TIP #888 ORPHANAGES - PART 1
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TIP #888 ORPHANAGES - PART 1
Life in an orphanage was never pleasant. How many of us remember Oliver Twist? However, in America the orphanage was established based primarily on the English system.
Professor Matthew Crenshon, a political science professor, did an extensive study of orphanages cited in “The Rise and Demise of the American Orphange by Dale Keiger. According to Crenshon’s statistics, there were nearly 1,000 orphanages in America in 1900. Within the walls of these institutions were approximately 100,000 children. Some orphanages were run by private charities, some by wealthy benefactors and many by religious institutions – Catholic, Protestant and Jewish.
But, we know that orphanages existed prior to 1900 in America; the came to prominence in the 1800’s. People were flocking to America and it wasn’t long before they were heading west to settle new areas. Kentucky was a prime location, especially after its separation from Virginia and when the Indian threats had lessened. There weren’t any real public institutions such as hospitals and schools were almost an afterthought in many areas.
Early came the asylums that I have discussed recently. Citizenry has seemingly always wanted to keep the “undesirables” out of sight. The poor, the insane, the indigent and the orphan. It was thought that if these people were in a more controlled atmosphere that they would learn how to be a good citizen; their health would improve and their morals along with it. But, in the beginning, orphanages were misnamed at times; the children residing there were not always orphans. Creson found that only between 10-20% were true orphans. The rest of the “inmates” had at least one living parent, many times two, but because of economic problems or bad home influences, the children were placed in an institution. Some of the early children came from another early institution – the “poor house” where in many locations, the conditions were horrid. It was not the goal of the early orphanages to have these children around forever. Their goal was to get the children back into their own homes or placed with wealthy or willing families who would take them in. It was considered more of what we would call a “half-way house” until permanent homes could be found.
Children went to foster homes but many times they became no more than indentured servants to the wealthier families. They were forced to do hard labor in the household or on the farms and were ill-treated. Orphan trains heading to the Midwest took many children where they were taken in by families and worked hard the rest of their lives. There were good families of course who took in the children, but there are many tales of horrible lives also.
Some orphanages attempted to teach their wards a trade so they would be able to live on their own as they aged. In New York the Catholic New York Protectory worked 40 boys in a shoemaking factory – later adding the trades of plumbing, masonry, bricklaying, steamfitting and painting. (Creason).
Life in an orphanage was hard. The administrators held to the theory that hard work, a regimented style of life and total obedience would build a better man or woman. No speaking was allowed at mealtime. Uniforms were worn in many orphanages and in some, the children’s head was shaved. Corporal punishment was harsh; food was at a minimum and brutality by older residents common. Bullying is not a new phenomenon. Sickness was common and the mortality rate was low. This varied from institution to institution of course but all in all, it was not a place that the children wanted to stay. They were many times thrilled to find out that a family had taken them – but that didn’t always work out well either. If the foster family didn’t like the child, back he went. Or worse yet, they were smuggled out to another family without the institution’s knowledge. Again, according to Creason, during the Civil War, some men found substitutes to fight for them from among the older boys at the orphanage but did not pay the young man; they kept the money for themselves. If the boy died in service – well, it oft times didn’t bother the man who had hired him; he was not family and he felt no real attachment.
The Roman Catholic Church ran the most orphanages until the 1880’s since there was such a large influx of Catholic immigrants to America. Trying to overcome the Protestant populations, they were early in forming orphanages and parochial children’s home to train the children in the Catholic theology. In one way, they were correct since the Protestant orphanages attempted to get the children away from their Catholic immigrant families feeling them inferior. Jewish orphanages were instituted and other institutions wanted to get those children away from their primarily Russian Jewish roots; there was anti-Semitism.
Over the years, reformers came and went, changes were made, new orphanages established – but there was always that lonely forgotten child who longed for the security of two parents who would love and care for them. Not all orphanages could be painted as above; some were better than others. In the worst conditions, children were abused, beaten and raped. In the best conditions, they were worked as child-labor, taught discipline, had very little privacy (with many children in the same beds in the same room), and longed to be loved.
Next week, a shorter tip listing the orphanages in Kentucky in the year 1910, the earliest I have been able to find to date.
© Copyright 14 October 2009, Sandra K. Gorin
Professor Matthew Crenshon, a political science professor, did an extensive study of orphanages cited in “The Rise and Demise of the American Orphange by Dale Keiger. According to Crenshon’s statistics, there were nearly 1,000 orphanages in America in 1900. Within the walls of these institutions were approximately 100,000 children. Some orphanages were run by private charities, some by wealthy benefactors and many by religious institutions – Catholic, Protestant and Jewish.
But, we know that orphanages existed prior to 1900 in America; the came to prominence in the 1800’s. People were flocking to America and it wasn’t long before they were heading west to settle new areas. Kentucky was a prime location, especially after its separation from Virginia and when the Indian threats had lessened. There weren’t any real public institutions such as hospitals and schools were almost an afterthought in many areas.
Early came the asylums that I have discussed recently. Citizenry has seemingly always wanted to keep the “undesirables” out of sight. The poor, the insane, the indigent and the orphan. It was thought that if these people were in a more controlled atmosphere that they would learn how to be a good citizen; their health would improve and their morals along with it. But, in the beginning, orphanages were misnamed at times; the children residing there were not always orphans. Creson found that only between 10-20% were true orphans. The rest of the “inmates” had at least one living parent, many times two, but because of economic problems or bad home influences, the children were placed in an institution. Some of the early children came from another early institution – the “poor house” where in many locations, the conditions were horrid. It was not the goal of the early orphanages to have these children around forever. Their goal was to get the children back into their own homes or placed with wealthy or willing families who would take them in. It was considered more of what we would call a “half-way house” until permanent homes could be found.
Children went to foster homes but many times they became no more than indentured servants to the wealthier families. They were forced to do hard labor in the household or on the farms and were ill-treated. Orphan trains heading to the Midwest took many children where they were taken in by families and worked hard the rest of their lives. There were good families of course who took in the children, but there are many tales of horrible lives also.
Some orphanages attempted to teach their wards a trade so they would be able to live on their own as they aged. In New York the Catholic New York Protectory worked 40 boys in a shoemaking factory – later adding the trades of plumbing, masonry, bricklaying, steamfitting and painting. (Creason).
Life in an orphanage was hard. The administrators held to the theory that hard work, a regimented style of life and total obedience would build a better man or woman. No speaking was allowed at mealtime. Uniforms were worn in many orphanages and in some, the children’s head was shaved. Corporal punishment was harsh; food was at a minimum and brutality by older residents common. Bullying is not a new phenomenon. Sickness was common and the mortality rate was low. This varied from institution to institution of course but all in all, it was not a place that the children wanted to stay. They were many times thrilled to find out that a family had taken them – but that didn’t always work out well either. If the foster family didn’t like the child, back he went. Or worse yet, they were smuggled out to another family without the institution’s knowledge. Again, according to Creason, during the Civil War, some men found substitutes to fight for them from among the older boys at the orphanage but did not pay the young man; they kept the money for themselves. If the boy died in service – well, it oft times didn’t bother the man who had hired him; he was not family and he felt no real attachment.
The Roman Catholic Church ran the most orphanages until the 1880’s since there was such a large influx of Catholic immigrants to America. Trying to overcome the Protestant populations, they were early in forming orphanages and parochial children’s home to train the children in the Catholic theology. In one way, they were correct since the Protestant orphanages attempted to get the children away from their Catholic immigrant families feeling them inferior. Jewish orphanages were instituted and other institutions wanted to get those children away from their primarily Russian Jewish roots; there was anti-Semitism.
Over the years, reformers came and went, changes were made, new orphanages established – but there was always that lonely forgotten child who longed for the security of two parents who would love and care for them. Not all orphanages could be painted as above; some were better than others. In the worst conditions, children were abused, beaten and raped. In the best conditions, they were worked as child-labor, taught discipline, had very little privacy (with many children in the same beds in the same room), and longed to be loved.
Next week, a shorter tip listing the orphanages in Kentucky in the year 1910, the earliest I have been able to find to date.
© Copyright 14 October 2009, Sandra K. Gorin
