INVENTORY OF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES OF OHIO NO

INVENTORY OF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES OF OHIO NO. 5. ATHENS COUNTY (ATHENS) Prepared by The Historical Records Survey Division of Professional and Service Projects Work Projects Administration Columbus, Ohio The Historical Records Survey May 1939 3 1466 00270 4217
Excerpts of portions dealing with Infirmary (poorhouse) Records
[Note: Click here to see portions of important information common to all the county inventories.

Housing, Care, and Accessibility of the Records
County Home. The office is near the front entrance of the county home building, located near Chauncey on state highway 31. The room is well lit and well ventilated. The records are all kept in bound volumes, most of which are in good condition. However, bindings and paper of some of the others are in very bad condition. All of them are kept in the superintendent’s desk. Accommodations for those wishing access to the records are excellent. page 54
Superintendent of the County Home
The Athens county poorhouse was established in 1857 by the county commissioners, acting under authority granted them by the legislative act of 1816 which gave them the power to purchase land and construct poorhouses in which to care for the county’s indigent. By the same act the commissioners were authorized to appoint annually a board of seven directors which was authorized to make rules and regulations for the management of the institution and to appoint a superintendent. Accordingly, in 1857, the county commissioners purchased a farm of one hundred and forty seven acres in Dover township near Chauncey. The old farm buildings were remodeled and used for the purposes of the home until they were destroyed by fire in 1903. Temporary quarters were constructed for use until the modern buildings, now in use, were completed. page 199 *** The present plant, built at a cost of $45,496.43 and having a capacity of one hundred and fifty inmates, is very well planned and equipped. The institution is maintained at low cost to the taxpayers of the county because of its efficient management and also because of the policy of “self-help” employed to encourage a feeling of self-respect on the part of the inmates. While old age pensions and other forms of social aid have reduced the number of inmates, approximately fifty are cared for by the institution at present. Mr. Bert Daugherty is superintendent. All records are located in the superintendent’s office, county home. page 201
Superintendent of the County Home -- Journal and Register
443. (County Home) JOURNAL, 1857-1929 2 vols. Record of minutes of meetings of board of directors of the county home, showing date, business transactions, bills received, and bills paid. Chron. arr. by dates of meetings. No index. Hdw. Condition fair. Aver. 500 pp. 12 x 1. For related records, see entry 13. 444. INFIRMARY REGISTER, 1857--. 3 vols. (two unnumbered, 2). Register of inmates, showing date, name, age, date of admittance, native or county, from where entered, date of discharge, and, in case of death, where buried. Chron. arr. by dates of entry. No index. Hdw. Aver. 200 pp. 16 x 10 x 1 page 202
Superintendent of the County Home -- Business Administration of Office
445. LEDGER, 1896 -- . 1 vol. Record of small or incidental expenditures which are paid from a contingency fund, showing date, purpose and amount. Chron. arr. by dates of entry. Index by names of items. Hdw. Condition fair. 400 pp. 12 x 8 x 1. 446. INFIRMARY ACCOUNTS, 1898-1907 1 vol. Itemized accounts for all infirmary expenses totaled quarterly and presented to county auditor, showing date, name of payee, and amount. Chron. arr. by dates of entry. No index. Hdw. 160 pp. 16 x 10 x 1. See entry 447. 447. RECORD OF EXPENDITURES AND RECEIPTS, 1907--. 2 vols. (1, 2) Classification of all expenditures from the infirmary fund and record of receipts, showing date, purpose, and amount. Chron. arr. by dates of entry. No index. Hdw. Condition fair. Aver. 400 pp. 18 x 15 x 2. For prior itemized records, see entry 446. 448. ACCOUNT WITH COUNTIES, 1888-1900. 1 vol. Debit and credit account between Athens county and foreign counties in the care of indigents who are residents of foreign counties, showing date, name of county, amount debited, and amounted credited each. Chron. arr. by dates. page 202
County Commissioners -- Journals and Reports
1. COMMISSIONERS’ JOURNAL, 1805--, 36 vols. Record of minutes of meetings of county commissioners including all business transactions, such as contracts, agreements, bills, and (1886--) applications and proceedings in soldiers’ relief, showing date and record of proceedings. Also contains: Commissioners’ Docket, 1805-72, 1876--, entry 3; Read Record, 1805-1915, 1920--, entry 10; Commissioners’ Journal, County Home, 1857-1912, entry 13; Soldiers’ Burial Record, 1922--, entry 16; Animal Claim Record, (1885)-1918, 1933--, entry 22. Chron. arr. by dates of meetings. 1805-76, no index; for index, 1877--, see entry 2. 18015-1915, hdw.; 1916--, typed. 1805-8, condition poor. Aver. 350 pp. 15 x 10 x 2. Comm. ofc.., w. wall. For related records, see entries 15, 19. 2. INDEX TO COMMISSIONERS’ JOURNAL, 1877--, 5 vols. (one unlettered, B, C, C, E). Index to Commissioners’ Journal, entry 1, and Commissioners’ Journal, County Home, entry 13, showing volume and page numbers of journal, bills passed, names of roads and bridges, contracts, and miscellaneous. Alph. arr. by subject headings. Hdw. Aver. 320 pp. 18 x 12 x 2 1/2. 1 vol., 1877-85, aud. ofc.; 4 vols., 1886--, comm. ofc., w. wall. *** 4. INFIRMARY REPORTS AND VOUCHERS, 1872-1905, 30 file boxes (labeled by years). Semiannual reports of the board of infirmary directors to the county commissioners, showing date of report and period covered by report; classifications of inmates of infirmary, showing sex, age, number received during the year, number discharged, and number of deaths; also inventory of infirmary property and itemized list of expenses. File boxes also contain canceled vouchers issued to the treasurer by the auditor in favor of the township trustees, showing voucher number, date, amount, purpose, signature of superintendent of county home, and signatures of the president and secretary of the board of infirmary directors. Chron. arr. by dates of papers. No index. Hdw. on printed forms. 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 10. Old attic. 5. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNTY HOME OF ATHENS COUNTY, TO THE DIVISION OF CHARITIES DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE, 1930--, 1 file box (labeled County Home). Annual report of superintendent of county home filed with county commissioners showing year covered by report, classified expenditures and receipts, number of inmates (male and female) at beginning of year, number received, discharged, number of runaways, number of deaths, and number transferred, total, daily average, ages of inmates, outside relief given, inventory of home properties last year and this), and signatures of superintendent of home and of clerk of board of commissioners. Chron. arr. by years of reports. No index. Hdw. on printed forms. 3 1/2 x 5 x 10. Comm. assembly rm. pages 72 and 73
Roster of County Officials
Infirmary Directors* pages 240 & 241
George I. Gould 1858-1861 Ziba Lindley 1859-1862	Ezra Goodspeed 1860-1869 Henry Brown 1861-1864
Elmer Armstrong 1862-1865 Norman Root 1863-1865 Elmer Rowell 1864-1867 Peter Hixson 1865-1874 W. S. Hyde 1867-1874 Charles R. Smith 1869-1875 B. C. Lefever 1874-1877 Tobias Bondinot 1875-1878 Thomas J. Allsion 1876-1888 Lewis H. Russell 1877-1880 Joshua Sands 1878-1881 F. S. Jurrod 1880-1886 Charles Henry 1881-1884 Charles W Goodspeed 1884-1894 Clement Hooper 1886-1889	John Burson 1888-1889 (Resigned) Clement Hooper, Sr. 1889-1892 Charles P. Clester 1889-1899 John H. Mohler 1892-1901 S. F. Beverage 1894-1900 John McLaughlin 1898-1907 William James 1900-1908 Leroy S. Woodworth 1901-1911 R. S. Dent 1904-1907 W. H. Vorhes 1909-1911 Owen Beebe 1909-1911 J. W. Drake 1911-1912 C. P. Clester 1910-1912 Frank White 1911-1913
excerpted and transcribed by: Peggy Laird -- Jan 2001
Note: Most of these inventories were heavily footnoted. We did not include the footnotes (which were usually references to other documents) here because we felt that this website is for general readers without a strong academic/legal need to see these footnotes. However, they are available upon specific request from researchers who e-mail us.
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