Series II: Case Files

Arranged, in original order, by date of admission or removal. In many cases, there is more than one file for a child: one for admission, another for each re-admission, and another for each removal.

Files typically contain applications for admission with detailed information about the child’s family background, applications from prospective employers or adoptive parents, and apprenticeship indentures. Some also contain correspondence, mostly dating from the time of admission or removal. Many of the children had lost one parent and the surviving parent found it necessary to seek help from the Asylum. The letters are often written by the child’s surviving parent or by a concerned person describing the family’s circumstances and recommending the case to the Asylum’s administrators. Occasionally, the files include letters of a much later date from former inmates who describe their present circumstances or request information about their parents and families.

The admissions book, ca. 1850-1986, should be consulted first to obtain dates of admission and removal.