Overview

The Anna Ross Sanitarium was founded in 1900 by Dr. W. F. Briney as a home for pregnant mothers. It operated both as a maternity home and an orphanage for infants.

In 1913, under the guidance of Lieutenant-Governor Barrett O’Hara, a committee of state legislators investigated several medical institutions in Chicago, including Anna Ross Sanitarium. It was found that Dr. W. F. Briney, the administrator and proprietor of Anna Ross, admitted that he had given $20 to physicians for each patient sent to him.[1] The Curran Commission, as it was called, investigated the Anna Ross Sanitarium on 14 April 1913, finding that the “mothers who go to the sanitarium are induced to sign contracts giving away their children before the children are born. Five unmarried women were found in the place. The rates charged by the sanitarium depend on how much money the mother has.”[2]

In the investigation, and testimony to the House of Representatives by Dr. W. F. Briney, it was discovered that the institution pays a commission of 33.5% to each physician sending women to them but has no agreement with physicians.[3] Additionally, “If a mother should come back in later years and endeavor to secure information about the child placed out by this institution no information could be given as they do not aim to keep in touch with the child.”[4]

In 1914, The Day Book published an article that stated, “The report of the investigator of the commission showed that the Anna Ross Sanitarium has placed three babies with people who gave the addresses that proved to be vacant lots. Dr. W. F. Briney was unable to explain this.”[5]

In 1915, the Anna Ross Sanitarium merged with the Illinois Maternity Hospital and became the Maternity and Infant Hospital of Chicago.

Advertisement from: Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of North America. 1904. Volume II. Eighth Revised Edition. Detroit: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. 2273.

Advertisement from: Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of the United States and Canada. 1908. Tenth Revised Edition. Detroit: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. 2193.

Institution Name and Type

Alternative Names: Anna Ross Lying-In Sanitarium

Type of Institution: Maternity, Orphanage

• “A Maternity Home which is run in an ethnical and Christian manner. We do no abortion work. Our home is run in a quiet and orderly manner. We assist patients in keeping their baby when they are in a position to do so. If not we find the infant a home and keep full records as to its disposition, and in all things comply with the law and ordinances. We invite Physicians to visit our place. We make full investigation before sending us patients. We meet patients at the train and look after them carefully while under our care.”[6]

Location and Building

Address: 1900 South Kedzie Avenue

1908: 901 S. Kedzie Ave.[7] (Chicago changed a lot of street numbers in 1909, including this address).

1913: 1900 South Kedzie Avenue[8]

Locality: Chicago

County: Cook County

State: Illinois

Notes on the buildings: no longer exists.

Administration Information

Date of Founding: 1900[9]

Dates of Name, Place, Mission Change, or Merger: 1915

Merged With: Illinois Maternity Hospital

Successor: Maternity and Infant Hospital of Chicago[10] (later became Douglas Park Hospital)

Administration: owned and run by Dr. W. F. Briney

Notable People

Dr. W. F. Briney: Physician in 1904[11]-1908[12]

Intake Information and Requirements

Intake Gender/Sex:

Intake Age:

Intake Ethnicity/Race:

Intake Specifics:

Number of Residents:

• 1908: capacity of 12[13]
• 1913, June: 8 mothers and 4 babies.[14]
• 1914: 47 children placed and replaced by institution.[15]
• 1915: 13 children placed and replaced by institution.[16]

Previous Residents:

Bonnie Hoyt passed away in October 1902 at the Anna Ross Sanitarium. There was a large search for family members after she passed so that they could claim her body and give her a proper burial. She was a chorus girl in the “Prince of Pilsen” company for several months prior to her passing. She had joined the company in Boston. She ended up in the Anna Ross Sanitarium after becoming ill from peritonitis. On 27 October 1902, it was decided that she had to have surgery, however, she “immediately became unconscious and never recovered her senses.”[17]

Records

 “If a mother should come back in later years and endeavor to secure information about the child placed out by this institution no information could be given as they do not aim to keep in touch with the child.”[18]

Unknown if records exist. No collections found through online internet searches.

Sources

Chicago Medical Recorder: January-December 1915.1915. Volume 37. Chicago: The Medical Recorder Publishing Company. 487. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Chicago_Medical_Recorder/iEtYAAAAMAAJ.

“Department of Progressive Advertisers.” 1911. The American Journal of Clinical Medicine 18(6): 103. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_American_Journal_of_Clinical_Medicin/cJtEAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.

Harrington, G. L. 1906. Classified Sanitarium Directory of Eastern United States. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Classified_sanitarium_directory_of_easte/fuk5BEo3ifYC?hl=en&gbpv=0.

Illinois Board of Administration. 1917. Sixth Annual Report, Seventh Annual Report: October 1, 1914 to September 30, 1916, Inclusive. Volume I. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report_Inclusive/9s89AQAAMAAJ.

Illinois Department of Visitation of Children Placed in Family Homes. 1917. Biennial Report for 1914-1915 of the Department Visitation of Children Placed in Family Homes, Including Reports of Inspection of Institutions for 1916, For the Year Ending in December 31, 1915. 1917. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co., State Printers. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report_of_the_Department_of_Visit/04eICtl2WFwC?hl=en&gbpv=1.

“Legislative Investigation of Medical Matters in Chicago.” 1913. Illinois Medical Journal 23 (May 1913): 549. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Illinois_Medical_Journal/mHQ4AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.

“Maternity Hospitals.” 1913. Found in Journal of the House of Representatives of the 48^th General Assembly of the State of Illinois: Regular Biennial Session. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journal_of_the_House_of_Representatives/XeVQAQAAMAAJ.

Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of North America. 1904. Volume II. Eighth Revised Edition. Detroit: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Polk_s_Medical_Register_and_Directory_of/tg42AQAAMAAJ.

Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of the United States and Canada. 1908. Tenth Revised Edition. Detroit: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Polk_s_Medical_Register_and_Directory_of/qcU0AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1.

The Institution Quarterly: An Official Organ of the Public Charity Service of Illinois. 1913. Volume IV. Springfield, Illinois: State Board of Administration, State Charities Commission, and State Psychopathic Institute. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Institution_Quarterly/xZYXAAAAYAAJ.

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[1] “Legislative Investigation of Medical Matters in Chicago.” 1913. Illinois Medical Journal 23 (May 1913): 549. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Illinois_Medical_Journal/mHQ4AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.

[2] “Find Shameful Conditions in ‘Homes’ for Foundlings,” Chicago Tribune, 15 April 1913, p. 6, col. 1.

[3] “Maternity Hospitals.” 1913. Found in Journal of the House of Representatives of the 48^th General Assembly of the State of Illinois: Regular Biennial Session. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co. 1237.

[4] “Maternity Hospitals,” 1913. 1238.

[5] “Curran Commission Turns the Searchlight on Methods of Probation Officers in the Juvenile Court,” The Day Book (Chicago, Illinois), 29 April 1914, p. 12, col. 1-2.

[6] “Department of Progressive Advertisers.” 1911. The American Journal of Clinical Medicine 18(6): 103.

[7] Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of the United States and Canada. 1908. Tenth Revised Edition. Detroit: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. 494.

[8] The Institution Quarterly: An Official Organ of the Public Charity Service of Illinois. 1913. Volume IV. Springfield, Illinois: State Board of Administration, State Charities Commission, and State Psychopathic Institute. 92.

[9] Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of the United States and Canada,1908. 494.

[10] Chicago Medical Recorder: January-December 1915.1915. Volume 37. Chicago: The Medical Recorder Publishing Company. 487.

[11] Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of North America, 1904. 2273.

[12] Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of the United States and Canada,1908. 494.

[13] Polk’s Medical Register and Directory of the United States and Canada,1908. 494.

[14] “Maternity Hospitals,” 1913. 1237.

[15] Illinois Board of Administration. 1917. Sixth Annual Report, Seventh Annual Report: October 1, 1914 to September 30, 1916, Inclusive. Volume I. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co. 141.

[16] Illinois Board of Administration. 1917. Sixth Annual Report, Seventh Annual Report: October 1, 1914 to September 30, 1916, Inclusive. Volume I. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co. 141.

[17] “Chorus Girl Dies Unknown.” 1902. Chicago Tribune, 29 October 1902, p.1., col. 5.

[18] “Maternity Hospitals,” 1913. 1238.