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Organization of records It appears that the record keeping year was approximately from October 1st to September 30th. The first group of records is labeled 1850-1851 and covers the intake time period 20 September 1850 to 17 September 1851. The ledger covers the dates 1850 to 1870 and the availability of any other dates is currently unknown. General Information inside brackets [] indicate this
editor’s entry, where data is missing e.g. [no first name given] to
clarify that it wasn’t an oversight. Brackets have also been used around
a surname instead of "do." or quotation marks, e.g. [Connett] in the
1850-1851 record, to clarify names of children listed under a parent. A few obvious misspellings have been corrected, for
example Conniuticut has been corrected to Connecticut. No assumptions
have been made regarding the spelling of an individual’s name and were
transcribed as written. Column headings No. – Each inmate was assigned
a number. This number is used throughout their stay until they are
discharged. Some inmates returned, and they will appear on the ledger
using the same number. Name – As with all old
handwritten records, some of it was challenging to interpret so
therefore errors may have been made, even with best efforts to
transcribe accurately. In some situations, there was no first name
indicated, for example #1, Mr. Higgins. His entry for 1850-1851 is just
Higgins, and it has been transcribed as: [No first name given] Higgins.
By the 1852-1853 entry, his first name, Lawrence, is included on the
original record and so also the transcription. This may be the case with
other long-term inmates, so the assigned number is helpful to locate
someone if they appear in a subsequent year. Place of birth – Some details
are very broad, e.g., America, and sometimes a more specific place is
given, e.g., Steuben Co., NY, or there may be no information at all. Age [as of date] – For clarity
this editor has added [as of date] after the column heading Age. For
example, in the 1850-1851 record Lawrence Higgins is age 89, as of May 3rd,
1850, meaning an apparent birthdate of 3 May 1761. Many times, no
birthdate or specific age is provided (e.g., “50 or 60 years”) . Cause of Pauperism – This is
self-explanatory, with many terms that would not be used today. Using
Google search will help understand terms such as St. Vitus Dance
(Huntington's chorea), intemperate, etc. When & How Discharged – This is
the date an inmate has left the Poor House, and sometimes more
information is provided, such as, “left voluntarily” or “bound to H.
Johnson.” From What Township - The township responsible for placing the person in the home, or, an inmate's previous residence, if known. How long a pauper – An inmate who lived at the Poor House for the entire year would be recorded as 52 weeks, whereas someone who was there for only two weeks and three days would be recorded as 2 3/7. Further reference Other records, including the census,
may also be helpful. The following are links to Ancestry.com of the
census images of the poor house inmates at the time of the census. An
Ancestry membership is required to view. Many libraries provide
access to Ancestry if you do not have a membership. Findagrave – There are no
discernible tombstones in the area that is believed to be the cemetery.
Memorials have been created on Findagrave for inmates who were known to
have died at the poor house as indicated on the ledger, but their burial
location cannot be confirmed. Additional memorials have been created for
people whose death certificates state that they are buried in the poor
farm cemetery. - https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2446782/calhoun-county-poor-farm-cemetery Albion Historical
Society Newsletter - http://www.albionhistoricalsociety.org/content/166-MEDIA.pdf History.com general
poorhouse information - https://www.history.com/news/in-the-19th-century-the-last-place-you-wanted-to-go-was-the-poorhouse More general poorhouse
information can be found on this site from Orleans County, NY - https://orleanshub.com/inmate-was-term-used-to-describe-poor-house-residents/ |
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