The Poorhouse Story NEWSLETTER   3/10/2001 (Ninth issue)

Well, this newsletter is late also (like last time...sheesh!) -- but my Irish immigrant great-great-grandmother, Annie Tolly (who with her children can occasionally be found receiving "outdoor" relief in the records of the Overseers of the Poor in Washington County, NY during the 1800s) would be upset with me if I did not honor St. Patrick's Day. Hence the color change in the design theme for this month.  

One of the nice things about the internet is that it offers the opportunity to rewrite history! (No, not to enforce some notion of political correctness. But to correct the record.) So the GOALS & OBJECTIVES of The POORHOUSE STORY which we wrote for the last newsletter has been altered. They have also been posted to a page with a link on the homepage reading -- MISSION STATEMENT.  We reconsidered and discovered that there was one important thing which we had left out. It is discussed below ... 

[Special Note: The Poorhouse Lady will be taking a break from publishing this newsletter next month. This will me give me the much needed opportunity to get caught up with e-mail and the preparation of already submitted material for publication. It may also give me chance to get my Income Tax papers filed on time! <grin> So the next newsletter should come out sometime toward the end of April. Thanks for understanding and being patient.]

REFLECTIONS

The introduction of students (kindergarten through high school and college) to genealogy represents a powerful tool for helping them understand themselves as cherished and valuable members of a multi-generational community of people who respect each other and who seek to communicate their history and traditions honestly. 

The POORHOUSE STORY will  try to provide teachers with tools which can help them offer this introduction to genealogy and local history (with an emphasis on local poorhouse history) in a manner which can teach and reinforce academic skills and strengthen social values. There is a special benefit to utilizing poorhouse study in such lessons -- Dealing with institutionalization and a population of people burdened with poverty in a respectful manner can help students whose families have experienced poverty or institutionalization (of whatever kind) feel less marginalized or less like "outsiders." The teaching of a history (especially a local history) which deals only with the Rich & Famous cannot do that!

Toward these goals, we have provided a new page called CLASSROOM CORNER.

We hope you will read and enjoy it and find many ways to utilize it! 
And we especially hope you will call it to the attention of any history/social studies teachers you know.

PHL

Click here to see a scan of an original 1817 document: 
Articles of Agreement (which resolved an issue of
which county would be responsible for the support of two
specific individuals when Hamilton County split off from Montgomery County in New York State. (Page takes a while to load.)

THE 19th CENTURY WORKHOUSE: A Personal Story
 by Loreley A. Morling
(from the website of the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations Inc. )  [This one is really fascinating! A good read for anyone.]

Article from The HOOSIER GENEALOGIST, 1989, "The Union County Poorhouse in the 1860 Census."    
[This is a very enlightening article about some of the realities of census transcribing which can help genealogists better evaluate the accuracy of poorhouse records in the census.]                             

Poorhouse Records

Jessamyn West (1902-1984) was an American author who wrote stories based on her Quaker ancestors.  Her most well-known book was 
The Friendly Persuasion which was published in 1945 and later made into a movie with Gary Cooper.

This novel is the story of the family of a man who idealistically leaves his law practice to become the Superintendent of a county poorhouse in southern Indiana. Set in the 19th century, the author develops the characters in ways that give us insight into the day-to-day lives of those who lived in poorhouses -- both the folks who are inmates, supervisors and visitors. This backdrop (which will be of special interest to readers of this website) is only secondary to the skillful telling of stories of the lives of these fascinating people.

Why should genealogists read it? Because the three major things which pruned all of our family trees were war, famine and disease. And since it can be argued that the primary factor contributing to fatalities in both war and famine involve disease -- disease wins hands-down as the most significant.

Why should students of poorhouse history be concerned with this? Because cholera discriminated. It's rate of infection was much higher among those who lived in poverty.  And this examination of the treatment of cholera victims of necessity places attitudes toward the poor under a microscope. Additionally, in many communities the only "pesthouse" (or place where people with contagious diseases could be quarantined) was the poorhouse.