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Headquarters of the
Superintendent of the Poor |
| Entitled "Headquarters of Vincent Collyer, at
New Berne, N.C.---Distributing Captured Clothing to the
Needy" -- this is an illustration from 'The Soldier in
Our Civil War' published in about 1880. |
| [Note: Here the Superintendent of the Poor was functioning
much as did those called "Overseers of the Poor"
in other locations. For more information about this role see
our HISTORY
page. PHL ] |
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HISTORY: |
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The following is an excerpt from a U.S. Government REPORT
summarizing various state poor laws in 1904
Click on the link above for more information. |
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| LOCAL NOTES:
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Some North Carolina
Poorhouse Locations
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The following information was found on a webpage
which had the heading:
SOUTHERN CHARITIES PROJECT, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK:North Carolina Societies.
http://www.warwick.ac.uk/SouthernCharitiesProject/NCsocieties.shtml
Note: The University of Warwick is in
England! The navigation on that page does not provide
much information about how to find the sources of
the data. We have extracted just that information which identifies
county poorhouses, their locations, and some very brief notes about
their history. While the list is fairly extensive, it is NOT
comprehensive. There were poorhouses in other counties
also. PHL |
Beaufort County Poorhouse
(Washington)
Founded in 1817
Burke County Poorhouse
(Morgantown)
In existence in 1848
Caswell County Poorhouse
(Yanceyville)
In existence in 1848
Craven County Poorhouse
(Newbern)
In existence in 1848
Davidson County Poorhouse
(Lexington)
In existence in 1848
Edgecombe County Poorhouse
(Tarboro)
In existence in 1848
Guilford County Poorhouse
(Greensboro)
In existence in 1848
Iredell County Poorhouse
(Statesville)
In existence in 1848
Lenoir County Poorhouse
In existence in 1848
Mecklenburg County Poorhouse
(Charlotte)
In existence in 1848
Moore County Poorhouse
(Carthage)
Opened in 1800
New Hanover County Poorhouse
(Wilmington)
Founded in 1811, closed in 1853.
Orange County Poorhouse
(Hillsborough)
In existence in 1848
Rockingham County Poorhouse
(Wentworth)
In existence in 1848
Rutherford County Poorhouse
(Rutherfordton)
In existence in 1848
Surry County Poorhouse
(Rockford)
In existence in 1848
Wayne County Poorhouse (Goldsboro)
In existence in 1848
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Buncombe County Poorhouse
(Asheville)
Closed and land sold off in 1846
Cabarrus County Poorhouse
(Concord)
Opened in 1853
Cleveland County Poorhouse
(Shelby)
In existence in 1848
Cumberland County Poorhouse
(Fayetteville)
In existence in 1848
Duplin County Poorhouse
(Warsaw)
Founded in 1839
Granville County Poorhouse
In existence in 1848
Halifax County Poorhouse
(Halifax)
In existence in 1848
Johnston County Poorhouse
Founded in 1850
Lincoln County Poorhouse
(Lincolnton)
In existence in 1848
Montgomery County Poorhouse (Laurenceville)
In existence in 1848
Nash County Poorhouse
In existence in 1848
Northampton County Poorhouse
(Jackson)
Opened in 1823
Richmond County Poorhouse
Founded in 1852
Rowan County Poorhouse
(Salisbury)
In existence in 1848
Stokes County Poorhouse
(Germantown)
In existence in 1848, rebuilt in 1854
Warren County Poorhouse
Founded in 1838
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Caldwell County
Notes |
| Note: All of the following quotes are from an on-line article by
Bill
Kincaid, Caldwell County Public Information. (It is tempting to
quote even more; but ... just go read the article!) |
"There were always plenty of paupers. Some were able
to stay at home or with family, and received a couple dollars of
month in support. Those who couldn't stay at home were consigned to
the county poor house.
In November 1870, the board
announced that it would meet at the poor house on Dec. 6 "for the
purpose of renting to the highest bidder for two years the lands
belonging to said poor house and for the purpose of letting out the
paupers of the county for the same length of time to the lowest
bidders."
A report of the meeting shows one women
was "bid off" by a man "at the sum of $4 per month" and a man was
"bid off" by another "at the sum of $2 per month."
Remember, though, that money was scarce; the state was still
desolate from Civil War; there was no formal welfare program; and
Social Security had not been thought about.
Health
care was nothing to brag about either, and people commonly were
identified as "crazy" or "lunatics.'' In July 1874, the
commissioners determined that a man "who has been reported to this
board as having an unsound mind" should be sent to the poor house
"until further orders." |
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Above quote from http://www.co.caldwell.nc.us/conews/news/former.htm |
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"By today's standards, life seems cruel and harsh in those days.
A sort of apprenticeship, in which children not
even in their teen-age years were "bound" to an individual until
they were 21, sometimes handled the problem of orphans and
illegitimate children. In return, the adult usually was obligated to
teach the child to read and write and to provide him with a horse
and
bridle and a suit of clothes when he was grown." |
| Above quote from http://www.co.caldwell.nc.us/conews/news/former.htm |
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| NOTES FROM READERS:
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An excerpt from the Journal of Tom
Simmons, age 90,
of Rural Hall, Forsyth County, NC.
containing his memories of the Forsyth County Poor House. |
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MISCELLANEOUS: |
by Works Progress Administration (WPA) project -- 1939
Interview of an ex-slave who was an inmate of the (Yadkin) County Home
in Yadkinville.
[ To locate interview interview, jot down the following keyword or
phrase (using any quotation marks given) and click here to get instructions
.] Keyword: "Ole An' Broke"by
Works Progress Administration (WPA) project -- 1939 Interview
of a couple in which the wife had previously lived in the Cherokee
County Home prior to her marriage.
[ To locate interview interview, jot down the
following keyword or phrase (using any quotation marks given) and
click here to get instructions
.] Keyword: "Ex-WPA Workers"
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| RECORDS:
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Click
Here to see ...
NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES
POORHOUSE (& POOR
RELIEF) HOLDINGS
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Residents
of the County Poor House 1870 Census Alamance Co., Graham
Twsp
Residents
of the County Poor House 1880 Census Alamance Co., Graham
Twsp
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Minutes
of the GUILFORD Co. Warden Court, 1840: An
Abstract
by Judy Millikan
Originally published in The Guilford Genealogist,
Vol. 26, No. 3, Summer 1999, Issue No. 86
We are grateful to Amy Rupard, the Journal Editor, for
her consent to publish this on our website. |
HYDE
County, N.C. -- MINUTES OF THE WARDENS OF THE POOR
(1837 - 1868)  |
| website
by Kay M Sheppard genie12@bellsouth.net
Co-Host Hyde
Co., NC GenWeb Page |
Kay
has done a wonderful job here: extracting and transcribing
and indexing!
She has also included an explanation of how the poor relief
system in North Carolina worked.
Our thanks for the work -- and for letting us link to
it! PHL |
Nash
County, North Carolina Minutes of Wardens of the Poor 1844 -
1869
by
Timothy W. Rackley, 1997,
Full Name Index, Female Name Index, 8½ X
11, soft cover, stapled, taped, 65 pp.
Residents
of the Person County
Poor House – 1850, p. 474 of 1850 census
Residents
of the Person County Poor House -- 1870
Residents
of the Polk County Poor House -- 1870
Residents
of the Surry County Poor
House -- 1850 Julie Hampton Ganis has
published a website with a page
containing:
UNION
COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA PAUPERS & POORHOUSE LEDGER
(Miscellaneous & Incomplete Pages 1867-1871)
With supplemental data from the 1870 & 1880
Union Co, NC Federal Census. |
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| CEMETERIES:
Cemetery list for the cemetery of the Catawba
County poorhouse.
Cemetery list for Old
County Home Cemetery in Madison County
(from the GenWeb Madison County NC Digital Library)
"Please be aware
that those in the Madison Co Home cemetery are from all walks of
life-some were CH residents, others buried there before it was CH
property. Used to be a church/then private home cemetery as well.
All are buried together."
"Pineview [Rocky Mount, Nash County] is split into
sections ... and it has a paupers' field near the office on Pineview
Street." ... "There are no headstones or markers in
paupers' field. It is for burials where no one will accept financial
responsibility for the deceased." Said Linda Moore, city
cemetery supervisor, "There have probably been no than five
burials a year for the past five years [as of 1997] in the paupers'
field."
http://www.ci.rocky-mount.nc.us/parks&rec/cemeteries.html
"A poorhouse was built in Nash County in 1823 on
Sapony Creek, called "Wardens of the Poor." It was closed
down in 1923. Records of the poorhouse accounts are preserved on
microfilm. The 2-acre cemetery for the poorhouse is still there, the
graves marked by rocks."
http://www.ci.rocky-mount.nc.us/parks&rec/cemeteries.html
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| We are hoping to build this base of
information about poorhouses in NORTH CAROLINA 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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