B. SPECIAL INSTITUTIONS FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN

Orphan asylum disasters, 1822, 1863

1. Philadelphia, 1822

Niles' Weekly Register, Feb. 2, 1822, p. 367; Feb. 9, 1822, p. 381.

The Orphan Society of Philadelphia was founded in 1814 "to rescue from ignorance, idleness, and vice, unprotected and helpless children, and to provide for them, that support and instruction which may eventually render them valuable members of the community."

Terrible fire. Among the institutions which manifested the zeal of the citizens of Philadelphia in works of benevolence and charity, the Orphan Asylum stood conspicuous. This fine building, located at the corner of Schuykill, Sixth and Cherry streets, was the happy home of about one hundred little orphan girls, in which they were brought up and instructed to become useful members of society. But in the dead hour of the night of the 23d alt. one of the coldest that we have had this season, all that was combustible of this building was consumed by fire – and, horrible to relate, twenty-three of the little innocents perished in the flames! The children slept in the third story, the fire broke out below, and those rescued were snatched out of their beds, at great personal hazard, chiefly by two neighboring watchmen, named Butcher and Miller. The remote situation of the building from the body of the population of the city, prevented the usual assistance of the firemen and others, until the whole of the interior was on fire; and then the great effort was to save the Widow's Asylum adjoining, which was effected. The cost of the edifice was $20,299, and the value of the bedding, clothes and furniture destroyed, is estimated at $3,000; the property was insured at $6,000 only. But the sympathies of the people have been excited, and liberal contributions are tendering – and the prospect is, that all will soon be restored to what it was, save the little sufferers; who, to use the language of the editor of the Democratic Press, "we humbly trust are taken to the bosom of their Father and their God." The legislature of Pennsylvania has unanimously passed a bill appropriating 5,000 dollars to re-build the edifice.

Orphan Asylum, Philadelphia. Individually and by companies, &c. money is pouring in to re-establish this institution. The legislature of the state granted 5000 dollars, unanimously – a member said, "let us pass the bill 'ere the embers of the building become cold and the tears of the orphans dry." A masonic lodge gave 100 dollars, and several other associations from 50 to 100. Messrs. Warren and Wood, of the theatre, gave a night for the benefit of the establishment – the whole receipts were 1745 dollars, net amount, deducting expenses, 1403, which were immediately paid over. The amount already received considerably exceeds the loss of property sustained. [la]

1a. On December 13, 1822, two of the orphans tried to set fire to the temporary asylum. The attempt failed and, according to a contemporary observer, "the little culprits were judiciously disposed of." The new asylum opened in January 1823. Thomas Wilson, Picture of Philadelphia for 1824 (Philadelphia, 1823), p.65.

2. Burning of the Colored Orphan Asylum, New York City, 1863

The New York Times, July 14, 1863.

The Colored Orphan Asylum was founded in 1836. The 233 occupants, ranging in age from two to twelve, escaped from the burning building unharmed and found shelter, first in a police station, and later in the almshouse. The burning of the asylum was an episode in the New York draft riots.

The Orphan Asylum for Colored Children was visited by the mob about four o'clock. This Institution is situated on Fifth A venue, and the building, with the grounds and gardens adjoining, extended from Forty-third to Forty-fourth Street. Hundreds, and perhaps thousands of the rioters, the majority of whom were women and children, entered the premises, and in the most excited and violent manner they ransacked and plundered the building from cellar to garret. The building was located in the most pleasant and healthy portion of the city. It was purely a charitable institution. In it there are on an average 600 or 800 homeless colored orphans. The building was a large four-story one, with two wings of three stories each.

When it became evident that the crowd designed to destroy it, a flag of truce appeared on the walk opposite, and the principals of the establishment made an appeal to the excited populace, but in vain.

Here it was that Chief-Engineer Decker showed himself one of the bravest among the brave. After the entire building had been ransacked, and every article deemed worth carrying away had been taken – and this included even the little garments for the orphans, which were contributed by the benevolent ladies of this city – the premises were fired on the first floor. Mr. Decker did all he could to prevent the flames from being kindled, but when he was overpowered by superior numbers, with his own hands he scattered the brands, and effectually extinguished the flames. A second attempt was made, and this time in three different parts of the house. Again he succeeded, with the aid of half a dozen of his men, in defeating the incendiaries. The mob became highly exasperated at his conduct, and threatened to take his life if he repeated the act. On the front steps of the building he stood up amidst an infuriated and half-drunken mob of two thousand, and begged of them to do nothing so disgraceful to humanity as to burn a benevolent institution, which had for its object nothing but good. He said it would be a lasting disgrace to them and to the city of New York.

These remarks seemed to have no good effect upon them, and meantime the premises were again fired – this time in all parts of the house. Mr. Decker, with his few brave men, again extinguished the flames. This last act brought down upon him the vengeance of all who were bent on the destruction of the asylum, and but for the fact that some firemen surrounded him, and boldly said that Mr. Decker could not be taken except over their bodies, he would have been dispatched on the spot. The institution was destined to be burned, and after an hour and a half of labor on the part of the mob it was in flames in all parts. Three or four persons were horribly bruised by the falling walls, but the names we could not ascertain. There is now scarcely one brick left upon another of the Orphan Asylum.

In the two decades after 1830 benevolent individuals and religious and ethnic groups founded fifty-six orphanages and other institutions for children. The spread of such institutions reflected sympathy for children, social need, and the strength of sectarian feelings.

1. New York: the Leake and Watts Asylum, 1830-1831

Dorothy C. Barck, ed., Letters from John Pintard to His Daughter. . . 1816-1833, III (New York, 1941), 134-135, 152-153, 219,241.

John Pintard (1759-1844), a humanitarian reformer, was one of the organizers of the New York House of Refuge and a founder

of the New York Historical Society.

March 25, 1830 . . . I believe that I have not mentioned to you the prospect of a great act of Charity in favour of Orphans, without distinction of religion or country that is about to take place in this city. John G. Leake Esq. a wealthy Bachelor, died last year, leaving a Will drawn by himself, but not executed, in favour of Robert Watts, son of John Watts Esq. of N Rochelle, in your time, on condition of taking the name of Leake. The Will, after legal investigation was adjudicated to be valid, but before the condition could be fulfilled by an Act of the Legislature, young Watts, the only remaining son of his Father died. In case of such decease or non compliance, the whole Estate of Mr. Leake, a few legacies excepted, was devised to the Rector of Trinity Church, the senior Ministers of the Dutch & Presbyterian Churches, the Mayor & Recorder of this City in Trust, the income & profits of both Real & Personal Estate to be applied to building & supporting an Orphan Assylum, in the suburbs of the city. The Real Estate becomes escheated to the State, about $100,000, the personal between 200 & 300,000 Dollars goes to the Trustees who are applying to the Legislature for an Act of Incorporation. It is contemplated to merge our present Orphan Assylum in this new Leake O. A., whereby it can go into immediate operation & support forthwith 300 Orphans. It is to be hoped that the Legislature will release their claim, & thus carry the benevolent intention of Mr. Leake into full effect. The Real Estate may be worth $100,000, making altogether $400,000 by far the largest benefaction ever bequeathed in this city.

June 11, 1830 . . . There is no end to collections in this city. I only wish that my purse were adequate. Had it not been for this circumstance I should have taken Sister & my namesake to St. Patrick's Cathedral next Sunday morning where a collection is to be made for the benefit of their Orphan Assylum. I can however give my mite, but I should have been gratified to hear the superb music usual on these occasions which attracts great numbers of other denominations & they generally get about $12,000. This Assylum, being strictly Roman Catholic, derives no benefit from our State School Fund, which is applied to public schools that are not sectarian. Such is our Orphan Assylum, where no distinction is made. The R. Catholics are overwhelmed with orphans, so many poor Irish die after a short residence in this city, martyrs, men & women, to intemperance. Ardent spirits are so cheap, that poor Pat & his wife Shelah cannot withstand the temptation. Of course a large supply of orphan children are annually cast on the benevolence of the Catholics & tho generally humble the Irish are very charitable & share their last potato with a famished fellow creature. It is the duty therefore of every Protestant citizen to assist them.

February 5, 1831 . . . Died yesterday AE. 46 John Watts, Jr. M.D. President of the College of Physicians, a manager of the A.B.S.[2a] & a useful member of several of our humane & benevolent Institutions. I mentioned something a year ago about a large legacy left by the late John G. Leake Esq. to Robert, son of John Watts, uncle to the Doctor. The will, after being carried up to the court of errors was adjudged in favour of Robert, who had just come of age & shortly after died, whereby his Father became heir at law to Mr. Leakes estate valued at $300,000. It was a condition of the Will, that in case Robert should die, without heirs, & before he came of age, that the whole of the estate should go towards founding an assylum for Orphans, without distinction of denomination. Mr. J. Watts has most honourably relinquished his legal right to this large estate to carry into effect the intention of Mr. Leake, and a Bill is now before our Legislator, to incorporate Trustees to take charge of the Estate & fulfil the intentions of the munificent Testator. The Building will probably be designated, the Leake & Watts Orphan House. This probably the largest single legacy ever bequeathed to a single object in the U States. Few, very few would be found to act the liberal & generous part of Mr. Watts. The higher praise be his.

April 14, 1831 . . . Yesterday Sister attended in the City Hotel the ann[iversar]y meeting of the Orphan Assylum. The exhibition of the children was most interesting. She paid her own & mothers subs[cription]s $2 each with great satisfaction. The duties of the Seamans Bk occurring at the same hour, 12, prevented me the pleasure of complimenting the good ladies who interest themselves in this important institution. Among the children were 3 orphan daughters of Mr. Duff formerly a wine merchant in this city. His wife was a daughter of Dr. Tillary a respectable physician of the best practice, who lived at the corner of Broadway and Wall Street when Grandma lived in 72 Broadway. She was a very pretty little woman, but unfortunately became, from her husbands misfortunes intemperate. They both died in early [life] leaving their 3 children a charge on the Assylum. It makes one shrink when we regard such instances & ask whose children may in process of time become subjects of the Assylum, to be bound out to service after the decease of parents, who spent their all in profuse extravagance, which was literally the case with Mr. Duff, who was one of poor Uncle Lewis' boon companions.

2a. American Bible Society.

2. Endowment of Girard College, Philadelphia, 1830

The will of Stephen Girard in Edgar W. Knight and Clifton L. Hall, Readings in American Educational History (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1951), pp. 247-254.

Stephen Girard (1750-1831), a childless widower, left a fortune estimated at about six million dollars to found a "college" for "poor male white orphans." Girard College, the largest endowed institution for children in the United States, opened on January 1, 1848. During the 1960's the racial restrictions in the Girard will became the subject of extensive litigation. They were nullified by a federal appeals court in 1967 and the first male black orphans were admitted to the institution in 1968.

And, whereas, I have been for a long time impressed with the importance of educating the poor, and of placing them, by the early cultivation of their minds and the development of their moral principles, above the many temptations to which, through poverty and ignorance, they are exposed; and I am particularly desirous to provide for such a number of poor male white orphan children, as can be trained in one institution, a better education, as well as a more comfortable maintenance, than they usually receive from the application of the public funds: . . . Now, I do give, devise and bequeath, all the residue and remainder of my real and personal estate of every sort and kind wheresoever situate (the real estate in Pennsylvania charged as aforesaid) unto "the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, their successors and assigns, in trust, to and for the several uses, intents and purposes hereinafter mentioned of and concerning the same, that is to say; so far as regards my real estate in Pennsylvania, in trust, that no part thereof shall be ever sold or alienated by the said Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, or their successors, but the same shall forever thereafter be let from time to time, to good tenants, at yearly or other rents, and upon leases in possession not exceeding five years from the commencement thereof, and that the rents, issues and profits arising therefrom, shall be applied towards keeping that part of the said real estate situate in the City and Liberties of Philadelphia constantly in good repair (parts elsewhere situate to be kept in repair by the tenants thereof respectively), and towards improving the same, whenever necessary, by erecting new buildings; and that the net residue (after paying the several annuities herein before provided for) be applied to the same uses and purposes as are herein declared of and concerning the residue of my personal estate: and so far as regards my real estate in Kentucky, now under the care of Messrs. Triplett & Brumley, in trust, to sell and dispose of the same, whenever it may be expedient to do so, and to apply the proceeds of such sale to the same uses and purposes as . . .

And so far as regards the residue of my personal estate. . . to apply and expend so much of that sum as may be necessary, in erecting, as soon as practicably may be, in the centre of my square of ground between High and Chestnut streets, and Eleventh and Twelfth streets, in the City of Philadelphia (which square of ground I hereby devote for the purposes hereinafter stated, and for no other, forever) a permanent College, with suitable out-buildings, sufficiently spacious for the residence and accommodation of at least three hundred scholars, and the requisite teachers and other persons necessary in such an institution as I direct to be established, and in supplying the said College and out-buildings with decent and suitable furniture, as well as books and all things needful to carry into effect my general design.

. . . When the College and appurtenances shall have been constructed, and supplied with plain and suitable furniture and books, philosophical and experimental instruments and apparatus, and all other matters needful to carry my general design into execution; the income, issues and profits of so much of the said sum of two millions of dollars as shall remain unexpended, shall be applied to maintain the said College according to my directions.

    1. The Institution shall be organized as soon as practicable, and to accomplish the purpose more effectually, due public notice of the intended opening of the College shall be given – so that there may be an opportunity to make selections of competent instructors, and other agents, and those who may have the charge of orphans, may be aware of the provisions intended for them.

    2. A competent number of instructors, teachers, assistants, and other necessary agents shall be selected, and when needful, their places from time to time, supplied; they shall receive adequate compensation for their services: but no person shall be employed, who shall not be of tried skill in his or her proper department, of established moral character, and in all cases persons shall be chosen on account of their merit, and not through favour or intrigue.

    3. As many poor male white orphans, between the age of six and ten years, as the said income shall be adequate to maintain, shall be introduced into the College as soon as possible; and from time to time, as there may be vacancies, or as increased ability from income may warrant, others shall be introduced.

    4. On the application for admission, an accurate statement should be taken in a book, prepared for the purpose, of the name, birthplace, age, health, condition as to relatives, and other particulars useful to be known of each orphan.

    5. No orphan should be admitted until the guardians or directors of the poor, or a proper guardian or other competent authority, shall have given by indenture, relinquishment or otherwise, adequate power to the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, or to directors or others by them appointed, to enforce in relation to each orphan every proper restraint, and to prevent relatives or others from interfering with or withdrawing such orphan from the Institution.

    6. Those orphans, for whose admission application shall first be made, shall be first introduced, all other things concurring – and at all times priority of application shall entitle the applicant to preference in admission, all other things concurring; but if there shall be at any time, more applicants than vacancies, and the applying orphans shall have been born in different places, a preference shall be given – first to orphans born in the City of Philadelphia; secondly, to those born in any other part of Pennsylvania; thirdly, to those born in the City of New York (that being the first port on the continent of North America at which I arrived) and lastly to those born in the City of New Orleans, being the first port on the said continent at which I first traded.

    7. The orphans admitted into the College, shall be there fed with plain but wholesome food, clothed with plain but decent apparel (no distinctive dress ever to be worn), and lodged in a plain but safe manner; Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this end their persons and clothes shall be kept clean, and they shall have suitable and rational exercise and recreation. They shall be instructed in the various branches of a sound education: comprehending Reading, Writing, Grammar, Arithmetic, Geography, Navigation, Surveying, Practical Mathematics, Astronomy, Natural, Chemical and Experimental Philosophy, the French and Spanish languages (I do not forbid, but I do not recommend the Greek and Latin languages), and such other learning and science as the capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant. 1 would have them taught facts and things, rather than words and signs; and especially, 1 desire that by every proper means a pure attachment to our republican institutions, and to the sacred rights of conscience, as guaranteed by our happy constitutions shall be formed and fostered in the minds of the scholars.

    8. Should it unfortunately happen, that any of the orphans admitted into the College, shall, from malconduct, have become unfit companions for the rest, and mild means of reformation prove abortive, they should no longer remain therein.

    9. These scholars, who shall merit it shall remain in the College until they shall respectively arrive at between fourteen and eighteen years of age; they shall then be bound out by the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, or under their direction, to suitable occupations, as those of agriculture, navigation, arts, mechanical trades, and manufactures, according to the capacities and acquirements of the scholars respectively, consulting, as far as prudence shall justify it, the inclination of the several scholars, as to the occupation, art or trade, to be learned.

I enjoin and require that no ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold or exercise any station or duty whatever in the said College; nor shall any such person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a visitor, within the premises appropriated to the purposes of the said College. In making this restriction, I do not mean to cast any reflection upon any sect or person whatsoever; but, as there is such a multitude of sects, and such a diversity of opinion amongst them, I desire to keep the tender minds of the orphans, who are to derive advantage from this bequest, free from the excitement which clashing doctrines and sectarian controversy are so apt to produce; my desire is, that all the instructors and teachers in the College, shall take pains to instill into the minds of the scholars the purest principles of morality, so that, on their entrance into active life, they may, from inclination and habit, evince benevolence towards their fellow creatures, and a love of truth, sobriety, and industry, adopting at the same time such religious tenets as their matured reason may enable them to prefer.

3. Founding of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum, Louisville, Kentucky, 1832

Sister Columba Fox, The Life of the Right Reverend John Baptist Mary David, 1761-1841 (New York: United States Catholic Historical Society, 1925), pp. 131-132.

J. B. M. David was bishop of Louisville in 1832. "Mother Catherine" was Catherine Spalding (1793-1858), founder and mother superior of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. In 1831, with the assistance of Bishop David, she established the first Roman Catholic school in Louisville and during the cholera epidemic of 1832 she and the nuns at the school nursed the sick poor of the city.

While laboring to promote the interests of education, it was always Mother Catherine's noble ambition to find a means for harboring the homeless little ones, an ambition which her spiritual father, Bishop David, gladly fostered and pointed to as a worthy goal of her endeavors. Among the pupils of the Louisville school there were some much in need of food and raiment. These were promptly cared for, but to give shelter to those in need of it, did not seem possible, because of the limited quarters of the Sisters.

One evening late in the autumn of 1832, a messenger came to tell Mother Catherine that a family of non-Catholics, by the name of Jenkins, had lately arrived from Pennsylvania, and were in such a destitute condition that any assistance would be a great charity. She, taking a Sister companion, went to the place designated and there found lying lifeless on a cot, a mother with a babe of a few months, near her a daughter of sixteen sick of heart disease, and another of five or six years of age. The father was helpless. A son of eighteen had gone to Indiana to purchase a farm.

Mother Catherine's practical mind and ready hand found means for relieving the sad situation. She called on kind neighbors who promptly responded. The deceased was given suitable burial and she offered to take the sick girl and the two little ones home with her, but the girl refused and nobly insisted that she would be able to keep the family together, and her brother, on returning, sustained her in her resolution. After two weeks, however, worn out and over-weary she lay down at the close of the day to rest, as her brother thought, but when morning came he found she had passed away.

The father and brother were now willing to let Mother Catherine take the two little girls to the Sisters' home. These formed the nucleus of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum, an institution which has since sheltered thousands, saving many from ruin here and hereafter. Bishop Flaget's desire for such an institution in his diocese had been frustrated by the want of means. He thanked Providence for opening now this opportunity for its establishment, and blessed the woman of indomitable will whose zeal, energy, and ingenuity could effect it. Before the close of the year four more little girls were received. Nazareth sent Sisters to care for them and purchased a lot near St. Louis' Church on which an orphanage might be built.

The Catholic ladies of the city became interested, and held a meeting under the direction of Father Abell, to devise means for raising funds. A Fair was planned, and so much enthusiasm awakened that the sum of eleven hundred and fifty dollars was realized. When the new house was completed in the spring of 1833, Mother Catherine and four Sisters moved into it with twenty-five or thirty orphans.

From the beginning a well-regulated household was established with hours for every duty and work allotted according to the capacity of each member. It was financed by occasional small donations, by the sale of articles which the industry and skill of the Sisters and the children furnished, and by the generosity of the merchants and farmers who soon learned to appreciate the value of the great work.

4. "The Howards," New Orleans, 1853

Report of the Howard Association: Epidemic of 1853 (New Orleans, 1854), pp. 24-28.

Sympathizers throughout the nation contributed $228,000 to "the Howards," a voluntary association which provided nurses, physicians, medicine, food, and shelter to victims of the yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans and other parishes of Louisiana.

The total number of cases of yellow fever attended to in this city, as per returns of the members, is 11,088, to which we might add several thousands of cases in the surrounding country, where the offices of the association have been extended, and where, in many instances, in addition to the means forwarded, our members have attended in person.

It will also be borne in mind that we have given special relief in this city, to the indigent whose sufferings either directly or indirectly grew out of the fell pestilence that stalked among us, and thus, whilst our expenditures may seem large at the first glance, they will appear moderate when compared with the number to whom we have afforded comfort during their sickness – sustenance in their convalescence. The Stranger, the Poor, the Widow and the Orphan have all been cared for. In practice, the association ever since its formation in 1837 has adopted as its Motto, the noble sentiment, "I am a man; – whatever concerns mankind concerns me."

It may interest our friends at a distance and those of our citizens who were not eyewitnesses of the manner in which the Association worked during the late Epidemic, to know that we had in operation during the season, in various Districts of the City, two Convalescent Infirmaries, in which were received persons just recovered from the fever, and yet too weak to enter upon their ordinary pursuits. In addition to these, which were for the most part used as auxilliaries to our own and the City Hospitals, we also established three Orphan Asylums, in which were received 241 children left totally destitute by the death of their parents.

We had also. . . in charge of wet-nurses throughout the city under our daily supervision, 97 babies at the breast; some of whom, as well as many of the Orphans above alluded to – when we determined to dispose of them, and after using every possible means to ascertain if they had any relations living, were adopted by our citizens.

At the close of the Epidemic, all the Orphans remaining on our hands were transferred from our own temporary Asylums to those regularly established in this city; and in this transfer, the sectarian views of the parents of these little unfortunates were our only guide in deciding to the care of which of these Institutions, each Orphan should be entrusted.

It is deemed proper to remark that we transmitted the sum of one hundred dollars with each and every child that we thus disposed of, to the various Orphan Asylums; and these facts will account for the amounts charged up under the several headings, in the specified list of expenditures in the foregoing report. [3a]

It is scarcely necessary to add that in every instance, in and out of our Asylums, Hospitals and Infirmaries, that as far as lay in our power, every attention was 'paid to the food, clothing, cleanliness and general comfort of all those who were the recipients of the offices of the Association; and that the establishments above named were scarcely ever without the personal attendance of some one or more of our members, although carefully provided at the same time with the best superintendents that could be secured.

3a. The Howard Association donated a total of $17,500 to four orphanages.

5. The Jewish Foster Home, Philadelphia, 1855-1860

Letters of Rebecca Gratz, Philadelphia, to relatives in Savannah, Georgia, in Miriam G. Moses Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina.

The philanthropic career of Rebecca Gratz (1781-1869) extended over almost sixty-five years and included service for the Female Association for Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances, Philadelphia Orphan Society, and the Hebrew Sunday School Society, as well as the Jewish Foster Home.

April 15, 1855

. . . The children in our new foster home are still more remarkable, having now a very happy home, under an amiable matron, they improve in every respect. I wish you could see & become interested in this society which we hope will not only shelter destitute children, either orphans, or those whose parents are unable to take care of them, but by instruction render them capable of getting their own living in a more reputable way than is usually resorted to by poor Jews. [Education] has long appeared to me, the one thing needful to elevate the character of our poor. They come in great numbers from foreign countries where they are oppressed and have no prospect of doing more than sustaining life, and these children are ill clothed, ill fed & left to pick up bad habits in the streets while [the parents] having no trade, go peddling about the country. There are twelve children in the foster home who have been there nearly a year. Most of them have one parent living who are permitted to visit them once a fortnight and if able pay 25 cents per week to the society.

It is astonishing to see the change in the manners, conduct and character of these little beings. They can all read & write, behave with the utmost decorum at meals where they repeat grace in the Jew and English, have all the comforts of cleanliness, order, and good treatment and are taught religious & social duties. With God's blessing I trust this may be the beginning of a new era in the history of Jewish charity and. that in every town namely where there are destitute children such provision may be made for them. Funds are wanted to increase the accommodations of our Foster home. We require a larger house for the many applications made for admission. At present we have not room for more than sixteen or eighteen children. Do you think you can procure us any aid among the rich & charitable in your congregation?

October 11, 1855

. . . I am not quite sure that I sent you the constitution of the Jewish foster home. If not I will send one – it is getting on very well, we have twelve half orphan children well provided for. Our Matron gives us some care, because we never feel sure of keeping her. She is a young woman, who has been many years in this country, an excellent housekeeper, very neat, and is fond of teaching the children, and is moreover a strict Jewess but her temper is so ragged that we are continually troubled by her complaints. She calls her outbreaks nervousness, which does not signify anything but an apology, too often repeated to be satisfactory. Her salary is $156 per annum and a comfortable home – Is there anyone in your Jewish community that you could recommend to such a situation? You know exactly what are requisite for a Matron of such an institution. She has a domestic woman, and with careful instruction may soon teach the little girls to be usefu1. It is necessary the matron should be able to read & write English, the one we have knows Hebrew & German & French, but as we do not expect any occasion for many tongues, enough Hebrew to teach the blessings & prayers in that language will satisfy us.

[1860]

I have this day received your affectionate letter concerning your liberal donation to the Foster home of $25 . . . Encouragement from such a source, makes labour light. We have now 33 little destitute children under tuition, who are in full health and appear very happy. . . I must tell you, that two boys after attaining the age of 13, have been provided with good places, one with a Tobacconist, to be taken care of until he reaches the age of 21. The other in Mr. Henry Cohen's Stationery establishment for the same term of years, so that we hope they will become good Jewish citizens capable of filling a respectable station in the community. We bless you for your benevolent wishes, and pray God may grant them, and reward you.

In the nineteenth century the philanthropic economy was a mixture of public and private effort, and the practice of public support for private institutions was well established.

1. Dickens on state support of charities

Dickens, American Notes, 1, 64-65.

It is a great and pleasant feature of all such institutions in America, that they are either supported by the State or assisted by the State; or (in the event of their not needing its helping hand) that they act in concert with it, and are emphatically the people's. I cannot but think, with a view to the principle and its tendency to elevate or depress the character of the industrious classes, that a Public Charity is immeasurably better than a Private Foundation, no matter how munificently the latter may be endowed. In our own country, where it has not, until within these later days, been a very popular fashion with governments to display any extraordinary regard for the great mass of the people or to recognise their existence as improveable creatures, private charities, unexampled in the history of the earth, have arisen, to do an incalculable amount of good among the destitute and afflicted. But the government of the country, having neither act nor part in them, is not in the receipt of any portion of the gratitude they inspire; and, offering very little shelter or relief but that which is to be found in the workhouse and the jail, has come, not unnaturally, to be looked upon by the poor rather as a stern master, quick to correct and punish, than a kind protector, merciful and vigilant in their need.

2. Justification for the subsidy system, 1857

New York State, Senate, "Report of the Select Committee to Visit Charitable Institutions," Doc. 8, Documents (Albany, 1857), 10-11, 21-22.

The Committee recommended the course which New York subsequently (in 1875) adopted: removal of children from county almshouses to privately managed but publicly subsidized orphan asylums.

It is agreeable to turn from the consideration of poor houses and their mismanagement, to the examination of the Orphan Asylums to which the benefactions of the State are contributed. The committee visited them all. Whether it be that the principal charge of these is confided to females, or whatever be the cause, it is certain that with less comparative expenditure of the public moneys an incomparably greater amount of comfort, cleanliness, kind treatment, health, and good education is secured to the inmates, than happens to be the lot of the paupers in our poor houses.

To a cordial expression of praise respecting the general management and good condition of the Orphan Asylums, the committee most cheerfully add a recommendation of them to the liberal support of the State government; and especially if additional benefactions can be made the means of relieving the poor houses of their young inmates, by providing for their support and education in the Orphan Asylums as heretofore suggested by the committee. Children, whose parents are paupers in the legal sense, and actual residents in pauper asylums, are generally to all practical intents as much orphans as those who are deprived by death of their natural protectors; and their actual condition is much more pitiable. An association with their destitute parents, and their necessary poor house companions, is not only a deprivation of the attention and comforts which they ought to enjoy during their tender years, but it is a fatal exposure to examples of most evil tendency. Their chance to become virtuous and exemplary citizens is the most desperate of all human chances; and upon a future generation is inflicted the necessary consequence of supporting them as criminals in our jails and prisons.

The Orphan Asylums are twenty-six in number and contain 2816 children, of whom 2224 are of foreign parentage; to whose support the State appropriates the annual sum of thirty-five thousand dollars.

In connection with this fact the committee desire to state that the cost to the public of supporting 678 prisoners confined in the jails, is eighty thousand seven hundred and thirty dollars. The inference is, that to educate one orphan to usefulness, the public treasury expends less than one-tenth as much as it does to maintain one useless convict in jail.

At suitable ages, orphan children are placed in respectable families (by which they are frequently adopted as children) or they are indentured, the boys to farmers and mechanics, the girls to learn housekeeping and needle work. The care of the managers still follows them beyond the precincts of the asylum, until they become of age, and if they are unsatisfactorily provided for, or are ill-treated, new situations are obtained for them. The committee in all cases made strict inquiry as to the standing and reputation of the inmates who had left the asylums, and it was ascertained that, with few exceptions, they became good and useful citizens.

There are various associations in the state, and particularly in the cities and larger towns, for charity, reform and education, which not receiving aid from the state, do not fall within the terms of the resolution of the Senate under which the committee have pursued their investigations. Many of them, however, have been visited by the committee for purposes of information and of comparison with other institutions of a kindred character which were the legitimate subjects of visitation. They are generally supported by private endowments and contributions, with occasional aid, perhaps, from the local authorities. Homes for the friendless, and industrial and other schools are of this class; charities devoted to the maintenance or training of vagrant and destitute children, to the care and protection of young females out of employment or in reduced circumstances, as well as of aged or decrepid women. They deserve to be favorably regarded when the Legislature is considering any general and economical plan of charity or reform. Those, more particularly, which have for their object the support and training of destitute children, and their salvation from the evils of vagrancy, idle habits, and vicious examples, are worthy of attention and encouragement. The management of such charitable enterprises happens fortunately to be confided mainly to benevolent women, whose thrift, economy of expenditure, skill in management, and tenderness of feeling, enable them to produce greater results with less means than is the usual fortune of the other sex. The public bounty bestowed on such institutions, under such management, goes farther and is more certain of producing a suitable return, than the usual application of it. It gives the committee great pleasure to commend such charities to approval and support, as no insignificant part of the great scheme of benevolence and reformation which it is the duty of every good government to maintain.

3. Institutions aided by state subsidy, 1857 Louisiana, "Special Report of Legislative Committee on Charitable Institutions," Legislative Documents, 1857 (New Orleans, 1857), pp. 10-17.

The institutions discussed were among the approximately twenty homes and asylums to which the state of Louisiana contributed a total of $42,600 in 1857.

ORPHAN'S HOME

This Institution is situated on the corner of Constance and Seventh streets, Fourth District of New Orleans. In its organization it was the result of the great epidemic of 1853. That almost unparalleled calamity, in its direful consequences, left large numbers of children deprived of their parents and friends, thrown upon the community as objects of their best charity. Under these circumstances was this Home provided, where the brother and sister could live together as they did ere the pestilence came which so ruthlessly sundered the holiest and dearest relations.

The rooms are sufficiently large and well ventilated, with spacious gallery or hall for play room. The entire building will now comfortably accommodate one hundred and thirty children, and is furnished neatly and substantially. Few similar Institutions exhibit a more cheerful interior, evincing everywhere comfort and neatness.

The number of children admitted during this year has been 36

                              Died                                                                                 11

                              Placed out and given to relatives                                        34

                              At present remaining in the Asylum                                    103

The whole number of children who have been relieved from want and supplied with necessary care and comforts since the opening of the Institution, has been two hundred and ninety-eight. Of those, ninety-three have died, and about one hundred have been given to their relatives or placed out in good situations.

The full supply of their physical wants, the cleanliness of their apartments, the employment of those of a suitable age in household labors, the indulgence in healthful play, and the intellectual, moral, and religious education which they receive, have combined in the .formation of a happy and orderly family, the members of which are training for a useful and happy future.

The receipts into the treasury during the year were derived as follows:

From donations, etc.                                                                            $5,089 42

Annual appropriation by the State Legislature                                         #9; 3,000 00

Proceeds of entertainment given at Odd Fellows'

    Hall on the evening of 22d, 23d, and 24th April                                  #9; 3,101 25

Annual subscription of 160 members                                                         #9; 800 00

Life-membership fees                                                                                #9; 150 00

Interest allowed by the Bank of New Orleans on money

    deposited with it at 4 per cent. per annum                                               #9; 161 00

Sundry sources, being for board of children, sale of

plated ware, etc. #9;                                                                                         154 00

                                                                                                           9; $12,455 67

Your Committee recommend an appropriation of $3,000.

CAMP STREET FEMALE ORPHAN ASYLUM

This Institution your Committee found in the best condition, so far as the carrying out its benevolent objects is concerned, although greatly in need of assistance.

Your Committee deem it almost unnecessary to descant upon the merits and eminent usefulness of this Institution; as the orphans cared for in helpless infancy, educated in youth, and trained for a future life. of benefit to themselves and society, have published the facts to the world. Sister Regis, under whose kind and self-sacrificing watchfulness the Asylum has for so many years continued to extend its benevolence and fostering care to the houseless and friendless, is still untiring in her mission of love, and asking no boon for herself, seeks only the aid of our wealthy and prosperous State in behalf of the destitute little ones under her charge. Over three hundred children are now dependent upon the Asylum for a home, and look to Sister Regis as their only earthly protector; and taking into consideration the fact that the augmentation of this family of helpless ones, has been greater than usual within the last year, thus entailing heavy and unprovided for expenses, your Committee think that the State is justly called upon to act promptly and liberally. . .

On numerous occasions within the past six months, the treasury of the Asylum has-been entirely empty, there not being a dollar wherewith to purchase provisions for the next meal; but amidst all these embarrassing circumstances, the zeal of Sister Regis has never faltered, and by sacrifices and exertions worthy of the noble cause in which she is engaged, she has provided for the wants of her charge.

From a statement furnished to your Committee, it appears that the expenses of the Institution for the year ending on the 1st of January last were $18,594.79, of which the Legislature furnished $5,000.

An appropriation of $5,000 is recommended.

ST. ELIZABETH'S (FORMERLY ST. ANNA'S) HOUSE OF INDUSTRY

This Institution for destitute orphan girls, is situated on the corner of Magazine and Josephine streets. It is conducted by the Sisters of Charity, for the purpose of training up to trades destitute orphan girls, giving them the opportunity of learning that which will render them useful members of society, and enable them to obtain their living hereafter in a respectable manner. Formerly these orphans were obliged to leave the Asylum at the age of twelve and fourteen years – the very period they needed the most protection – and they were thus exposed to most alarming dangers. This Institution is designed to prevent such a necessity.

The building is at present in a very unfinished condition, and claims the aid of the Legislature in covering its naked walls and finishing the flooring – essentials to the proper comfort and regularity of the inmates. The Institution contains now within its unfinished walls, eighty-three destitute orphans from the age of ten to sixteen years. The debt upon the buildings amounts to $4,000; to aid in the payment of which, a portion of the annual distribution is prayed for by the directors. It is to be presumed that this Institution will in course of time be a self-sustaining concern; but being now in its infancy, is unable to support itself. Your committee suggest a liberal consideration in its behalf, and would recommend an appropriation of $5,000.

ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN ORPHAN ASYLUM

Is situated in the Fourth District, city of New Orleans. It was established for both male and female German orphans, who are mainly the children of unacclimated German parents, who perished in the terrible pestilence of 1853, leaving their children houseless and homeless. Never was there such a mortality amongst the destitute German population in New Orleans, and orphanage in its accumulated forms and most pitiable aspect was seen in every direction. The German Catholic people of the Fourth District, moved by their duty towards the city of their adoption, and the cause of humanity, though with limited means, resolved to furnish out of their own resources, and such others as they could command, a home and support to those little unfortunates. Hence originated the Institution. A house was rented, and for one year one hundred children were provided for. The present site was purchased two years since by the Directors, and a building erected in which these orphans reside. Their number has been as high as 125; at present it is 113, being 72 males and 41 females.

The amount expended for ground and building was $13,700. There has been a grave-yard purchased on account of the Asylum, for $4,000, of which there has been paid $2,300, and about $1,000 for fencing. The Institution is now about $5,000 in debt. The first and only Legislative aid received by the Asylum, was an appropriation of $3,000, at the last session. It has no regular income, and its only reliance in meeting its current expenses is the hand of private charity, which is at all times heavily taxed in New Orleans. No salaries or wages are paid to the attendants in the Asylum – all the duties having been assumed by females, who have devoted their life to the cause of charity. An appropriation of $3,000 is recommended.

Although policies varied from institution to institution, orphanages generally received children between the ages of three and ten and tried to bind them out by the age of fourteen.

1. Changes in indenture procedure for orphan girls, Boston, 1842

Abby L. Wade, Reminiscences of the Boston Female Asylum (Boston, 1844), pp. 58-62.

The greatest care is always taken in selecting places for those who are old enough to go into families. And this it might seem easy to do, as applications for the children always greatly exceed the number to be placed out. Yet it cannot be denied that the most difficult duties of the managers in regard to them often occur after they leave the Asylum. It is true that instances of mutual satisfaction – of good treatment on the one side, and good conduct on the other greatly preponderate. But cases of an opposite character were presented often enough to induce the managers to consider, whether they did not in part arise from some cause that might be removed.

In the "olden time," when the regulations for binding out the children were adopted, it was very much the custom for the mistress of a family to take from poor, though often respectable parents, a young girl to clothe and instruct until she should be eighteen years old, in return for her services. Sometimes this was done by indenture, and sometimes by simple verbal agreement; and from such agreements faithfully observed, have arisen many connexions productive of mutual advantage through life. The Asylum children then, were placed out on conditions perfectly according with prevailing customs. And nothing more was required in their indentures, than kind treatment, suitable clothing and instruction, and when they should be eighteen years old, "two" suits of clothes, one proper for Sunday, the other for domestic business."

But "times are changed." The increase of wealth and variations in the forms of society, have at the same time increased the demand for service, and removed the mistress of a family farther from that direct supervision of those who perform it, which is so especially important to the young. Now a girl, "long before she is eighteen, can obtain wages, which enable her to indulge that love of dress, which is a prevailing folly, and give a feeling of that independence, the desire for which, is often most strong in those who least know how to use it. It was not then perhaps strange that the girls should, during the last years of their apprenticeship, feel dissatisfied, at seeing. others possess apparently greater advantages than themselves. And that some forgetting the destitution of their early childhood, the advantages of a permanent home, thorough instruction in domestic affairs, and the power of securing friends who may be of incalculable benefit to them through life, should be tempted by the precarious, and often delusive good of having an earlier command of wages, and imagine that mere food and clothing and teaching, are insufficient compensation for the work for which they see others obtaining a recompense which seems larger.

It is true that domestic labor commands a larger remuneration than formerly; and it seems but just that these girls should have their share in the advantage. It is true that some who apply for them may have little other purpose than that of obtaining a selfish convenience; the most service at the least price at which it can be procured; that in the idea of the servant some may lose sight of the child, of one needing all the instruction, forbearance, encouragement and restraint that youth always requires. That disappointed in their expectation of finding at once an obedient and useful domestic, some become impatient and unmindful of their obligations.

These considerations led the managers in 1842, to review their form of indenture, and the following additional requisitions were inserted in it. First, that a written report should be required once in each year, relative to the health, character and well-being of the apprentice.

This condition would, it was hoped be a security for kind treatment toward the girl, and at the same time a restraint and incitement to her.

Secondly, that the sum of fifty dollars should be substituted for the clothing formerly required at the expiration of apprenticeship; this sum to be paid "unless the apprentice shall have been guilty of such gross misconduct that the Board of Managers shall be of opinion that she has forfeited her claim to it."

This alteration secures a more equal and definite recompense to those who merit it, and threatens certain loss to those who abuse their privileges, or leave" their places without being regularly discharged.

It has been suggested that the payment of so considerable a sum at one time, might be an inconvenience to some persons whose families might, nevertheless, be excellent places for the protection and good training of our children. It may be answered, that by laying aside from time to time during the one or two last years of their service, a sum much smaller than would pay the wages of hired domestics, the inconvenience might be avoided – that justice to the apprentice should be considered as well as the convenience of the employer; and that, after all, the sum is hardly more than the former requirement of clothing, if faithfully fulfilled, would amount to. But it has been well known, that while the letter of the obligation has been answered, – as to the prescribed quantity of clothing, its value has so varied, as to make the recompense very unequal to many who have been equally deserving.

The third, and last alteration is, that a penalty of one hundred dollars is incurred by neglect in fulfilling the conditions of the indenture. This will be readily perceived to be a necessary guard to the Institution.

2. A "missing link in the chain of benevolent enterprise," Boston, 1862

Boston Children's Friend Society, Twenty-Ninth Annual Report (Boston, 1862), pp. 10-12.

Before closing, we would call your attention to the statement. . . that eleven children have been removed to Monson during the past year. The Institution to which they have been taken is an Almshouse, and this is the only way of disposing of our boys, after they reach the age of seven years. It seems of importance that this fact should be distinctly understood, that we may consider whether a better disposition of them cannot be effected. Our rules admit children, of both sexes, at the age of three years. The girls are kept here at school, unless adopted, until they are twelve years old, when they are sent out to homes at service, excepting those who are retained as help in the house. But for the boys, the period of continuance with us is comparatively brief. At seven, they are supposed to require so much governing, and need so much more room to expand, that our limits are too strait for them, and we are obliged to send them away.

For the last two and a half years there has been but a single application for a boy, and that one was brought about by the mother, and the home to which the child was sent was obtained through her efforts. In the majority of cases it is quite as difficult to provide for them at seven, as it was at three. They are not large enough to be of any service, and few wish to adopt a boy. Now if the years immediately following the seventh are not quite so important to sound physical development as those that preceded it, they certainly are more so in determining the moral and intellectual status of the future man; and after we have furnished a comfortable home, moral and religious instruction, and all the advantages which our children enjoy, it seems a stern necessity which compels us to send them to the Almshouse. Not that we would depreciate that Institution, and particularly the one to which we send our children. These charities and the liberal spirit in which they are sustained, are an honor to our State; but can we not do better for our boys? Could we not have a separate department, or building, into which we could transfer them, when they outgrow our limits, and into which others, between the ages of seven and ten, could be received, to whom we are now obliged to say, No, you are too old, we can do nothing for you? . . . The Farm School is now the only one to which we can apply, and that receives but a limited number; and when we make application, they tell us our boys are too small, so that, if a vacancy should occur, we could not be benefited by it.

When we speak to friends, of this missing link in the chain of benevolent enterprise, and ask if something cannot be done, we are told that it must not be thought of in these war times; all that can be spared must go to the soldier. True, our soldiers are, and should be, objects of earnest and anxious solicitude, but have we no duty to their children? What is to become of many of the sons of soldiers killed in battle? How many of them are to be exposed to poverty, want and crime. How many, in early life, are to become inmates 0f houses of correction and reformation; and how blest our privilege, if by timely effort we may rescue some, if we may be instrumental in shielding and saving them from the sins and sorrows of a wicked life, and guiding their feet in the paths of integrity and righteousness, that they may obtain good hope of life everlasting.

3. Finding homes for war orphans and other distressed children, Boston, 1865

The Little Wanderers' Advocate, 1 (1865), 69.

F.A., a boy aged nine; father killed in the war; mother a cripple; sent to a home in Ohio, and adopted by a wealthy Christian gentleman who has no child. His sister, seven years of age, is still with us.

Thomas B., three years old; father killed at the battle of Bull Run; mother unable to care for him. Who will be a father to the child of one who fell in defence of his country?

A little brother and sister, forsaken by their mother, and their father a disabled soldier. They have been adopted by a wealthy gentleman in Chicago.

Three Portuguese children, whose father died on the voyage to this country. Will some one whose heart pants to go to the isles of the sea and preach Christ take these fatherless children and train them for life and immortality?

The wife of a soldier who sleeps in a Southern grave, where he fell, comes to us with health ruined by excessive toil in her efforts to support her five children. She could not support them, and she could not give them up; but a little effort persuaded her relatives to aid her, and thus save a mother's feelings.

A smart, intelligent contraband comes to us from the sunny South. Once a slave, but now free, he has more than ordinary intellect, and will make a good boy for some gentleman to take and teach the principles of freedom. He is twelve years old, and was brought here by an officer in the army.

"Asylum-life is a bad preparation for practical life"

Charles Loring Brace, The Dangerous Classes of New York (New York, 1880), pp. 235-236; first published in 1872.

The "we" of the document is the Children's Aid Society of New York of which Brace was secretary. The specific asylum he was criticizing was the New York Juvenile Asylum. For additional information on these organizations see below, Chap. VII, sec. C.

We . . . took the ground that, as our children were not criminals, but simply destitute and homeless boys and girls, usually with some ostensible occupation, they could not easily, on any legal. grounds, be inclosed within Asylums; that, if they were, the expense of their maintenance would be enormous, while the cost of a temporary care of them in our Schools and Lodging-houses, and their transferrence to the West, was only trifling – in the proportion of fifteen dollars to one hundred and fifty dollars, reckoning the latter as a year's cost for a child's support in an Asylum. Furthermore, we held and stoutly maintained that an asylum-life is a bad preparation for practical life. The child, most of all, needs individual care and sympathy. In an Asylum, he is "Letter B, of Class 3," or "No.2, of Cell 426," and that is all that is known of him. As a poor boy, who must live in a small house, he ought to learn to draw his own water, to split his wood, kindle his fires, and light his candle; as an "institutional child," he is lighted, warmed, and watered by machinery. He has a child's imitation, a desire to please his superiors, and readiness to be influenced by his companions. In a great caravansary he soon learns the external virtues which secure him a good bed and meal – decorum and apparent piety and discipline – while he practices the vices and unnamable habits which masses of boys of any class nearly always teach one another. His virtue seems to have an alms-house flavor; even his vices do not present the frank character of a thorough street boy; he is found to lie easily, and to be very weak under temptation; somewhat given to hypocrisy, and something of a sneak. And, what is very natural, the longer he is in the Asylum, the less likely he is to do well in outside life. I hope I do no injustice to the unfortunate graduates of our Asylums; but that was and continues to be my strong impression of the institutional effect on an ordinary street boy or girl.