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New Orleans women and the Poydras Home : more durable than marble

Title
New Orleans women and the Poydras Home : more durable than marble / Pamela Tyler.
Author
Tyler, Pamela
Publication
Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2016]

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library JFE 16-6943Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
xi, 225 pages, 14 unnumbered pages of plates; 24 cm
Summary
"A two-hundred-year-old institution, the Poydras Home--originally the Poydras Asylum--stands as an exemplar of woman-led charitable organizations. In a thorough and engaging narrative, Pamela Tyler offers the first complete history of this remarkable New Orleans establishment from its founding as an orphanage for young girls to its present-day operation as a retirement community and assisted-living facility. Throughout, Tyler paints a vivid picture of the many women who faced down the challenges of war, disease, natural disaster, social unrest, and restrictive gender ideals to realize the mission of the Poydras Home. Drawing on previously unreleased archival material, Tyler documents how the institution's benefactor, Julien Poydras, used his immense wealth to support a haven for impoverished girls, and how the dedicated women of the Poydras board pursued that ambition through more than just residential services. Tyler reveals that the majority of the Poydras 'orphans' had one living parent, and it was dire poverty and a dearth of social services in New Orleans that drove single parents, usually mothers, to place their daughters in the asylum. Further research demonstrates that the Poydras went beyond simply providing a shelter for the children of distressed parents: volunteer managers worked to shape their charges' character through an emphasis on morals, education, and the fundamentals of housewifery"--Publisher's website.
Subject
  • Poydras Home (New Orleans, La.) > History
  • Charities > Louisiana > New Orleans > History
  • Women philanthropists > Louisiana > New Orleans > History
  • Orphanages > Louisiana > New Orleans > History
  • Poor girls > Services for > History. > Louisiana > New Orleans
  • Retirement communities > Louisiana > New Orleans > History
  • Congregate housing > Louisiana > New Orleans > History
  • New Orleans (La.) > Social conditions
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Orphans and orphanages : a historical overview -- The genesis of an idea -- Humble beginnings and a generous benefactor -- Years of growth -- Crosses to bear : the impact of religious strife on the Poydras Asylum -- Challenges to Poydras : the Union Army and Reconstruction -- In sickness and in health : the operation of the Poydras Asylum in its first hundred years -- Farewell to the old Poydras -- And welcome to the new! -- Afterword.
Call Number
JFE 16-6943
ISBN
  • 9780807163221
  • 0807163228
  • 9780807163238 (canceled/invalid)
  • 9780807163245 (canceled/invalid)
  • 9780807163252 (canceled/invalid)
LCCN
2015042800
OCLC
925498096
Author
Tyler, Pamela, author.
Title
New Orleans women and the Poydras Home : more durable than marble / Pamela Tyler.
Publisher
Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2016]
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Research Call Number
JFE 16-6943
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