The Poughkeepsie Orphan House and Home for the Friendless
by Shannon Butler Growing up in the 19th century could be tough if your family didn’t have any money. It was even harder for those children who lost their parents either through death or just plain old abandonment. Before 1850, there was almost no place for an orphan to go to for safety, shelter, and food. Generally, they would end up in an almshouse (also known as the poorhouse) with adults who had also fallen on hard times. Ending up in a poorhouse meant no schooling or any kind of a proper education, at least until a group of concerned well-to-do women from the area decided to create an institution to house and care for children and homeless women (a.k.a. the friendless). It was in January of 1847 when a group of women - including local names like Adriance, Wilkinson, and Bartlett - got together and formed a society known as the Female Guardian Society. Their goal was to house, feed, educate, and care for children and women who were destitute. There was no real money to work with at first, other than what the ladies managed to contribute through donations, which remained the main source of income throughout their work. [...]