Research Catalog

Title

Howard Orphanage and Industrial School records, 1898-1955 (bulk 1912-1918).

Author

Howard Memorial Fund (New York, N.Y.)

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Gordon, James H.
• Gordon, Mary J.
• Waring, J. H. N.
• Snevily, Mansfield B.

Description

15.2 lin. ft. (13 RC's, I AB, 5 print-boxes)

Summary

• The Howard Orphanage and Industrial School records consist principally of administrative records dealing with fund raising and financial matters. The majority of the Administration series is correspondence from the office of President L. Hollingsworth Wood, primarily with other members of the board of managers, i.e., James H. Gordon and Mary Gordon, and J. H. N. Waring, superintendents; and Mansfield B. Snevily, treasurer, regarding the operation of the Orphanage and the purchase of supplies. Other correspondence is with insurance companies and creditors. Wood's general correspondence includes letters from guardians and other adults who wanted to place children in the Orphanage, and also concerns day-to-day issues. Files pertaining to the closure of the Orphanage, statements by staff, and the selling of property and equipment to pay off debts also appear in this series.
• A few ledgers list the names and other pertinent information about the children, and there are files concerning the employment of the adolescents. Additional records pertain to the farm, the property and the staff. Some printed material as well as printers' blocks used for the publications of the Orphanage are also included in the collection.

Subjects

• African Americans > Education > New York
• African American children > New York (State) > New York
• Real property > New York (State) > New York
• Orphanages > New York (State) > New York
• African Americans > Charities
• Howard Memorial Fund (New York, N.Y.)
• Howard Memorial Fund
• African American school superintendents
• Wood, L. Hollingsworth (Levi Hollingsworth), 1873-1956
• African American teenagers
• African American school administrators

Note

• Photographs and glass negatives transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.

Source (note)

• Howard Memorial Fund

Biography (note)

• Originally called the Brooklyn Howard Colored Orphan Asylum, the Howard Orphanage and Industrial School was founded (1868) and operated by African Americans, unlike other orphanages that cared for destitute black children. In 1911 the Howard Orphanage purchased a farm on Long Island, closed the Brooklyn facility, and moved 250 boys and girls there. The children were taught practical skills, and were "placed out" with individual families when they reached the age of sixteen. The Orphanage was forced to close in January 1918 due to the severe winter that caused the water pipes to freeze, resulting in two children having to have their feet amputated. Following the foreclosure on the mortgage, the trustees of the orphanage used the financial contributions, which individuals continued to send, for the education of needy black students in Brooklyn high schools. The organization was renamed the Howard Memorial Fund in 1956.

Call Number

Sc MG 126

OCLC

144652167

Author

Howard Memorial Fund (New York, N.Y.)

Title

Howard Orphanage and Industrial School records, 1898-1955 (bulk 1912-1918).

Biography

Originally called the Brooklyn Howard Colored Orphan Asylum, the Howard Orphanage and Industrial School was founded (1868) and operated by African Americans, unlike other orphanages that cared for destitute black children. In 1911 the Howard Orphanage purchased a farm on Long Island, closed the Brooklyn facility, and moved 250 boys and girls there. The children were taught practical skills, and were "placed out" with individual families when they reached the age of sixteen. The Orphanage was forced to close in January 1918 due to the severe winter that caused the water pipes to freeze, resulting in two children having to have their feet amputated. Following the foreclosure on the mortgage, the trustees of the orphanage used the financial contributions, which individuals continued to send, for the education of needy black students in Brooklyn high schools. The organization was renamed the Howard Memorial Fund in 1956.

Source

SCM 78-24

Howard Memorial Fund Gift 1977

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Added Author

Gordon, James H.

Gordon, Mary J.

Waring, J. H. N.

Snevily, Mansfield B.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 126