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The barn of the Putnam County Poor
Farm, Veterans Memorial Park, Kent |
| Submitted by Mike Troy |
Photo credit: Town of Carmel Historical
Society. |
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Click Above to Enlarge |
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The notes below have been abstracted from the following reports.
To obtain further information on these reports click on the appropriate button.
(This will open a separate window so simply close to get back to this page.)
YATES REPORT
1824 LAW
1857 REPORT EXPLANATION
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YATES REPORT:
| ANNUAL REPORT of the SECRETARY of
STATE
p 1028 |
| A TABLE showing the number of
Paupers supported at the public expense in the county of PUTNAM
during the twelve months preceding April 21, 1823, with other
particulars, derived from public documents and reports furnished
the Secretary of State. |
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Total number of paupers
supported during the
whole of the last year. |
Total number relieved
during a part of the last year. |
M
A
L
E
S |
F
E
M
A
L
E
S |
C
H
I
L
D
R
E
N |
Total expenses of
supporting and relieving paupers (including fees and
expenses of officers, removals and appeals) for the last
year.
Dolls. Cts.
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Expenses and cost of
officers and appeals during same period.
Dolls. Cts.
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Number of paupers removed
during the last year. |
Carmel
(No return) |
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| Kent |
5 |
39 |
21 |
23 |
20 |
405.94 |
51.37 |
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| Patterson |
8 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
530.00 |
70.00 |
2 |
| Philipstown |
20 |
10 |
12 |
18 |
9 |
500.00 |
114.00 |
47 |
| South East |
15 |
Not stated. |
6 |
9 |
0 |
545.00 |
20.00 |
... |
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[Note: There was no further narrative material accompanying the
report from this county. PHL ] |
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| 1824 LAW (required establishment of poorhouse vs. exempted):
exempt
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1857 INVESTIGATION:
This is a wooden
building of two stories, in size eighty by thirty feet, connected is a farm of
one hundred and ninety six acres, yielding a revenue of about $600. The basements of the house are unoccupied. There are fourteen rooms or wards, occupied by the paupers and warmed
by stoves and not at all ventilated. In
some rooms are placed twenty person, less in the smaller.
The number of inmates
was thirty-seven, eighteen males and seventeen females, of these three are
foreign and thirty-four native birth, thirteen are under sixteen years of age. The sexes are kept separate, they are under a single keeper who has
charge of the house. The average
number of inmates is fifty-two, supported at a weekly cost of forty-three
cents each; all who are able work on the farm or about the house. The house has been visited by the supervisors, once during the past
year. It is supplied with Bibles
and there are occasional religious services on the Sabbath. For the instruction of the young a school is taught in the house during
the whole year. The
superintendents of the poor regulate the government of the house, furnish
supplies, bind out the children and exercise the power of discharging
lunatics. The fare of the paupers
is the common one of meat, bread and vegetables. A physician is called when his services are needed. There are no facilities for bathing. Seven deaths have occurred during the year, no contagious disease has
prevailed. This establishment has a pest house.
Of the inmates three
are lunatics, one male and two females, all are paupers. They receive no special medical or other attendance. One has been chained in his cell for about three years, he is
comparatively a young man and must prove a confirmed lunatic unless there be a
speedy change in his treatment, he lies on dirty straw in a miserable dungeon,
and his condition is worse than that of many beasts. The others are confined in cells. None are reported cured or improved during the past year. Two of the inmates are idiots, both females. There is one mute. Thirty-six
of the fifty-two paupers are reduced to their present condition through
intemperance.
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Transcribed by PHS-Volunteer, Cheramie Breaux in Louisiana
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PERSONAL NOTES FROM READERS:
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| LOCAL
NOTES:
"The land [for the Putnam County Poor Farm] was donated in 1820 by Dr.
Elias Cornelius, a local surgeon, who had tended the need of the farmed-out
poor as far back as the 1780s. The almshouse was closed in the 1970s and
later burned down; a barn still stands on the farmland, which is now Putnam
County Veterans' Memorial Park, Gipsy Trail Road, Town of Kent. Nearby
is the poor farm cemetery, with numbered graves." 
Mike Troy carmelink@aol.com
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RECORDS:
Poorhouse INMATE REGISTRATION
CERTIFICATES
Microfilm Series A1978 Roll Number(s) 168 more information
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NEW BOOK! |
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Letter From the Author |
| October 16, 2001
Dear Poorhouse Lady,
About a year ago I messaged you about a book project I was doing for the
local historical society. It was a transcription of the account
book of the Overseers of the Poor for the Southeast Precinct of Dutchess
County, NY [now in Putnam County], 1768 to 1812. This covers the
period when the poor were still farmed out. I added a name index,
listing about 1100 individuals (the poor, the keepers, the overseers, et
al) with about 500 surnames and 300 surname variations, cross-indexed.
It's packaged and ready to go to press as an 8-1/2x11 224-page
hardcover, called The Precinct Book (ISBN 0-9703767-0-7).
Naturally, the printer's first question is, How Many? We're
not planning on more than a few dozen at this time, unless there's a
significant demand. The proposed price is $75, all proceeds going
to the publisher/copyright-holder, Town of Carmel Historical Society
Inc., Box 456, Mahopac, NY 10541
Could this be mentioned on the PHS website, asking those who might be
interested to drop me an e-mail right away, so that we can size the
first printing run?
Thanks,
Mike Troy carmelink@aol.com
Carmel, NY
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We are delighted
to hear of the publication of this book! PHL
Click here to
read our review
!!! |
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CEMETERY:
| Gravestone at the Putnam
County Poor Farm, Veterans Memorial Park, Kent |
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Click Above to Enlarge |
"A numbered grave in the
County Home Cemetery ...
# 6 is Patrick Gogan, born in Ireland circa 1836.
He came to the home in 1910, and died Feb. 14, 1916. |
| Submitted by Mike Troy |
Photo credit: Town of Carmel Historical
Society. |
See Local Notes above
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| We are hoping to build this base of information about the poorhouse in PUTNAM county through the helpful participation of readers. All are requested to submit items of interest by sending
e-mail to The Poorhouse Lady.
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