Post Civil war: Society lost and Displaced
Widows and orphans
Hardships endured by family members of Civil War soldiers
By Rosemary Connolly
While four years may be a long time to fight a war, Rose
contends that it is the aftermath of the war far exceeds the horror
experienced on the battlefield.
What were wives and
children supposed to do without fathers?
Young and middle-aged men on both sides were anxious to get into the
fray before the whole war was over and they were so confident of victory that
not much thought was given to what happens in the event that they would never
again come home. How were they to survive?
Rose discusses how these women and children found themselves all alone
and lost in a world of desperation surrounded by people with problems of
their own to deal with. Rose will introduce such
terms as street waifs, ragmuffins, orphan
trains and the Children’s Aid Society
as she pulls back the curtain on the devastation experienced by many of the
families that dead Civil War soldiers on both sides left behind.
1. Widows
~ demographics
~ property
~ Mary Livermore
~ Colored widows
~ Widows Weeds
~ Stages of mourning
~ Mourning Jewelry
2. Orphans
~ Ragmuffins and street waifs
~ Home of the Friendless
~ Children's Aid Society
~ Orphan Trains
Introduction:
After the war was over, the men came home to work with their families and picked up where they left off before signing on with the military. They "lived happily ever after" just like a Hollywood movie. Cities held tiker tape parades to welcome our boys home. This was far from true. We paid dearly for this war to end. Women barely had a chance to breath or relax except for the fact there would be no more battles and they hoped to hear that their loved one was accounted for.
This war that was expected to last 3 months lasted 4 years. History likes to teach us about the battle. Battles themselves lasted a matter of days leaving behind what lasted a lifetime. It's this lifetime that seems less interesting to talk about but lasted 25 times longer than the war itself.
There was no life insurance but there were occasionally wills poorly made. Men's and women's roles were strict. Crossing into non-traditional chores left holes in women's skills that they had never performed or been taught. This left them lost and all alone.
Approximately 620,000 soldiers died in the American Civil War. The Union lost around 360,000 soldiers - 110,000 killed in combat; the Confederacy lost around 260,000 men - 93,000 killed in combat. Disease killed the rest. While not all of these soldiers were married, the War created an unprecedented number of young white widows, many of whom had been married for a very short time.
https://www.civilwarwomenblog.com/civil-war-widows/
About a month before Abraham Lincoln died, he said in his second Inaugural
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations." I wish he had lived to see this through.
During the Victorian era, death darkened the home and there was formal etiquette to follow. With over 200,000 deaths as a result of the war, some customs were forced to be put aside for more pressing matters.
Although I'm not going to talk about the wounded veterans that have had major life changes here, I'm going to talk about these lost families and how they were impacted by the loss of so many.
"Mrs. Lewis,
In accordance with my promise, I drop you a line. Surgeon DeBenneville returned yesterday. He reports your husband as having died from the wound received in Friday's fight. His leg was amputated, but not withstanding he died. I most sincerely sympathize with you in this your sad bereavement. The stroke is heavy, but as must bow in submission to the will of God. These are times that try men's souls. The sacredness of the family circle is broken, fond hearts are separated and every dear remembrance ignored. I can scarcely realize that he is dead, but alas I fear it is too true.
Allow me to write the inscription of him who now lies in the grave, in a southern clime, surrounded by traitors and demons to the best of governments. In memory of Capt. Andrew Lewis, who died from the effects of a wound received June 27th, 1862 at the battle of Gaines Mill, fighting for the maintenance of law and order. No braver man ever lived - no braver man ever fell. No child of his need blush at the name of that patriotic, brave man. His character here was without a stain. In all intercourse he was most honest. He stood high in the regiment. Accept my heartfelt sympathy, and may God who pities the widow & orphan enable you to bear your load of grief & sorrow like the true Christian who looks forward to a better & happier world.
Yours very truly,
Dan G. Porter
United States Army"
July 24, 1862
Old Point Comfort, Virginia
https://www.facebook.com/cwquotes/photos/a.899588110111487.1073741827.899582270112071/1653769401360017/?type=3&theater&ifg=1
~ demographics
The widows were generally in their twenties with stable marriages and two to three young children before the war. The families also usually owned personal property. After the death of their husbands, the widows often turned to other family members for help or began their own careers, ordinarily in agriculture. In general, they also owned less property than before the conflict.
Young widows shamelessly flirting with men and searching for new husbands soon after the death of their own spouse. Some women never remarried.
For many Confederate widows, the war was an extremely close and personal experience, as battles and armies brought death, destruction and hardship into their states, their communities and sometimes their backyards. Many Confederate widows supported the Confederacy during the war and memorialized it after the surrender.
Union widows, on the other hand, received the honor and respect of a nation at the close of the war, for they had sacrificed their husbands to a winning cause. And yet, in spite of their political differences, the grieving process of Union and Confederate white widows was similar. The loss of a husband and the struggle to live within the limitations society placed on them affected all widows, regardless of location.
~ property
The Married Women's Property Acts are laws enacted by the individual states of the United States beginning in 1839, usually under that name and sometimes, especially when extending the provisions of a Married Women's Property Act, under names describing a specific provision, such as the Married Women's Earnings Act.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Married_Women%27s_Property_Acts_in_the_United_States
Here in Illinois, women did not own property until 1861. They had no rights to anything they earned or objected to. In Feb 21st 1861, women were given rights to their husband's property if their husbands were reckless or criminal. Activists such as Mary Livermore played an important role in getting the law passed.
https://soundcloud.com/user-390008567/2-21-bicentennial-minute-womens-rights
Change came in piecemeal fashion. As late as 1867 a decision of the Supreme Court of Illinois in Cole v. Van Riper noted that "It is simply impossible that a married woman should be able to control and enjoy her property as if she were sole, without practically leaving her at liberty to annul the marriage."
https://books.google.com/books?id=cd0KqQ6rxfEC&pg=PA163&#v=onepage&q&f=false
It was a hypocritical period when relationships were quite artificial. Until late in the century in 1887 a married woman could own no property. Then in 1887 the Married Woman's Property Act gave women rights to own her own property. Previously her property, frequently inherited from her family, belonged to her husband on marriage. She became the chattel of the man. During this era if a wife separated from her husband she had no rights of access to see her children. A divorced woman had no chance of acceptance in society again.
http://www.thebirdtree.co.uk/showmedia.php?mediaID=66
The movement to expand the property rights of married women did not go unchallenged. Virginia debated and rejected such legislation in the 1840s. In 1849, the Tennessee legislature stated, in one historian's account, "that married women lack independent souls and thus should not be allowed to own property.
Union Widows
Aug 1866 ~ That widows of deceased soldiers and sailors, having children by such deceased soldiers and sailors be increased at the rate of two dollars per month for each child of each soldier/sailor under the age of sixteen years. And is all cases in which here shall be more than one child of any deceased soldier or sailor as widow or where his widow has died or married again, or where she has been deprived of her pension under the provisions of section 11 of an act entitled “an act supplementary to several acts relating to pensions” approved Jun 6, 1866 the pension granted to such children under 16 by existing laws shall be increased to the same amount per month as that would be allowed under the foregoing provisions to the widow if living and entitled to a pension provided that no case shall more than one pension be allowed to the same person.
From the onset of the Civil War, the US government granted pensions to widows of soldiers who died in service of the Union Army, approximately 360,000 total. The Pension Dependent Act of 1890 extended benefits to the widows of honorably discharged veterans serving for at least ninety days. A widow had to provide proof of the soldier death; she could not have any means of support other than her own labor; and Their marriage must have occurred before June 17, 1890, the date of the Act.
https://www.civilwarwomenblog.com/civil-war-widows/
Progress was made for property
rights in IL partly to Mary Livermore’s writing. In 1869 she established a
women’s newspaper and organized Chicago’s first woman suffrage convention.
She was given a Bicentenial Minute recognition in February.
She was a Republican.
President Lincoln donated his own copy of the Emancipation
Proclamation,
which was auctioned off at $10,000 at Sanitary Fair. Property rights in IL
partly to Mary Livermore’s writing. In 1869 she established a women’s newspaper
and organized Chicago’s first woman suffrage convention.
The 1888 Pension Act awarded an annual pension to wounded and disabled veterans or to widows of deceased veterans. Only widows whose husbands died during the Civil War were eligible for this $30 per year compensation. In addition, the applicant could not have remarried at any time after the death of her husband and could not own more than $1,000 of personal property.
Although the widows grew much older by 1900, surprisingly half still served as the head of their household, compared to two-thirds two decades earlier.
For
the widows of the 180,000 men who served in the US Colored Troops and who had
previously been enslaved, trying to prove marriage, service and cause of death
for their husbands must have been an arduous task. But for those looking to
find details about their USCT ancestors, the pension files for USCT widows can
be an amazing resource.
One huge problem for these widows was that slave marriages were difficult to prove and often required testimony from witnesses that the two people in question had lived together as "married." Another was that men who were slaves might have enlisted in the Union army under a different name than that which was their slave name.
Proving how the USCT soldier died could also be difficult, especially as many Civil War soldiers died of disease and not in combat. A USCT soldier was unlikely to have had a physician prior to the war, so proving his previous health could be even more difficult. Chronic diarrhea and other lung and kidney diseases could be attributed to other problems than military service. I know from reading my own ancestress's Civil War pension file, that trying to prove that the death of her husband from diarrhea was quite a task that involved getting records from various physicians, who may or may not remember the particular soldier.
As many of those formerly enslaved were illiterate, they may have sometimes signed to information that was incorrect and could later be challenged.
Folks often remembered dates by natural events (the year the rice crop went dry; the year the oak trees blew down; the year the post office caught fire...).
On-line records of these pensions can be found at ancestry.com and at Fold3; records not online exist at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
One huge problem for these widows was that slave marriages were difficult to prove and often required testimony from witnesses that the two people in question had lived together as "married." Another was that men who were slaves might have enlisted in the Union army under a different name than that which was their slave name.
Proving how the USCT soldier died could also be difficult, especially as many Civil War soldiers died of disease and not in combat. A USCT soldier was unlikely to have had a physician prior to the war, so proving his previous health could be even more difficult. Chronic diarrhea and other lung and kidney diseases could be attributed to other problems than military service. I know from reading my own ancestress's Civil War pension file, that trying to prove that the death of her husband from diarrhea was quite a task that involved getting records from various physicians, who may or may not remember the particular soldier.
As many of those formerly enslaved were illiterate, they may have sometimes signed to information that was incorrect and could later be challenged.
Folks often remembered dates by natural events (the year the rice crop went dry; the year the oak trees blew down; the year the post office caught fire...).
On-line records of these pensions can be found at ancestry.com and at Fold3; records not online exist at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
A deposition from a USCT Civil War
widow, Juda Marsalis, wide of George Marsalis.
“I can’t tell my age. I am an old time slave; I had a slave husband before the war and had one child. My P.O. is as above. I live 1/4 mile E. of P.O. I am the widow of George Marsalis, an account of whose service in the Federal army. During the war of the Rebellion and subsequent death, I claim a pension under the Act of June 27, 1890. I was born in this County about five miles from where I now live, the slave of Alexander Hughey. I remained his slave until freedom. While a slave, I had Moses Congor for a husband. He belongs to my master. Mose and I went together by consent of our master and lived as man and wife until Mose went in the war. I can’t give the Company and Regiment, but he was in H.A located at Natchez, Miss. He died of small pox while in the army. I never saw him after he went to the war. His child went by Margaret Sangrove until she married. I remained with my old master until I married George Marsalis. He was born in this Co., and belonged to the Marsalis. I knew him during the war but did not get well acquainted with him until after the surrender. He had a slave wife and I heard she married another man while George…”
Proof
of service of George Marsalis:
Well this could become another topic in itself but if you want more information, refer to a book Freedom's Promise: Ex-Slave Families and Citizenship in the Age of Emancipation, Elizabeth Regosin that gives the details of various cases.
So you can see that property rights would eventually lead to the 20th century's voting rights for women.
~ Widows Weeds
There was an expensive kind of very rich jet black silk (most other black silk being the darkest midnight blue) worn only by widows that was known as widow’s silk, the outfits known as widow’s weeds. Weeds evolved from the Old English word waed, which roughly translates as garment. Women were responsible for mourning in the family. When a family member died, both immediate family members and servants were obligated to dress in black clothing. More distant relatives also were obligated to dress in honor of the deceased. The poor often did not have the means to purchase mourning dress. Mourning garments in most families were kept from one mourning period to the next and repaired, updated and freshened for reuse. By 1840's, mourning stores were opening in large cities and towns. Ladies would also have clothing dyed for use, especially during the Civil War. Dye pots If you were poorer than that, you would put your own clothes in a large pot in your back yard and dye them black. The reason you did it outside was that black dye was very pungent smelling. The diary of one woman from Virginia in 1864 mentions that 'the entire town smells of the dye pots'. Unless you know about mourning customs you can't understand what that meant. Basically, everyone in that town was mourning and changing their clothing color for someone. They couldn't afford to buy new clothes and they couldn't afford to have clothes dyed by someone else. They were doing it themselves."
Dresses were made of bomazine, silk, cotton, wool or a variety of blends. There is mention of “white crape weepers,” which were cuffs on the sleeves, but we cannot see them in this print. “Weepers” were usually made of muslin, and were so called because one could use them to wipe one’s eyes and nose
A Widower for a Wife ~ 3-6 months
Parent for a Child ~ 6-12 months
Child for a Parent ~ 6-12 months
Grandparent ~ 6 months
Cousin ~ 6 weeks
In nineteenth century England, the
first mourning period, or full mourning (AKA Heavy mourning), lasted one year and one day.
The second mourning stage was nine months long and
the half-mourning period was three to six months long.
The idea of easing into non-mourning was emphasized by going from dark clothing and a veil for widows to a dark dress with decorative trim to new, lighter- colored of clothing.
Victorian widows in full mourning were expected to wear a black crape veil, or a weeping veil to conceal the sudden onset of emotional breakdown private. The fabric of the black mourning dress was not supposed to be shiny. The black dress was still worn in the second stage of mourning, but trimming on the dress was allowed as was mourning jewelry. The colors of purple worn in the half-mourning period could be lilac or any shade of purple. Darker grays were often worn then as well, but light gray and white were also acceptable.
“During a month after the funeral, the female relatives of the deceased never leave home, unless to go to church, or to transact important business. They do not visit or dine from home for six weeks after the funeral.” Hervey, George Winfred. The Principles of Courtesy; New York: Harper and Brothers, 1852, pg. 154.
Deep Mourning is the first stage immediately following death In deep mourning, a wife, mother, daughter or sister wore black with veil over their bonnet." If I were to go out on the street in mourning in the 1860s, I would have covered my face with the veil. One reason is that it would shield the fact that I had been crying. You wouldn't see the tears of the mourner. But another of the superstitions they believed in back then was that spirits of the departed would hover around those they loved. And if a passerby looked directly on the mourner's face, that spirit might attach itself to that person. So, the veil was a protection for the wearer as well as a protection for others.
http://historiccamdencounty.com/ccnews43.shtml The veil would hang between shoulder to mid calf. A lady's parasol, bonnet, gloves, and shoes would also be black. Only contrast would be a white handkerchief bordered in black.
Crape worn on dresses and avoided inappropriate decorative trims with the exception of glass buttons, jet, bog oak, gutta-percha and vulcanite jewelry. Jewelry was shaped in mourning symbols such as wreaths, anchors, fleur de lis, and oval. Cuffs and collars that are normally white would be covered with black crape. The exception to black would be the underpinnings.
The second mourning stage was nine months long and the half-mourning
Half Mourning period was three to six months long.
Half-mourning
is the traditional third part of mourning in the Victorian era. The
plain black clothing associated with the first stage of mourning and the
black clothing with trims worn in the second period were replaced in
half-mourning by garments in shades of purple and gray. White was also
acceptable in this late mourning stage.
~ Mourning Jewelry:
Jet is a type of lignite, a precursor to coal, and is a gemstone. Jet as a gemstone was fashionable during the reign of Queen Victoria, during which the Queen wore Whitby jet as part of her mourning dress, mourning the death of Prince Albert.[7] Jet was associated with mourning jewellery in the 19th century because of its sombre colour and modest appearance,[17] and it has been traditionally fashioned into rosaries for monks. Unlike black glass, which is cool to the touch, jet is not cool, due to its lower thermal conductivity. Glass was used as a jet substitute during the peak of jet's popularity.
Bog Oak: Bog oak jewelry (also known as "bogwood") is a fossilized wood, generally originating from Ireland. It was used in jewelry production during the mid-Victorian period, in both carved and molded forms. Its naturally dark appearance made it an ideal material for mourning jewelry, though it was also commonly used in Irish crafts featuring traditional Gaelic motifs. Unlike jet, which is a petrified material dating back to prehistoric eras, Bog oak was a more affordable and accessible alternative.
Gutta Percha: Scientifically classified in 1843, it was found to be a useful natural thermoplastic from the sap of trees. It was also used to make "mourning" jewelry, because it was dark in color and could be easily molded into beads or other shapes. Pistol hand grips and rifle shoulder pads were also made from gutta-percha, since it was hard and durable, though it fell into disuse when plastics such as Bakelite became available. Gutta-percha found use in canes and walking sticks, as well
Hair jewelry: Mourning Jewelry associated with the early Victorian Era became commercialized within Jewelry braiding classes within the women. Mourning Jewelry worn " In memory of" by friends & relatives of the deceased Often sums of money were set aside in one's will to have pieces made to be distributed to mourners attending the funeral.
http://jewelrynerd.org/blog/what-are-gutta-percha-bog-oak-jet-and-vulcanite-jewelry-and-how-do-i-identify-them
I often have to bite my tongue when I see modern bridesmaids wearing black gowns. If the bride only knew the history behind this slimming dark color of tuxedo-like gown, perhaps a more cheerful wedding would be planned. Black was worn to denote “the privation of life,” as black was considered the “privation of light.”
TRANSITION:
2. orphans
The photo was found clasped in in the dead hands of Sgt Amos Humiston which helped his widow, Philinda Humiston, to identify him.
The destitution of women and children went hand in hand well after peace was declared. Some children lost both parents and were considered orphans. This is not unique to the Victorian era but still goes on today. Loneliness and guidance affected the generations after the Civil War. Children of all ages were affected by the Civil War. Few had a father figure in the home. But that didn't matter because there were mouths to feed and chores to be done.
Historians' put the number of children under age 15 who fought for the
Union at 100,000. Not drummer boys, not buglers, but front line soldiers
and sailors.
When president Lincoln met two emaciated boys released from Andersonville, he exclaimed "My God when will this accursed thing end?"
Prior to the Civil War, the public response to the welfare of orphaned children was primarily represented by private orphanages. This meant that almost all of the institutions only children of a particular denomination were admitted. Moreover in the case of some of the Protestant orphanages, preference was given first to the children of deceased ministers. Most of the church affiliated institutions also limited admission to members of the faith from that particular area. Roman Catholic orphanages also took care of their own even in areas that were heavy on on other faiths. In addition to all of the institutions, some served to enroll only orphan girls. By 1863, a new class of orphans infiltrated our streets and orphanages: the soldiers' orphans. Scantily dressed children were wondering the streets begging for bread. Politicians that rallied the call for soldiers to enlist as soldiers sometimes promised that the state would take care of their loved ones. This was partly flattery and securing a vote. Now was the time to honor that pledge. In the late 1860s, after much legislation, non-sectarian orphanages were being created.
~ Ragmuffins and street waifs. “half-orphans” (as single-parent children were called) needed care and schooling.
Youtube has a song about the children of the Battle Field
Many widows dedicated their service to the war effort like Cordelia Harvey, widow of the Wisconsin Governor that drowned in 1862 while accompanying provisions. She became a sanitary agent for the state of Wisconsin. She saw the pain of young boys in field hospitals in Cape Gerardeu. She converted founded the Harvey hospital and later converted it to an Orphan home in 1866. http://www.cordeliaharvey.com/index.html
Margaret Haughery came to Baltimore from Ireland as a child, was orphaned, eventually married, then moved to New Orleans where her young husband and infant died of yellow fever. Left alone again, she became a laundress, then started her own dairy and then a successful bakery. She spent her own earnings on the orphans of New Orleans and during the Civil War provided bread for the poor. She worked with Catholic nuns to open orphanages and upon her death, left her fortune to orphanages of all kinds of religions and ethnicities. Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuFpgntDEq0
St Vincent's House
There were homes cropping up in Chicago, Normal, Knoxville, Peoria, Quincy Est. 1853, and Springfield
Normal Illinois
Illinois Soldiers and Sailor's Orphan School in Normal, Illinois
Chicago Home for theFriendless ran 1858-1960
The Home for the Friendless assisted indigent women and children of Springfield from 1863 to 1928, when it was merged into the Children’s Service League.
Peoria
In 1866 when Peoria was a community of less than 25,000 people, a group of civic-minded women met at the First Universalist Church and formed the “Christian Home Mission” (CHM).
https://www.chail.org/PDFs/History.pdf
http://sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/?p=2420
Springer was orphaned and an early age. He was born in PA on March 19, 1810, as the youngest of two children to John and Elizabeth Springer. His mother died in 1814 and his father died in 1815 as a result of the War of 1812.
Springer was licensed as a minister in October 1836 by the Lutheran Synod of Maryland and ordained in 1837. Springer married Mary Kriegh in the spring of 1837, and they moved west to Springfield in 1839. The Springers acquired some notable new neighbors in 1844: Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and their infant son, Robert. Springer was superintendent of city public schools in Springfield when the Civil War broke out. In September 1861, at age 51, Springer enlisted in the 10th Illinois Cavalry. He was made unit chaplain and given an officer’s commission. The regiment was involved in several skirmishes before becoming part of the Army of the Frontier in November 1862.
In January 1863, Springer to recruit a regiment of Arkansans, which became the First Arkansas Infantry. This unit was mustered into service on March 25, 1863 and later joined Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt’s Army of the Frontier at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, which marched into and took possession of Fort Smith on Sept. 1, 1863.
From there, Springer was appointed post chaplain at Fort Smith the following November, as well as the head of the Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen there. Among Springer’s responsibilities were feeding, clothing, sheltering and otherwise providing for the widows, orphans, freed or escaped slaves and refugees who were coming into Fort Smith.
Springer was instrumental in establishing at least two charitable institutions to help the orphans the Civil War created. This included the Home for the Friendless in Springfield and the Fort Smith Orphans Asylum. Springer was personally responsible for finding homes in the North for more than 300 orphan children.
http://www.citizenscompanion.com/heart-of-gold-civil-war-minister-helped-orphans-in-fort-smith/
The Springfield Home for the Friendless was modeled on similar structures in Chicago and in the eastern U.S., which were designed to serve as temporary shelters for indigent women and children displaced by the Civil War.
Founded in 1863, the first home near Fifth and Jefferson streets proved too small, and in 1864 Col. Elijah Iles donated a pasture at Eighth Street and South Grand Avenue for a larger home to be built. The home was completed in the summer of 1865.
The Rev. Francis Springer, a neighbor of Abraham Lincoln and Springfield’s first superintendent of schools, had enlisted in the Union army and was named chaplain at Fort Smith, Ark., by Lincoln. When the fort closed in December 1864, Springer saw many orphaned children roaming the streets.
As a result, he arranged for the refugee widows and children from Fort Smith to come to the Springfield home by boat and train.
The refugees were of varying ages and in various states of health, and several adults and children died along the way. The women who completed the trip were placed in temporary quarters, and the children were put up for adoption.
For the next 40 years, more than 6,500 poor and homeless women and children passed through the doors of the Home for the Friendless, which ceased operation in 1904 and was razed in 1935.
The organization behind the home evolved into the Family Service Center, which is located on the same former pasture.
Oak Ridge Cemetery many years ago donated a plot of land that those associated with the Home for the Friendless could use for burial free of charge.
http://www.sj-r.com/x61383110/History-of-Home-for-the-Friendless
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150430/NEWS/150439952
Elijah Iles donated the land between 7th and 6th street on South Grand for the Home of the Friendless.
Transcribed from the original below:
When Home for the Friendless was being torn down, the few remaining were housed in a building moved in from the state fairgrounds which once was a tool shed (late 1830s). The building was moved to the 8th street side of the what is now known as the Family Service Center grounds. Later the building was painted red and known as the little Red School House. a facility to the aid of retarded children. When the Little Red Schoolhouse was moved into other facilities, Senior Services painted the building white (1966) and it became know as the white cottage. The building was later demolished ~ Margret Summers 1997
The Orphan Trains
~ Children's Aid Society
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Aid_Society
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2007/novemberdecember/feature/lost-children-riders-the-orphan-train
The solutions for parent-less (and unparented) children have varied tremendously over history and they vary, in part, based on the particular technological, economic, and cultural realities of the time. For more than 75 years, one answer was the orphan train.
In the 1850s,
…thousands of children roamed the streets of New York in search of money, food and shelter–prey to disease and crime. Many sold matches, rags, or newspapers to survive. For protection against street violence, they banded together and formed gangs. Police, faced with a growing problem, were known to arrest vagrant children–some as young as five–locking them up with adult criminals (PBS).At the same time, farmers in the country were having as many kids as they could because kids were great farm labor. They could use as many hands as they could get.
So, in 1853, a minister named Charles Loring Brace started the orphan train. Brace believed that farmers would welcome homeless children, take them into their homes, and treat them as their own. So he rounded up the kids, got parental permission when he needed it, and took the city kids to the country. Between 1854 and 1929, the trains took over 100,000 children to adoptive parents in 47 states and Canada.
From 1854 to 1929, hundreds of thousands of young children boarded trains in New York City, to be shipped west where they would find new families. Known as the Orphan Trains the program to relocate orphaned and abandoned children was operated largely by The Children's Aid Society and the New York Foundling Hospital.
The demand for orphans died with the "Great Depression". Over that time more than 100,000 children were placed in homes – many with no records of who they were or where they came from. While they may have been placed in good homes, they still felt somewhat disconnected and knew that “these were not my people.”
https://bookjourney.net/2014/08/13/orphan-train-bookies-review-and-author-christina-baker-kline-event/
Although logical need fulfilled, some children were not so fortunate. The children became then "new slaves".
Closure
Many children grew up watching their mother's cope alone. Some became angry to see their mother's sorrow. We saw anger and vengeance in the future generation. On the other hand, some grew up with great respect for their mothers. Some orphans were passed along and got into the wrong crowd like the infamous Jesse James (aka Henry McCarty). We think the war was over when peace was signed at Appomattox and the goal of the war was achieved by freeing the slaves. The aftermath is undefined and continues in our hearts.
In Conclusion.
Historian Catherine
Clinton from her essay titled "Noble
Women as Well." She writes, "Women themselves
regarded the war as an unfolding epic--one in which they would finally be
allowed to play a leading role, as Septima Collis confessed: "During this
fours years' drama I was sometimes in the audience....once or twice upon the
stage itself. When the curtain fell at last...they stamped their impression on
my young life...they strengthened me for undertaking for which I otherwise
would have lacked nerve and endurance...and...gave me fonder longing for the
comforts of peace."
Citations
Widows
Law, Gender, and Injustice (1991) by Joan Hoff-Wilson
Married Women's Property Laws
https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awlaw3/property_law.html
Rachel Weeping: Mourning in Nineteenth
Century America
Civil War Widows by Angela Esco Elder The experience of widows of civil war soldiers.
Evolution of women's property rights.
https://www.thoughtco.com/property-rights-of-women-3529578
Illinois During the Civil War, 1861-1865: Women and Gender Roles in Civil War Illinois and the North https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDOUIm87ygY
Orphans:
The Civil War Soldiers' Orphan Schools of Pennsylvania 1864-1889
Pennsylvania Soldiers' Orphan Schools
http://genealogytoday.com/guide/soldiers-orphan-schools.html
Pennsylvania Soldiers' Orphan Schools
In His Hands Tightly Clasped
http://lifeofthecivilwar.blogspot.com/2013/10/in-his-hands-tightly-clasped.html?m=1
Kansas Orphan Train Children
http://kansas150slk.blogspot.com/2010/04/orphan-train-children.html
Civil War Widows
https://www.civilwarwomenblog.com/civil-war-widows/
Thesis (not working)
Charleston, SC Orphan House
by-laws
http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/orphan/orphan.html
Does anyone know where or who might be contacted to find early records of this orphanage??I'm helping someone trying to find info on a gggrandmother who is listed there in 1910.Thanks, John B.
http://www.genealogy.com/forum/regional/states/topics/il/sangamon/819/
Civil War Widows Pensions from the National Archives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWV9ObQUDRc&feature=uploademail
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