Overview

The Adams County Almshouse was in operation from 1858 through 1860. In 1875, a new building in Gilmer Township, Adams County, was completed.

Institution Name

Alternative Names: Adams County Poor Farm

Type of Institution: Almshouse

Location and Building

Locality: Paloma

County: Adams County

State: Illinois

Notes on the building:

July 29, 1915: “The architecture of the main building belongs to the period when almshouses were designed to appear as gloomy and as desolate as possible. The building is three stories in height. The straight, high walls are unrelieved by balconies or verandas, except at the ends. The entire width of the building presents like an expanse of many windows set close together and suggests the many cell-like rooms within.”[1]

Administration Information

Date of Founding: 1858

Date of Name, Place, or Mission Change, or Merger: 1875

Date of Overall Closure: 1960

Dates of Operation at This Address Under This Name with the Same Mission: 1875-1960

Original Name at Founding if Changes Occurred: Adams County Almshouse

Notes: A poor farm was in operation in Adams County since at least 1858. By 1875, construction of a new Almshouse was completed in Gilmer Township, Adams County.

Administration: Adams County

Notable People

William Elliott: Keeper of the Almshouse circa 1880.[2]

J. E. Earl: Superintendent of the Almshouse circa 1906-1908.[3]

J. R. Pearce: Superintendent of the Almshouse circa 1906-1909.[4]

John Swank: Superintendent of the Almshouse circa 1910-1918.[5][6]

Intake Information and Requirements

Intake Gender/Sex: 1915: Female, Female

Intake Age: All ages.

Intake Specifics:

• 1880: 36 insane paupers upon the farm, 25 of whom were in seclusion.[7]
• 1884: 115 inmates–“43 were insane, 2 idiots, 1 deaf, and 3 blind. 8 were children under 16 years of age… The county endeavors to find homes for children believing that the poorhouse is not the proper place for them. Neither is it the proper place for the insane. All the insane inmates have been committed by a verdict of the court.”[8]
• July 29, 1915:
• The rooms on the second floor have barred doors which were used when these rooms were occupied by insane inmates.[9]
• No separation of sick persons from well ones.

Number of Residents:

• 1880: 101 inmates. 3 born in the almshouse.[10]
• 1884: 115 inmates.[11]
• 1918: 64 inmates.[12]

Previous Residents:

Rhoda Derry

• 1880: “In our last report, mention was made of one female patient who occupies a large wooden box filled with straw. She will not wear clothing, but is covered with a canvass cloth, is in constant motion, has bruised herself from head to foot, and put out her own eyes. This patient is still an occupant of the box referred to, and now has for company, in the same room, another female patient, not in a box, but in an entirely nude condition.”[13]
• “Forty Two Years in a Crib,” Chicago Tribune, https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-forty-two-years-in-a-cri/127021553/.

Records

Cemetery Record

Surname	First Name	Date of Birth	Date of Death	Notes
Adler	Georg Martin	11-4-1835	11-9-1913
Alexander	Anna	1863	2-12-1901
Allen	Eliza Jane	1835	2-11-1914
Allen	George L	3-13-1852	4-12-1936
Allen	Henry L	1864	12-10-1919
Armstrong	William	1831	1881
Arnold	George	1804	11-13-1880
Arnold	John Robert	1-18-1863	1-18-1937
Aschenbrenner	Annie Janie	1869	3-1-1923	w/o John
Aschenbrenner	John Theodore	12-23-1857	7-19-1907
Bailey	Marcuss	12-19-1840	10-13-1917
Bartlett	Ruth	1860	6-15-1926
Bax	William	9-1-1851	8-27-1931
Beagle	Charles	1854	8-17-1898
Beckman	Fred W		6-11-1898
Biggs	Unknown	1883	8-30-1906
Brannon	Thomas William	1958	1985
Brenekamp	Barnard	1831	8-11-1911
Brocksieck	Charles	9-4-1867	1-7-1914
Brown	George	6-11-1875	4-12-1917
Busby	William	1872	3-5-1900
Cabreelson	Alfred	1859	6-26-1906
Campbell	Joe Dave	8-11-1842	3-15-1921
Carrier	Fred	5-1-1874	4-17-1926
Case	John L	11-8-1866	4-7-1936
Cheek	James	2-23-1847	1-23-1907
Clark	John	1832	10-24-1882
Clayton	George	1824	6-3-1908
Durfee	James	9-16-1798	7-16-1844
Hill	Wellington	1855	7-19-1935
King	Elmer W	1864	1936
King	Mamie E	1866	1944
Phenis	Albert	1853	2-9-1937
Thompson	Anna		3-9-1908
Tongate	Ambrose S	1830	10-27-1879
Triplett	Elzy	3-22-1819	3-21-1882

Other Records

“Applications and statements for record, 1860-1960,” available on FamilySearch.org. https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/618470?availability=Family%20History%20Library.

Sources

Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1880. Sixth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1880. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/OobIAAAAMAAJ.

—. 1884. Eighth Biennial Report of the Board State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1884. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/DKTIAAAAMAAJ.

—. 1909. Twentieth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois: Being a Statistical Record of the Public Charity Service for the Period July 1, 1906 to June 30, 1908, and embracing Recommendations for the Period July 1, 1908 to June 30, 1910. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biennial_Report_of_the_Board_of_State_Co/RroWAAAAYAAJ.  

State Charities Commission. 1911. Second Annual Report of the State Charities Commission to the Honorable Charles S. Deneen, Governor of Illinois. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report/pFgZAQAAIAAJ.

The Institution Quarterly: An Official Organ of the Public Charity Service of Illinois. 1916.Volume VII. Springfield, Illinois: State Board of Administration, State Charities Commission, and State Psychopathic Institute. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Welfare_Bulletin/qa5CAQAAIAAJ.

The Institution Quarterly: An Official Organ of the Public Charity Service of Illinois. 1920.Volume XI. Ed. A. L. Bowen. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Institution_Quarterly/9SaShNqJz7IC.

---

[1] The Institution Quarterly: An Official Organ of the Public Charity Service of Illinois. 1916.Volume VII. Springfield, Illinois: State Board of Administration, State Charities Commission, and State Psychopathic Institute. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Welfare_Bulletin/qa5CAQAAIAAJ.

[2] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1880. Sixth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1880. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/OobIAAAAMAAJ.

[3] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1909. Twentieth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois: Being a Statistical Record of the Public Charity Service for the Period July 1, 1906 to June 30, 1908, and embracing Recommendations for the Period July 1, 1908 to June 30, 1910. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biennial_Report_of_the_Board_of_State_Co/RroWAAAAYAAJ.  

[4] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1909. Twentieth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois: Being a Statistical Record of the Public Charity Service for the Period July 1, 1906 to June 30, 1908, and embracing Recommendations for the Period July 1, 1908 to June 30, 1910. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biennial_Report_of_the_Board_of_State_Co/RroWAAAAYAAJ.  

[5] State Charities Commission. 1911. Second Annual Report of the State Charities Commission to the Honorable Charles S. Deneen, Governor of Illinois. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report/pFgZAQAAIAAJ.

[6] The Institution Quarterly: An Official Organ of the Public Charity Service of Illinois. 1920.Volume XI. Ed. A. L. Bowen. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Institution_Quarterly/9SaShNqJz7IC.

[7] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1880. Sixth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1880. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/OobIAAAAMAAJ.

[8] 1884. Eighth Biennial Report of the Board State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1884. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/DKTIAAAAMAAJ.

[9] The Institution Quarterly: An Official Organ of the Public Charity Service of Illinois. 1916.Volume VII. Springfield, Illinois: State Board of Administration, State Charities Commission, and State Psychopathic Institute. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Welfare_Bulletin/qa5CAQAAIAAJ.

[10] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1880. Sixth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1880. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/OobIAAAAMAAJ.

[11] 1884. Eighth Biennial Report of the Board State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1884. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/DKTIAAAAMAAJ.

[12] The Institution Quarterly: An Official Organ of the Public Charity Service of Illinois. 1920.Volume XI. Ed. A. L. Bowen. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Institution_Quarterly/9SaShNqJz7IC.

[13] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1880. Sixth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1880. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/OobIAAAAMAAJ.