Amos L. Hamm part 9, 1910s

• 1910 Census Salisbury NH
• 1910 City Directory
• 1911 Residence Salisbury NH
• 1913 City Directory Salisbury NH
• 1914 Salisbury NH
• 1915 Death Certificate, Will, Probate

1910 Census, Salisbury NH

1910 Census Salisbury NH
Amos Hamm

Amos Hamm, age 78, born 1832 in Vermont.  Once again, no street name nor house number for their home in Salisbury, Merrimack NH.  He is living with his wife Mary J, this is the second marriage for them both, and they have been married for 39 years.  Mary Jane has had 5 children, three of whom are still living.  In this census, both of his parents are born in Vermont, not Massachusetts as is recorded the previous census.  Amos owns his own farm.  In this census we find out that Amos fought in the Civil War for the Union Army.

Please note the family just next door is Frank and Mertie Hamm Forsaith, Amos' daughter.  So, this Augusta C. Forsaith is Amos and Mary's granddaughter.  That will teach me to look at everybody on the page.

1910 City Directory

1910 City Directory, Salisbury, Merrimack NH

Amos L. Hamm, farmer on Andover rfd 1, Salisbury, Merrimack County NH.  Again, note the Frank Forsaith farmer.

1913 City Directory

1913 City Directory, Salisbury Merrimack NH

Amos L. Hamm, farmer on Andover rfd 1, Salisbury, Merrimack County NH.  Again, note the Frank Forsaith farmer.

1914 Directory

Amos Ham 1914 Directory
Salisbury NH

1915 Death Certificate and Will and Probate

Amos Ham Death Certificate Front

He's lived here for 40 years, died 11 February 1915, just days before his 84th birthday.  Here is confirmation he was born in Sutton Vermont.  He is a widower by this time, he died of Arteriosclerosis, which is hardening of the arteries.  The informant did not know any information about his parents.

Amos Ham Death Certificate Back

Not much more information on the back, either.  It doesn't even mention the name of his wife.  The physician is named, as well as the undertaker in Franklin NH.  He was buried in Shaw's Corner, Franklin NH on 14 February 1915.

Amos Ham Will

This is his will.  Please note that he signed using his mark.

Amos Ham 1915 will Detail

Ham, Amos L.  Will.
     Be it known that I Amos L. Ham of Salisbury County of Merrimack and State of New Hampshire.  Being of a sound and disposing mind do make this my last will and testament.
1st -- That all my just debts and funeral expenses be paid
2nd -- I give and bequeath to my daughter Ella F. Sleeper the sum of one dollar
3d -- I give and bequeath to my daughter Myrtella M. Forsaith all the remainder of my estate wherever found
4th -- I appoint Myrtella M. Forsaith executrix of my will
Salisbury N.H. November 25.  I sign the above as my last will and testament
              his
Amos L [x] Ham
            mark
And we by his request and in his presence do sign as witnesses
George E. Fellows
Harold A. Prince
Mrs. Carrie J. Farnsworth

Some thoughts -- The person writing this had almost perfect penmanship.  It is a style easy to read, but I've been unable to identify the form of penmanship.  It isn't Spencerian which typically has elaborate calligraphy.  It may be Zaner-Bloser which was taught during this time frame, except this man's personal style is vertical.  Do you have an idea?

Amos Ham Probate

This is the probate, proving Amos' will.  He'd named Mertie as his executrix, leaving her his property, dated 23 February 1915.

Amos L. Hamm part 8 1900s

• 1900 Census, Salisbury NH
• 1900 City Directory
• 1902 City Directory
• 1904 City Directory Salisbury NH
• 1906 City Directory

1900 Census

1900 Census, Salisbury, Merrimack NH
Amos L. Hamm

Amos Hamm, age 69, born February 1831 in Vermont.  Again no street name nor house number, but living in Salisbury, Merrimack, New Hampshire.  He married Mary in 1868, and has been married for 32 years.  Both parents were born in Massachusetts, he is a farmer, owning his own farm.  He lives with his wife Mary J, and granddaughter Celia A. Forsaith age 5, born in April 1895 in New Hampshire.  Both of her parents were born in NH.  Celia must be the daughter of one of Amos' daughters who married a Forsaith.  What happened to the parents?  This is way before any world wars, and way too late for the Civil War.

Updated -- that daughter is, I think, Mertie Ham who married her neighbor Frank Forsaith.  This is what I suspect.

1900 City Directory

1900 City Directory, Salisbury NH

Amos L. Hamm, farmer on Warner Road in Salisbury, Merrimack County NH

1902 Directory

Amos Ham 1902 Directory
Salisbury New Hampshire

1904 Directory

Amos Ham 1904 Directory
Salisbury New Hampshire

Amos L. Hamm, farmer on Andover rfd 1, Salisbury, Merrimack County NH.  Of note is the Forsaith farming family with the same rural address.

1906 Directory

Amos Ham 1906 Directory
Salisbury New Hampshire

Okay, so I tried to Google this area.  I did find a South road, but nothing like Andover RFD1.  Do you know what this may be?  If so, give us a shout using the form on the right.  Thank you.

Amos L. Hamm part 4, 1860s

• 1861 Historical Insight -- Medicine during the Civil War
• 1861 Historical Insight -- American Civil War -- Military Advancements
• 1864 Civil War Enlistment, NH, age 30
• 1868 Marriage to Mary Jane Bacon Scott age 34

Amos Ham must have farmed during most of the Civil War.  Must have been very stressful.  He volunteered late in the war.

1861 Medicine During the Civil War

Ancestry.com Historical Insight -- Medicine During the Civil War
Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Image

During the American Civil War, the sheer volume of wounded soldiers forced doctors and nurses to develop life-saving medical techniques.

The vast majority of deaths during the American Civil War were not on the battlefield; they were caused by disease. In 1861 germ theory did not exist, the root of infection remained a mystery, and medical training was crude. Little advancements had been made in the field since the American Revolution; some physicians still championed medieval methods of bloodletting, purging, and blistering to rebalance the body’s humors. However, development in weaponry, namely faster, more accurate rifles and shells killed hundreds of thousands and left many more badly wounded. Thus the war forced doctors and nurses to rethink medical treatments, as tens of thousands of soldiers flooded the ill-equipped field hospitals. The sheer volume of injured men prompted rapid amputations. By 1865, a surgeon could remove a limb in six minutes flat. Anesthetics were common—chloroform and ether were given to patients, along with morphine for the pain. Ambulance service also was born during the Civil War. The fallen were gathered from the field, their wounds wrapped up, and they were shuttled to battle-side hospitals. But for many, these advancements in techniques and sanitation came too little too late—upwards of 500,000 Americans died from disease and infection before the war’s end. from Ancestry.com

1861 Military Advancements

Ancestry.com Historical Insight -- Civil War, Military Advancements
Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Image

Advancements in military weapons made the American Civil War a conflict of unparalleled carnage.

During the American Civil War, new weaponry revolutionized battle. The repeating rifle with Minié balls that allowed soldiers to fire seven rounds in 30 seconds without reloading replaced the musket. The repeating rifle increased accuracy, extending the firing range from 80 yards to 1,000. Thus forces were spaced further apart on the battlefield and to protect themselves built extensive fortifications and trenches.

Hand grenades and land mines also came into use during the war. However, the new explosives were finicky—sometimes Confederate soldiers used blankets to catch the incoming explosives and simply tossed them back to Union lines, where they exploded.

From the skies, passenger balloons spied on enemy lines and from below, Confederate submarines attacked ironclad ships enforcing the Union blockade. Unfortunately, technological advancements outpaced medical innovation.

The wounds caused by these new weapons were often deadly. In battle, modernized weapons proved harrowing. The sheer scale of fatalities and injuries was unmatched and, today, the Civil War remains the deadliest conflict in American history.

from Ancestry.com

1864 Military

Amos Ham 1864 Military Service

This document is entitled "Dispersments in Aid of Families of Volunteers by the Town of __________________"  The town name is left blank.  More than halfway down, we have Amos L. Ham, 18th NH Regiment, Company B.  He started September 17 1864.  He has a wife Mary A and a Child under 10 (this would be the child Nellie).  This aid was from September 30 1864 through April 30 1865, seven months.  The family was paid 56$.  The notation says "supposed to be with Regiment" whatever that means.

WAIT a minute!  His wife is Amelia, not Mary.  What gives here?

1864 Civil War enlistment

I don't have an image of this information.  I found it on Ancestry.com here.  His name is Amos L. Ham, enlisted at age 29 on 13 September 1864.  He was a private when he enlisted in Company B, New Hamspire 18th Infantry Regiment.  He mustered out on 10 June 1865.  It says he was born about 1835.

How to Come Home Safe

I found this story when I entered Amos' name into the Google search field.  Several books were written which included this inspirational story, I chose Incidents of the United States Christian Commission by Edward Parmelee Smith 1871.  Published by J.B. Lippincott & Company, United States.  The information for the book is found here, and the story is found here 

Amos L. Ham, of Co. B, 18th N.H., told us how he was arrested by a message from his little daughter [ed note:  this would be Nellie].  he labored under deep emotion as he spoke.  His wife had written him a letter.  Before sealing it, she turned to her little daughter and asked -- "What shall I write Father for you?"  "Tell him," said little Nellie, "to look to God and trust Him, and then he will come home safe."  The message went to the father's heart, humbling him at the foot of the cross, as a "little child."

1861 Amelia Hart Ham died

I don't have proof of the date of death, yet.  Perhaps never.  However, she had to have died somewhere before 1868 when he marries Mary Jane Bacon Scott, whose husband died a few weeks or days before the end of the war.  Perhaps these two men knew each other?

I have in my files that she died 26 August 1861.  This doesn't jive with the story above, where Nellie's mother was writing to Amos.  Something is wrong, probably my records, since I don't have proof.

1868 Marriage to Mary Jane Bacon Scott

They were married in Franklin, Merrimack NH on 1 May 1868.  She was 30 years old, her father is listed as Henry Bacon.  Her spouse is Amos L. Ham, also 30 years old.  New information!  His father is also Amos L. Ham!  From Ancestry.com. New Hampshire, Marriage Records Index, 1637-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

I found another date of marriage as 20 May 1868, also from Ancestry.com.

But the definitive answer is 1 May as evidenced by the image of the actual marriage record.  

1868 Marriage record for Scott/Hamm front

1868 Marriage record for Scott/Hamm back

Both are aged 30, Amos is a Farmer, and he was born in St. Johnsbury Vermont.  This is a second marriage for both of them, as both spouses died leaving them both widowed.  

Well, here's another record only it is for 20 May.

So, there is evidence for both dates, however one of them is transcribed later and is written in error.  The second one is transcribed in 1906.  The first set has no transcription date.  I suspect the May 1st date is the correct one, and I think the one transcribed 38 years later is erroneous.  

These are just my thoughts on the subject of both dates, I am open to suggestions.  Is this your family?  If you have any clarifications or want to connect, I'm happy to entertain options.  Use the connextion form on the right.

Resources:

• Incidents of the Unites States Christian Commission book details

• https://books.google.com/books?id=cKk8AAAAYAAJ&dq=amos+L.+Ham&source=gbs_navlinks_s

• Story "How to Come Home Safely"

• https://books.google.com/books?id=cKk8AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA345&dq=amos+L.+Ham&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj15rSU6tnYAhVH3mMKHVRUAfcQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=amos%20L.%20Ham&f=false

Amos L. Hamm part 3, 1850s

• 1850 Census age 16, Sheffield Vermont
• 1855 Marriage Amelia Hart

1850 Census

age 15, Sheffield, Caledonia Vermont, living with 33 year old Farmer and his wife, David and Clarissa Jenness, and their children Amos age 6, Chas age 4, Hiram D. age 1.  Is he an orphan by this time?  Or is Clarissa his sister?

Hmmm.  Where is that census image?  Why did I not include it here, and I cannot find it in my computer file?

Here it is.  I accessed the information, but failed to include the image.  Silly me!

Amos Ham age 15
1850 Census, Sheffield VT

1855 Marriage Amelia Hart

Amos Ham 1855 marriage Amelia Hart

Amos is 20 years old when he married Miss Amelia Hart in Manchester NH.  Again, notice the dearth of information.  No parents' names, no places of birth, no residences.  AHHHHHch!  That, dear readers, is the sound of frustration.  Ok.  Move it along.

How did they meet?  Why is Amos in New Hampshire?

Amos L. Hamm part 2, 1835 - 1849

• about 1835 -- birth, St. Johnsbury, Vermont

About 1835

I only have secondary sources of the birth of Amos Ham, born St. Johnsbury Vermont.  I also know that Amos' father was also Amos L. Ham Senior.

Vermont, with St Johnsbury in red

from WikiPedia, St. Johnsbury Vermont

Bird's eye view about 1910
from Wikipedia St Johnsbury Vermont

South Main Street about 1905
from Wikipedia St Johnsbury Vermont

"This monument, located in Courthouse Park, honours those volunteers who died in the Civil War.
From Wikipedia St Johnsbury Vermont

Resources

• St Johnsbury Vermont Wiki -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Johnsbury,_Vermont
• 
  

Lucretia Scott

• 1828-1829 -- Lucretia M. Scott born in Vermont
• 1850 -- Census, Boscawen, Merrimack NH
• 1860 -- Census, Salisbury, Merrimack NH
• 1870 -- Census, Franklin, Merrimack NH

Lucretia Scott mini-pedigree from Ancestry.com

1828

I don't have primary source for her birth, but census records point to this approximate birth year, probably between July 1828 and July 1829.

1850

Census, Boscawen, Merrimack NH

Lucretia Scott 1850 Census
Boscawen, Merrimack, New Hampshire

• Line 5, Lucrectia Scott is age 22, and is living with David Scott age 52 who worked as a Mason.  Living with him is Lucretia's brothers Harvey age 24, Marshall age 18, and Phila age 26, all three of whom are listed as working as Masons.  I think this would be stone masons.  Here, Phila is listed as a male, yet in 1870 there is a housekeeper Phila who is a female.  Is this the same person?
• Is it possible that David Scott is the father of Lucretia and Harvey?  I suspect he is, but until I have the proof, I dare not include this information.  
• In the same house is another family, Alvin and Ednah Quimly, a tailor and his wife.  It is possible that the Quimly family were borders.

1860

Census, Salisbury, Merrimack NH

Lucretia Scott 1860 Census Part 1
Salisbury, Merrimack, New Hampshire

• This is the beginning of the Scott family entry.  See the next image

Lucretia Scott 1860 Census part 2
Salisbury, Merrimack, New Hampshire

• Line 4, Lucretia M. Scott, age 31, born in Vermont, no occupation.  
• She lives with Harvey and Mary Jane Scott and their two children, Marshall W. and Adela G. Scott.  

1870

Census, Franklin, Merrimack NH

Lucretia Scott, 1870 census
Franklin, Merrimack, New Hampshire

• Line 9. Lucretia Scott, age 41 living with a retired farmer, Daniel Perriman/Penniman.  She has no occupation listed, she was born in Vermont.  Others living in the same household include the 46-year-old housekeeper Phila, David Pierce, the 22 year old druggist, Charles Perriman, the 26 year old house painter, Eliza Perriman age 20, and Isabel Perriman age 1.  These last three are, I think, a family unit with Isabel being the granddaughter.  Also in the same household is Charles Tyler age 30 who works in some sort of mill; Ellen Wise age 30 and Ellen Ham age 13 both of whom work in a woolen mill.  It is possible these last three are borders.  

______________________________________________________________

I posted a message to Ancestry.com message board

Board:
Message Boards > Surnames > Scott 

URL: 
https://www.ancestry.com/boards/surnames.scott/13386/mb.ashx 

Subject: Scott family of Merrimack NH
Author: dayspringacres
Date: Sunday, January 07, 2018
Classification: Census
Surnames: Scott, Penniman/Perriman 

Lucretia Scott born in Vermont about 1829, is age 22 in the 1850 census, living in Boscawen with David Scott age 52, and brothers Harvey age 24, Marshall age 18, Phila age 26, all the males working as Masons. I suspect David Scott is the father of this family.

in 1860, she is 31, living with brother Harvey and his wife Mary Jane and their two children Marshall W. and Adela G.

in 1870, she 41 years old and is living in the same household as David Penniman, a retired farmer. Other members include Phila age 46, housekeeper; David Pierce age 20, druggist; Charles Perriman, age 26, house painter; Eliza Perriman, age 20, Isabel Perriman age 1.

I suspect the 1870 Phila is the same person as the 1850 Phila, although one is listed as male and the other is female. The ages are about the same.

I'm actually interested in Harvey's line, but hit a dead end. I wonder if Lucretia had a mental problem, since she is always living with other family members?

Harvey Scott Part 4 Census 1860

• 1860 Birth of daughter Adella 
• 1860  Census in Salisbury, Merrimack NH
• Southern Life in the Civil War

4 February 1860, age 34

Birth of daughter Adella Grace "Della" Scott, Salisbury, Merrimack NH

Vintage Baby Scale from Graphics Fairy

1860 Census age 34

Harvey Scott 1860 NH Census part 1

This is one of those documents that split the family up.  The first part, you find Harvey on the very last line.  The numbers preceding his name are Dwelling number and Family number.  Sometimes separate families live in the same house, so the census takers make that distinction.  He is 33 years old, and a farm labourer who actually has some monetary worth.  He has land valued at 200$ and personal property valued at 150$.  His land would have been worth over $5,400 as of 2014, and his personal property worth over $4,000.  That's not too bad!  It indicates he was born in Vermont.

Harvey Scott family 1860 Census Part 2

On the next census page for Salisbury, Merrimack County, NH, we find the rest of the family on the first four lines. Mary J. Scott is 28 years old; Marshall W. Scott is 3, and Adela G. is less than one year.  Lucretia M. Scott is Harvey's 31 year old sister.  I don't have much information about her other than this census.

[UPDATE] Because I added her onto my Ancestry tree, I found the 1850 census for her, including her brother.  The index had him as "Henry" rather than Harvey.  You can't always trust the index, you have to lay eyeballs on the documents themselves.  Lucretia and Harvey were born in Vermont, while Mary Jane and the kids were born in New Hampshire.

Harvey Scott mini pedigree
from Ancestry.com

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Below is infromation from Ancestry.com's Historical Insights: Southern Life in the Civil War

Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty ImagesHarvey Scott

HISTORICAL INSIGHTSSouthern Life in the Civil War

Southern Life in the Civil War

Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images

For American Southerners, 1861 to 1865 were long and difficult years that saw families uprooted and women forced to head households as more than a million men marched off to fight in the Civil War.

Sarah Morgan Dawson, a child of the Confederacy, recounted the nights during the Civil War as “faint with hunger, dizzy with sleeplessness.” For all Southerners, 1861 to 1865 were long and difficult years—families were uprooted and women forced to head many households as more than a million men marched off to fight. Primarily on Southern soil, the battles left behind a wake of destruction: barren cupboards and entire cities burned to the ground. In a decisive move, the factory-heavy North withheld vital goods like clothing and munitions. Simultaneously, Union forces blocked Southern ports from exporting cotton, virtually shutting down the already crumbling Confederate economy. The home front and battlefront became one and the same: civilians, like soldiers, faced hunger, violence, and an overwhelming sense of uncertainty. When the war finally came to a close, Southerners struggled to adapt to a new way of life as they rebuilt their devastated hometowns.

Media Gallery

Women waved to Confederate troops as they recapture Jackson, Mississippi, in August of 1863. August 8, 1863, Jackson, Mississippi. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

 

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This photograph, taken by the famous Civil War photographer Matthew Brady, shows Rose O'Neal Greenhow and her daughter, who were imprisoned for espionage for almost five months in Washington, D.C. 1862, Washington, D.C.. Credit: Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000/Ancestry.com

 

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Most of Charleston, South Carolina, was decimated following a Union attack. 1865, Charleston, South Carolina. Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images

 

Harvey Scott Part 2 Census 1850-1853

Harvey Scott Census Salisbury, Merrimack NH

• 1850 Census, Salisbury, Merrimack NH
• 1853 Franklin Pierce becomes President

1850 Census age 24

Harvey Scott in 1850 NH Census
with Lucretia Scott

Here is a new document for me, I just found because I was researching for this particular blog.  I have to be careful with my assumptions.  Harvey is indexed as Henry age 24, born about 1826.  He works as a Mason with three other men, David Scott who might be his father, age 52; Marshall Scott age 18; Philo Scott age 26; then Lucretia age 22, all are born in Vermont.  They apparently share a house with a Tailor Alvin Quinly and his wife Ednah A.  You can tell by the numbers preceding their names.  They all live in dwelling 104, and the separate families are enumerated.

So, the question I must research is, is this David his father?  The age is correct.  I don't recall seeing the occupation of Mason in Harvey's repertoire before, but that isn't unheard of.  Why did Lucretia move in with Harvey 10 years later?

Although this is about Harvey, I have to include here that I searched for Lucretia and found a tantalizing death certificate. I was very close to loving it until I compared the birth date.  It was about 10 years off.  Must always compare everything, because a wrong document in one place can screw things up in a lot of other places.  ESPECIALLY when searching for common names.  

1853 -- Franklin Pierce becomes the fourteenth President of the United States

Franklin Pierce
from Famous Kin

Harvey Scott mini pedigree
from Ancestry.com

Harvey Scott 1826-1865 Part 1, the early years

Harvey Scott 1826-1865, is Norm's Great, Great Grandfather.  He lived through the Civil War, died just before it ended that same year.  He fought for the Union, which does NOT automatically make him a racist.

Harvey Scott mini pedigree
from Ancestry.com

1826, Harvey Scott is born

I've not been able to find out anything about his parents, so as far as I can tell, this is as far back as his pedigree goes.

The first photographs, Joseph-Nicéphore Niépce succeeded in recording a light-sensitive image with silver chloride. His partial success was strengthened by his ongoing research into fixing the picture with a kind of asphalt. It was in 1826 that he was able to put a view of his workshop onto a pewter plate.  -- The People History

1828, sister Lucretia Scott is born

Vintage Image, Baby Girl with Cap
from AntiqueClipArt.com

While I know she is born in this year, it is only because of the census records so far.  I still know nothing about her parents.

Democratic Party Created, A faction breaks off from the older established Democratic-Republican Party to become the Democratic Party. In the 1828 Presidential Elections opponents of Andrew Jackson told all who would listen that Andrew Jackson was a "Stubborn Jackass" Jackson was proud of his reputation for stubbornness and even wanted to use it as a good quality, so started using a donkey on his campaign posters . Democrats have been using the symbol of the Donkey ever since.  -- The People History

1829 Andrew Jackson is elected the seventh President of the United States

Andrew Jackson from
The Jacksonian Era

1830 - 1849 ages 2-23

I don't [yet] have any record of his childhood and young adult life.  I can make some assumptions.  If David is his father, he taught him how to be a mason, to lay bricks.  Some things that happened in these two decades are as follows:

Michigan Became the 26th state, Michigan became the 26th state in The United States on January 26th , 1837. -- The People History

Wagon Trains Start The Journey To California, Covered Wagon Trains took immigrants on a journey from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. The trip was about 2,000 miles and each night the Covered Wagon Train would form a circle for shelter from wind and extreme weather, they would put all the animals in the center to prevent them from running away or being stolen by Native Americans. -- The People History

Massachusetts Child Employment Laws, Massachusetts became the first state to pass laws limiting how many hours a child laborer could be forced to work. The new laws limited a child under the age of twelve's workday to a maximum of 10 hrs. -- The People History 

In this time, six men became President of the United States:  Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison; John Tyler; James Knox Polk; Zachary Taylor; Millard Fillmore.

Next up:  Harvey Scott, 1850s or so, I may change my mind about the title.

Is this YOUR Scott ancestor?  What would you like to learn more about?  Let me know by commenting below or contacting me using the form on the right.




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Below is information from Ancestry.com's Historical Insights: Establishment of County Poorhouses
I thought it was relevant because I think several of the Scott people were in either poor houses, or placed their children in orphanages because they were unable to properly care for them.

One observer noted that many people, “sought to die in starvation rather than
submit to what they regarded as the shame attending
their admission into almshouses.” 1876, Binghamton, New York. 
Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public DomainCredit: Wikimedia Commons/Public DomainHarvey Scott

HISTORICAL INSIGHTSEstablishment of County Poorhouses

Establishment of County Poorhouses

“Going to the poorhouse” was not just a fear for many 19th-century Americans, it was a reality.

America was not the land of milk and honey for everyone during the Industrial Revolution. Countless thousands of people were forced into poverty and homelessness. Such unfortunates could even be sold at public auction to provide labor in exchange for room and board, a system called “outdoor relief.” Often, homeless Americans suffered from mental illnesses or disabilities that prevented them from working. With no public support, they relied on charity. Officials hoped that the creation of a tax-supported poorhouse, also known as almshouses or “poor farms,” would be a more humane—and cheaper—alternative. Most New England towns had at least one poorhouse, while cities such as Boston had several. The Massachusetts state almshouse sheltered almost one thousand people. One report found that the residences “are not at present well adapted to modern ideas of comfort and convenience,” and reports of meager food and conditions were not uncommon.

Media Gallery

 

Some workers took advantage of the poorhouse system to secure housing when their industries were in the offseason or did not have work. About 1800, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Credit: W. Birch & Son/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

 

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Josephine Shaw Lowell, sister of Civil War hero Robert Gould Shaw, was a reformer who reported on conditions at poorhouses. 1863. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

 

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Competition for jobs among immigrants, housing shortages, and the unstable nature of industrial work contributed to homelessness in urban areas. About 1872, Five Points, New York, New York. Credit: Interim Archives/Archive Photos/Getty Images

 

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Approximately 12 percent of all school-age children were homeless in New York City during the 1870s. About 1881, New York, New York. Credit: Stock Montage/Archive Photos/Getty Images