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It’s hard for us to picture life in the United States from 1840 to 1940. It is also hard for new or more experienced Genealogists to understand why they keep on coming up with dead ends in finding their ancestors. As you sit comfortably in front of your computer it is hard to relate to your ancestors who mostly were poor, uneducated,immigrants who, when they arrived, lived in tenements in large cities or on small farms in rural America. It also reflects on their desire to succeed which they did or you wouldn’t be in front of your computer. But another group began coming to the scene after the Civil War they were the tramps and the Hobo’s sometimes numbering over a million at one time most of them looking for work.The Hobo’s tramps and tenement dwellers owned nothing and left few records and they moved around a lot.
African Americans were not immigrants but came here as slaves but shared experiences of poverty with those that were immigrants. Both groups left few records.
URBAN POOR
Much of the urban poor, including a majority
of incoming immigrants, lived in tenement housing.
INSTITUTIONAL DATABASE
Coming june 2021
Almshouses
County Poor Farm
County Poor House
Almshouse
Insane Asylum
Reformatory
Prisons and jails
Old Folks Home
Orphanages
Mentally Retarded
We are compiling a Directory of all orphanages in the United States with the names of inmates. List should be complete by September 2020.
Below is a sample Orphanage Directory for Chicago for 1905
DIRECTORY OF CHICAGO ORPHANAGES 1905
| AMERICAN HOME FINDING ASSN. HOME |
| 3235 Forest av. |
| BETHESDA HOME FOR THE AGED |
| 30 Belden ct. |
| BEULAH HOME and MATERNITY HOSPITAL Read Story about the Beulah Home Operator Rev. Brooks |
| 959 N. Clark
Alternate address: 2144 N Clark St |
| CATHEDRAL MISSION HOUSE AND DISPENSARY |
| 215 Washington Boul. |
| CHICAGO DAILY NEWS FRESH AIR SANITARIUM |
| City office, 123, 5th av. Sanitarium, |
| foot of Fullerton av., Lincoln Park |
| CHICAGO HOME FOR INCURABLES |
| Ellis av. ne. cor. 56th |
| CHICAGO HOME FOR JEWISH ORPHANS |
| Drexel av. sw. cor. 62d. *(Closed down before 1933)* |
| CHICAGO HOME FOR THE FRIENDLESS |
| 5059 Vincennes av. *(Closed down before 1948)* |
| CHICAGO INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR CHILDREN |
| office 14 N. May *(Closed down before 1933)* |
| CHICAGO INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS *(aka St. Mary’s Training School)* *(Closed down before 1944)* |
| 4900 Prairie av. |
| CHICAGO MUNICIPAL LODGING HOUSE |
| 12 N. Union |
| CHICAGO NURSERY AND HALF ORPHAN ASYLUM |
| 855 N. Halsted and 175 Burling *[1984 Address: 2801 W. Foster Ave., Chicago, 60625]* |
| CHICAGO ORPHAN ASYLUM |
| 5120 South Park av. *(Closed down before 1947)* |
| CHICAGO REFUGE FOR GIRLS |
| 5024 Indiana av. *(Closed down before 1948)* |
| CHICAGO REFUGE HOME FOR WOMEN |
| 664 Grand av. |
| CHURCH HOME FOR AGED PERSONS |
| 4327 Ellis av. |
| COOK COUNTY INSANE ASYLUM |
| 6400 Irving Park Road (corner of Irving Park and Narragansett) Located at Dunning, Ill. |
| COOK COUNTY POORHOUSE |
| 6400 Irving Park Road (corner of Irving Park and Narragansett) Dunning P. O. |
| DANISH LUTHERAN ORPHANS’ HOME |
| 1183 N. Maplewood av. *(Closed down before 1933)* |
| DANISH OLD PEOPLE’S HOME |
| Walnut av. cor. Clarendon |
| DANISH YOUNG PEOPLE’S HOME |
| 3544 Wabash av. and 3925 Michigan av. |
| ENGLEWOOD INFANT NURSERY |
| 6516 Perry av. |
| EPHETA MISSION FOR DEAF MUTES |
| 409 S. May |
| FLORENCE CRITTENTON ANCHORAGE |
| 2615 Indiana av. |
| FOUNDLINGS’ HOME |
| 114 S. Wood nr. W. Madison |
| GERMAN OLD PEOPLE’S HOME |
| Oak Park. (Altenheim P.O.) Cook County |
| GUARDIAN ANGEL GERMAN (R.C.) ORPHAN ASYLUM |
| 401 Devon av. *(aka Angel Guardian Orphanage)* *[1984 Address: 2001 W. Devon Ave, Chicago, 60659]* |
| HOME FOR AGED AND INFIRM COLORED PEOPLE |
| 610 W. Garfield boul. |
| HOME FOR AGED JEWS |
| Drexel av. cor. 62d. |
| HOME FOR THE AGED |
| W. Harrison cor. Throop;Sheffield av. sw. cor. Fullerton av., |
| and 5148 Prairie av. |
| HOME FOR CONVALESCENT WOMEN AND CHILDREN |
| 521 W. Adams |
| HOME FOR DESTITUTE CRIPPLED CHILDREN |
| 46 Park av. |
| Pres., James H. Eckels; V. Pres., Colin C. H. Fyffe; |
| Sec., Mrs. Albert W. Holmes, 1890 Carmen av. |
| Treas., W. W. Gurley |
| HOME FOR JEWISH FRIENDLESS AND WORKING GIRLS |
| Ellis av. cor. 53d. |
| HOME FOR MISSIONARIES’ CHILDREN |
| Morgan Park |
| HOUSE OF MERCY (for young women) |
| 2834 Wabash av. |
| HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD |
| Racine av. bet. Grace and Byron *(1984 Address: 1126 W. Grace St. Chicago, 60613)* |
| ILLINOIS INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS |
| South Evanston |
| Chicago office, 1037, 79 Dearborn |
| ILLINOIS INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR THE BLIND |
| Marshall boul. s. of W. 19th. |
| ILLINOIS MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL FARM |
| Glenwood, Ill. |
| Chicago office, 113 Adams |
| ILLINOIS MASONIC ORPHANS’ HOME |
| 447 Carroll av. cor. Sheldon |
| ILLINOIS WOMEN’S SOLDIERS’ HOME |
| 188, 41st. |
| JACKSON PARK SANITARIUM |
| 64th and the Lake |
| LIFE BOAT REST FOR GIRLS |
| 472 State |
| MARKS NATHAN JEWISH ORPHANS HOME |
| Wood nr. Division *(Closed before 1933)* |
| MARTHA WASHINGTON HOME |
| Irving Park boul. cor. Western av., Lake View |
| METHODIST EPISCOPAL OLD PEOPLE’S HOME |
| 975 Foster av. |
| MISSION OF OUR LADY OF MERCY |
| 363 W. Jackson boul. *(1984 Address: 1142 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, 60607)* |
| NEWS-BOYS’ & BOOT-BLACKS’ HOME |
| 1418 Wabash av. |
| NORWEGIAN OLD PEOPLE’S HOME |
| Avondale av. sw. cor. Ceylon |
| OLD PEOPLE’S HOME |
| Indiana av. nw. cor. Thirty-ninth |
| ORTHODOX JEWISH HOME FOR THE AGED |
| Albany av. cor. ogden av. |
| PRESBYTERIAN HOME FOR THE AGED |
| 323 Oakwood boul. |
| ST. ANTHONY’S HOSPITAL AND ORPHANAGE |
| 28 Frankfort |
| ST. CHARLES HOME AND SCHOOL FOR BOYS |
| St. Charles, Ill. |
| Chicago office, 625, 79 Dearborn |
| ST. JOSEPH POLISH CATHOLIC ORPHAN ASYLUM |
| 1196 N. 44th ct. |
| ST. JOSEPH PROVIDENT ORPHAN ASYLUM |
| N. 40th av. bet. W. Diversey av. and W. Belmont av. |
| ST. JOSEPH’S HOME FOR AGED AND CRIPPLED |
| Schubert cor. Hamlin av. |
| ST. JOSEPH’S HOME FOR THE FRIENDLESS |
| 409 S. May *[1984 Address: 739 E. 35th St., Chicago, 60616]* |
| ST. JOSEPH’S ORPHAN ASYLUM |
| 35th cor. Lake av. |
| ST. MARY’S HOME FOR CHILDREN – Episcopal |
| 1251 W. Jackson boul. |
| ST. MARY’S TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS |
| Freehanville, Cook Co., Ill. |
| ST. VINCENT DE PAUL HOME FOR HOMELESS BOYS |
| 481 Wabash av. |
| ST. VINCENT’S INFANT ASYLUM AND MATERNITY HOSPITAL |
| 191 Lasalle av. *[Closed before 1972]* |
| ST. VINCENT’S ORPHAN ASYLUM |
| Schubert cor. Hamlin av. |
| STAR OF HOPE MISSION HOME |
| 110 S. Green |
| UHLICH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ORPHAN ASYLUM |
| 221 Burling nw. cor. Center |
| WASHINGTONIAN HOME |
| 566 to 572 W. Madison |
| WESTERN GERMAN BAPTIST OLD PEOPLE’S HOME |
| 1006 N. Spaulding av. |
| WILLIAM RAYMOND CHAMPLIN MEMORIAL HOME FOR BOYS |
| 515 W. Adams |
| WOMEN’S MODEL LODGING HOUSE |
| 10 Eldredge pl. |
| WORKING MEN’S HOME AND MEDICAL MISSION |
| 1341 State |
| YOUNG WOMAN’S CHRISTIAN HOME |
| 422 Washington boul. |
THOMASVILLE BAPTIST ORPHANAGE 1900 n. Carolina
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