Going To The Poor House Victorian Style

Garland County Poor House, by J. F. Kennedy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mental institution/old people's home/poorhouse (Photo credit: netzanette)

A Look at Victorian County Poor Farms

Most of us old enough to have parents born about the time of the Great Depression remember the odd words spoken by our parents or grandparents when worried about finance. "We are going to the poor house." These words inspired us to remember the plight of poor Oliver Twist asking for more porridge.

Then there were Sunday drives in the country when your Grandmother would point to some large gaudy Victorian home on an old farm and tell you that it was "the county rest home' when she was growing up. You might ponder how much 'rest' people got on a farm. You could envision old women with walkers out sowing the fields.

What all the buzz was about was the fear and knowledge your parents and grandparents had of the local Victorian cure for all social ills within its county borders ;known as the county poor house or county home.

Our Victorian ancestors sure of the truth of the protestant work ethic saw poverty as a result of a lack of moral virtue of "industry". This combined with the fact ,families were increasingly moving to cities and other places that offered better economic opportunities,.The had to leave their elderly and many times feeble minded relatives behind. Many counties did not have institutions for the severely disabled, elderly, and mentally ill.

These folks left by their relatives to fend for themselves. They became wards of the county. They with orphans, unwed mothers, and the sick and aged, were placed in poorhouses and poor farms out of a desire for the county to perform acts of "Christian charity". The local politician benefited from this arrangement, as the poor farm removed the "undesirables", from the sight of the general public.

These "farms" or 'homes' required all able-bodied people to work and contribute to the operation of the facility. Life was never pleasant at the poor house as the goal was to get those who could to leave and find employment. Residents were worked long hours and physically abused at the whims of their overseers. Many families down on their luck; only stayed in these places a short time till they made enough money to move on.

Monroe Co. Poor House, by Woodward, C. W. (Charles Warren) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The elderly, feeble-minded, disabled and orphaned were not so lucky. Till the later 1800's and the opening of state sponsored schools and orphan asylums these folks could only hope some local relative or generous local family could remove them from the harsh conditions of the county poor house. The rise of specialized care and schooling brought an end to the poor house days, but it is an interesting part of America's social history.

Indiana like most states had a 'poor house 'or farm in almost every county. Some were over crowded and some were only used by the most destitute county residents. Those wilh small populations tended to provide a better environment for the residents. In the mind of the civic minded Victorian conditions at a 'poor "house were seen as bearable because life on a farm or small town was difficult anyway. The inmates could be seen as lucky to have access to food and shelter at the expense of the taxpayer. The tax paying residents of the county would have only been confused by issues of the quality of life or dignity of the inmates.

In 1871 a local newspaper did an article on the residence and conditions on its "infirmary" or poor farm. The Hunting County Infirmary had 18 residents at the time .The writer of the article ,in a truly Victorian judgmental and patronizing manner published all the 'less than pretty' circumstances of the inmates need to be at the poor house. The writer showed some respect for the young children he deemed as deserving of adoption, but he was particularly unkind to women he viewed as silly or loose.

The genealogists who reprinted the article for its research value wrote," What is amazing about this article is the degree to which very personal details of the inmates lives are recounted in such a public manner! We at first felt somewhat reluctant to even post this on the internet 130 years later." This article is a must read for anyone who is interested in the personal knowledge of who the poor farms of this era served. This article can be found in its complete form: http://www.poorhousestory.com/IN_Huntington_newsarticle1871.htm

The history of poor farms in American society is not interpreted as our ancestor's lack of social conscious, but rather folks who had limited knowledge of the reasons that individuals and families would become chronically destitute. It was actually a testament to the Victorians growing social awareness; that they sought to aid the unfortunate in any organized way at all.

Sources:

http://www.poorhousestory.com/IN_Huntington_newsarticle1871.htm

http://www.poorhousestory.com/

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Death in the American Victorian Household Part 1

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In our 21st century society most of us never see death. Our old and ailing tend to die in nursing homes and hospitals. Rarely, our friends and family present at the moment our loved one passes to the next life. We are informed my medical staff the event has occurred and only a few of us take the opportunity to view the body. 
The Victorian era is many times of great interest to us as it was a time when death seemed to be almost morbidly celebrated. It may same strange to us that in a society where untimely death was so common that the process of grief and burial itself consumed such a great part of the lives of the living.

Rope being placed in a casket  then a bell was hooked to make sure no one was buried alive.

Most of the time people died at home in Victorian times. It did not matter if it were in a disease infested city flat or a pastoral Midwestern farmhouse. In the case of the latter, it was most likely that the deceased was dying into the home in which they had been born and that their parents had passed in. Since infant mortality was extremely high, it was very likely the joy of a birth was replaced by mourning for infant taken far too early in life. In urban areas where epidemics may have taken many in the same household , expected rules of display of the body in the home may have had to been put aside to account for several deaths occurring close together in the same household(Rothman, 2005) 
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Death of the head of household was a very grave matter literally and figuratively for a Victorian household. Poor and middle class household faced the loss of the main bread winner and laws demanded debts be paid without regard to the financial welfare of the surviving household. Middle class Widows had no property rights in Victorian America and male relatives who inherited homes could literally put them out on the street. Given that death in childbirth was common and many men married more than once, a disliked stepmother may have found herself going from middle class comfort too the street. Her children if not specifically provided for in a will may have had to rely on the kindness of other relatives to not become destitute.

Soon after a loved one was declared dead, they were in general laid out in the parlor or the best room in the home to allow other friends, neighbors, and other relatives to view the body. In homes with more means the body would be laid out in the casket they would be buried in. In less affluent homes the dead would be simply laid out on a table or set in a chair. Sometimes children would be posed as if they were sleeping in the very beds they had passed in (Rothman, 2005) 
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The deceased would have had their bodies washed and displayed in their Sunday best. Clothing tended to be passed on in even most Middle Class households so if the budget was truly constrained the deceased might be displayed in a simple and cheap white robe or coat. Those who could afford new clothing or elaborate clothing would spare no expense to deck out their dead well yet tastefully. Most upper class Victorians while elaborate in funeral parades to the cemetery kept casket and casket clothing simple, because it was considered an insult to the poor who could not remember their dead with such finery. The Victorians seemed to recognize that at least in display of the body, death was the great equalizer.