston, Philadelphia, N.Y. The widow of Gen. Fiske is Directress of that at Salem & they have upon the printed List above 140 members. I am happy to find the concurrence of many of my own parish. In the List I find of my own Females, 6 out of the 8 & one third of the members.
June 9, 1807. Application in turn to preach the Annual Sermon before the Female Charitable Society in Salem. Some late difficulties have become serious to this Institution. The Nine Female Children subject to its care have been entrusted lately to a woman who is represented for the purpose of her avarice to have withholden necessary food from them. Enquiries have been made but not with full satisfaction in the result as there never can be when both parties are not without friends & when the public jealousies are awakened. The strict economy required by the managers, when directed by ignorance & avarice, may have a terrible appearance before those who see the poor daily supplied abundantly with food, when they really are in want of everything besides.
3. Contract between Sisters of Charity and the managers of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, Philadelphia, 1820
"Mother Seton's Daughters in Philadelphia in 1820," Records of the American Catholic Historical Society, XVIII (1917), 277-279.
The Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, founded in 1809 by Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), staffed many of the early Roman Catholic schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States. Although this contract was made in 1820, the sisters had taken charge of the orphanage in 1814. A similar contract was entered into in 1817 between the Sisters of Charity and the managers of the New York Catholic Asylum.
AN agreement entered into between the Superior-general of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's near Emmittsburg, Maryland, in their name and in their behalf, and the managers of the Roman Catholic Society of St. Joseph, for educating and maintaining poor Orphan Children in Philadelphia:
1. The Rev. John Dubois, Superior General of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's engages to supply four sisters, who shall undertake the management of the Orphan House in Philadelphia, to attend to the economy of the house, the care of the children, their schooling and religious instruction.
2. All donations received by the sisters to be accounted for by them to the managers of St. Joseph's Society, who have the exclusive direction of the funds belonging to that institution.
3. No children to be admitted into the Asylum other than by the managers, whose duty it shall be from time to time to consult the head sister thereon.
4. The managers hereby engage to support the house, supplying from time to time, any monies that may be wanted, should donations prove insufficient for that purpose.
5. Flour and wood will be provided by the managers, all articles of clothing by the Ladies' Society, established for that purpose. Groceries generally to be purchased by the sisters, at the same time leaving it optional with the head sister to purchase those articles themselves or to have them bought by the managers.
6. No other duties or charges shall be imposed on the sisters without the consent of the central government, the managers being desirous that they shall attend to the Orphans exclusively.
7. The regulation and management of the house to be left to the discretion of the sisters, in whom the managers repose entire confidence and with whose rules and customs they will not interfere.
8. The managers by their appointment feel themselves in duty bound to attend to the wants of the children, and of course reserve to them- selves the right to visit the house at proper hours and seasons, it being understood that they are not to interfere or interrupt the sisters in their religious exercises, these visits to be confined to the school and lower parts of the house.
9. The Ladies who undertake to provide for and furnish the Asylum with clothing and other necessaries are to have the privilege of visiting every part of the house. It being nevertheless understood that they shall appoint monthly or quarterly committees for that purpose, consisting of at least two members—the visits to be at such times as not to interfere with the sisters in their religious duties. The Ladies at their quarterly meetings to examine the children, when small premiums shall be distributed by them to the most deserving.
10. Strangers visiting the Asylum, may be introduced to all parts of the house for the first time, either by one or more of the managers, or by the sisters, if these visits are repeated they can only be received in the parlors; the same privilege is allowed also the person or persons who may introduce said strangers for the first time, although themselves may have repeated the visits frequently.
11. The sisters to board at the Asylum conformable to the simplicity of their rules.
12. The Ladies will pay to the head sister, thirty-one dollars per annum for each sister employed in the Asylum for their clothing, and furnish them with shoes, but in case of their not so doing, the managers hereby engage to do the same.
13. The travelling expenses of the sisters, coming to or going from Philadelphia shall be paid by the managers, when the health of any one of the sisters, or any reasonable cause may be such as to require her removal to Emmittsburg, and of course, another will have to supply her place, whose expenses will also be borne. In case of the decease of anyone of the sisters at the Asylum, the managers to pay the funeral expenses, all removals of the sisters other than the foregoing to be paid by the central government.
In confirmation whereof the said parties have set their hands and seals the twenty-eighth day of July 1820.
JOHN DUBOIS, Superintendent of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's.
JOSEPH SNYDER, Secretary of the Board of Managers of St. Joseph's Society
The New York Orphan Asylum, 1806-1819
The Orphan Asylum Society was organized on March 15,1806, at a meeting presided over by Mrs. Isabella Marshall Graham. Mrs. Graham was the first directress of the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children, founded in 1797. The Orphan Asylum Society was an outgrowth of the earlier society. It was incorporated in 1807 and granted authority to indenture its orphan wards in 1809.
1. Collection proposed for the benefit of the Orphan Asylum Society, 1807
New York Evening Post, June 5, 1807.
Orphan Asylum Society - The attention of the public is most respectfully solicited to the merits, the importance, and the wants of a re- cent but valuable institution, "The Orphan Asylum Society of New-York," which commenced in March, 1806. There are already about twenty orphans cloathed, fed, and educated under the care of this Society. In the space of fourteen months, many of the children who knew not the alphabet when they entered, can now read the Bible fluently, and their progress in writing is also considerable. As yet a hired building has sufficed, but the surprising number of Orphans and the propriety of a permanent and extensive Asylum have induced the venerable Clergy of New-York almost unanimously to propose a general collection in their several churches. Christian Friends and Fellow-
Citizens - you will rejoice in this opportunity of affording your bountiful and efficient aid to this more than common charity. Each Minister will appoint in his own congregation the day deemed proper for taking up the desired contributions and many a good Samaritan will be able to pour oil and wine into the wounds of
deprived infancy -
Four lots of ground are already purchased; and there is reason to hope, the patronage of a people. . . will produce a fund fully adequate to the erection of a handsome and commodious building. It will be an external ornament to our city, and an eternal consolation to all its inhabitants.
2. "The institution is considerably in ,debt. . . ," 1810
New York Evening Post, July 31, 1810.
The contributions to this institution have been liberal, and do honor to the patrons and conductors of so noble an establishment. But we are sorry to observe that the institution is considerably in debt. The benevolent zeal of the disinterested conductors, has outrun their means. However, this cannot long be the case - the wealthy and liberal citizens of this prosperous city, will never suffer an institution of such heavenly origin, to droop and die for want of the necessary pecuniary support. . .
3. Grant of a state subsidy
a. New York recognizes the Orphan Asylum Society, 1811
"An act for the benefit of the Orphan Asylum Society," 1811 - ch. 86, Laws of the State of New York. . . 1811 (1811), p. 159.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly: That the Treasurer shall pay, until the further order of the legislature, to the trustees of the orphan asylum society in the city of New York, the annual sum of five hundred dollars out of the fund arising from auction duties, and appropriated to the support of foreign poor in the city of New York, and that the first payment under this Act shall be made on the first day of May next. [3a]
3a. In similar fashion the state of Louisiana began the practice of subsidizing private charitable agencies by making annual grants, first (1819) to the Female Orphan Society and subsequently to an ever increasing number of "homes" and asylums. Elizabeth Wisner, Public Welfare Administration in Louisiana (Chicago, 1930), pp. 187-188.
b. The Society gratefully acknowledges the annual subsidy, 1820
Orphan Asylum Society in the City of New York, Thirteenth Annual Report (New York, 1819), p. 94.
. . . We have not been accustomed to consider this as a public institution, being, we may say, wholly supported by private beneficence. [4a] The only exception to this is an annual sum of $500 from the State Legislature, procured for us through 1he kind offices of a gentleman long known as the patron of every good institution and who always cheered us in our course.
Our respect, our gratitude, and best wishes are associated with the name of DeWitt Clinton, in whom, during the long period he was chief magistrate of this city, we always found a steady friend and dignified protector. . .
4a. In 1809 the state legislature awarded the Society $5,000 from the proceeds of a lottery to be held for the benefit of the Board of Health. This sum finally became available in 1816 enabling the society to payoff the mortgage on the asylum property and make an addition to the building. Third Annual Report (1809), p. 32; Tenth Annual Report (1816), p. 75.