Alexander County Poor Farm

Overview

The Alexander County Poor Farm was founded in 1870 to serve the poor, paupers, destitute, and needy of Alexander County, Illinois. The Poor Farm was first located on five acres in Thebes. By 1886, the almshouse located at Thebes was “abandoned” and “the poor who need house care are sent to St. Mary’s Infirmary, Cairo.”[1]

In 1891, Alexander County purchased a farm at Beach Ridge, containing 440 acres, and erected a 1.5 story frame building to be used as the almshouse. “The house was opened for the reception of paupers about January 1, 1892. The number of paupers present was twelve.”[2]

By 1929, Alexander County closed the Poor Farm and rented out the property. The property was later sold in 1959 to John A. Stelle and Russell T. Stelle, sons of the former governor John H. Stelle.

Institution Name and Type

Alternative Names: Alexander County Farm and Almshouse; Alexander County Poorhouse; Poor Farm in Alexander County; Poor Farm

Type of Institution: Almshouse

Location and Building

Location #1: Thebes (from 1870-around 1886)

  • “Beginning at the southeast corner of the north half of the southwest quarter of the southwester quarter of section nine, township number fifteen, south range three, west, running along the south line of said tract to the Thebes and Unity road, thence along said road to the east line of said tract, thence along that line to the beginning, containing five acres, more of less, lying in the southeast corner of the north half of the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section No. nine, township fifteen, south of range three, west of the principal mereidian.”[3]

Location #2: Beech Ridge (from 1892-around 1929)

  • Beech Ridge was founded in 1878. It was located in the center of section 32, township 16 south, range 1 west. It was about four miles north of Cairo. A post office was established there in 1879 and it was a station on the St. Louis & Cairo Railroad (later called the Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railroad). In 1906, tracks for the Cairo & Thebes Railroad were laid from Beech Ridge to northwest. Most citizens in the town were African Americans. The post office was closed in 1914 and the town no longer exists.

County: Alexander

State: Illinois

Administration Information

Date of Founding: 1870[4]

Dates of Name, Place, Mission Change, or Merger: Before 1892[5]

Date of Closure: 1929[6]

Administration: Alexander County

Notable People

Mr. Thomas A. Brown: caretaker and in charge of the almshouse from about 1873 to at least December 1884.[7]

Benjamin Jones: superintendent of the Poor Farm in September 1913.[8]

J. Raymond. Bunch: superintendent of the County Farm in 1914-1915.[9][10]

William J. Childres: superintendent of the county farm in 1910.[11]

Intake Information and Requirements

Intake Gender/Sex: Female, Male

Intake Age:

  • 1880: Adults, Children

Intake Ethnicity/Race:

  • 1910: white and colored individuals admitted

Intake Specifics:

  • 1880: Adults ($7/month), Children ($4/month for under 16 years of age); “when visited, there was only one insane inmate;” “the county requires all paupers to go to the county farm.”
  • 1912: “Insane, crippled, feeble-minded and aged inmates share the same conditions…”[12]

Number of Residents:

  • 1892: 12
  • 1910: 19 residents, 6 deaths

Previous Residents:

  • R. Talleofeus: resident in 1872 who passed away at the almshouse on 18 October 1872.[13]
  • Mrs. Sarah Burkhart: resident at the Poor Farm for 10 weeks in 1913. Her board was paid by Mrs. J. W. Coy. She was the widow of a union soldier.[14]
  • Pearl O’Rourke: a blind girl who resided in the Poor Farm from 31 May 1913-9 September 1913.[15]

Records

“An almshouse register has been kept since 1870.”[16]

Libraries and Archives

Cairo Public Library

Shawnee Community College Library

Cemetery

According to Alexander County Illinois Genealogy Trails, there was a Alexander County Poor Farm Cemetery located at Route 3 and 127. There was also another one at Thebes.

Obituaries and Death Notices

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ilgssi/Cairo.html

See also: newspapers.com and other online newspaper sites.

1910 Census Trascription

Alexander County, Beech Ridge

NameRelation to HeadSexRaceAgeSingle/Married/Yrs Children #/ Living #OccupationPlace of Birth
Raina, BeekHeadmw24m-0FarmerIL
—–, Vidawifefw23m-0-0-0IL
Burkhart, Sarahpauperfw58wdIL
Chism, Maudepauperfw33s-1IL
Pirtes, JamespaupermMu40sIL
Darnels, Jeffpaupermb44sIL
Hutchinson, Joepaupermw52sEngland
Malander, Wmpaupermw53sVA
Brown, Grantpaupermw42m1IL
Brooke, Lulapauperfw49wd-0-0US
Lire, Harrypaupermb23sMO
Clark, Johnpaupermw51sIL
Johnson, Charleypaupermw60sGermany
Mullins, Gusspaupermw30sLA

Sources

Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1870. First Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, December 1870. Springfield: Illinois Journal Printing Office. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biennial_Report_of_the_Board_of_State_Co/0vVLAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1.

—. 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.

—. 1886. Ninth Biennial Report of the Board State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1886. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reports_Made_to_the_General_Assembly_of/T2obAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1.

—. 1893. Twelfth Biennial Report of the Board State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, October 1892. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reports_Made_to_the_Senate_and_House_of/sGVKAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

“Ghost Towns and Settlements, Alexander County Illinois Genealogy Trails.” Alexander County Illinois Genealogy Trails. Accessed 27 September 2023. https://genealogytrails.com/ill/alexander/ghosttowns.html.

United States Bureau of the Census. 1915. 1915. Paupers in Almshouses, 1910. Washington, D.C.: Governmental Printing Office. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Paupers_in_Almhouses_1910/cETPJ29AjYMC?.


[1] 1886. Ninth Biennial Report of the Board State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, November 1886. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. 123.

[2] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1893. Twelfth Biennial Report of the Board State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, October 1892. Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder. 129-130.

[3] “The voters in the county are very much…” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 25 October 1881, p. 1, col. 5.

[4] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. 1870. First Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois, December 1870. Springfield: Illinois Journal Printing Office. 119.

[5] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities, 1893. 129-130.

[6] “Stelles Buy Poor Farm to Hunt Geese,” Mt. Vernon Register-News (Mt. Vernon, Illinois), 11 May 1959, p. 2, col. 9.

[7] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities, 1880. 228.

[8] “County Board Proceedings,” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 20 November 1913, p. 5, col. 3-5.

[9] “Raymond Bunch Again Appointed as Manager of County Poor Farm,” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 5 January 1915, p. 1, col. 2.

[10] “County Board Proceedings,” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 28 May 1914, p. 7, col. 1-2.

[11] “County Board Proceedings,” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 31 August 1910, p. 2, col. 4.

[12] “Poor Farm Said to be Disgrace to this County: The Bulletin Has Consistently Labored for Years to Correct Many Abuses,” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 31 December 1912, p. 1-2.

[13] “To the Honorable County Court…” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 10 January 1873, p. 4, col. 3-4.

[14] “County Board Proceedings,” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 20 November 1913, p. 5, col. 3-5.

[15] “County Board Proceedings,” The Cairo Bulletin (Cairo, Illinois), 20 November 1913, p. 5, col. 3-5.

[16] Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities, 1880. 228.

Anna Brown Home for the Aged

Overview

The Anna Brown Home for the Aged was originally erected as a private residence in 1875 by Anna Brown, widow of Charles Brown. She built a three-story brick house and lived there until her death in 1893. In her will, she provided for the establishment of a home for the aged, to which she gave her home at Fifth and Maple streets in Quincy (1501 North Fifth Street), and endowed it with $55,000. The home opened in January 1898.

Institution Name

Alternative Names: Anna Brown Home

Type of Institution: Aged

Location and Building

Street Address: 1501 North Fifth St.

Locality: Quincy

County: Adams

State: Illinois

Alternative Address: Fifth and Maple

Notes on the building (does it still exist?): No, the building was demolished in 2012 after a fire destroyed much of the structure.

Administration Information

Date of Founding: January 1898

Date of Name, Place, or Mission Change, or Merger: 1970[1]

Date of Overall Closure: after 1970

Dates of Operation at This Address Under This Name with the Same Mission: 1868-1970

Notes: The Anna Brown Home merged with Good Samaritan Home on September 1, 1970.[2] It was later owned by a series of developers who operated it as apartments until it was left vacant when it deteriorated.

Administration: Board of Trustees

Contributors/Support:

Notable People

Anna E. Brown: Provided in her will for the establishment of a home for the aged—provided her residence for such a home.[3]

Original Board of Trustees:[4]

  • W. H. Collins, President
  • Osman B. Gordon, Vice-President
  • T. C. Poling, Treasurer
  • George H. Wilson, Secretary

Elizabeth Carelton: Matron in 1905.[5]

Charles Henry Bull: Member of the Board of Trustees

Intake Information and Requirements

Intake Gender/Sex: Unknown, likely both.

Intake Age: Adult

Intake Ethnicity/Race: Unknown, likely white.

Intake Religion: Unknown, likely none, maybe Christian.

Intake Specifics:

  • 1905: acceptable applicants only, admission fee of $300

Records

1920 Census

NameRelationship to Head of HouseholdSexRaceAgeMarital Status
Henry, Eliza R.HeadFemaleWhite63Single
Sonnenschein, Mary D.ServantFemaleWhite34Single
Brown, Mary E.ServantFemaleWhite61Widowed
Ladd, George W.ResidentMaleWhite85Widowed
West, Nathan C.ResidentMaleWhite91Married
West, AmandaResidentFemaleWhite84Married
Higgins, MarionResidentFemaleWhite67Widowed
Kalb, Ella-belleResidentFemaleWhite62Single
Marsh, Amy C.ResidentFemaleWhite64Widowed
Cady, Mary EllenResidentFemaleWhite75Widowed
Starkey, Eliza B.ResidentFemaleWhite73Widowed
Duncan, ElizabethResidentFemaleWhite84Widowed
Battelle, Anna W.ResidentFemaleWhite79Widowed
Smith, Frances B.ResidentFemaleWhite88Widowed
Lovely, AnnResidentFemaleWhite81Widowed
Kinaman, MargaretResidentFemaleWhite87Widowed
Yates, Maria W.ResidentFemaleWhite76Widowed
Hilborn, Jennie M.ResidentFemaleWhite79Widowed
Ayers, AlmarettaResidentFemaleWhite64Widowed
Colwell, LinaResidentFemaleWhite80Widowed
Cramer, Ida P.ResidentFemaleWhite64Single
Schell, Cecilia L.ResidentFemaleWhite72Single
Leavell, Frances M.ResidentFemaleWhite66Single
Leavell, Alice E.ResidentFemaleWhite60Single
Gurn, Mary E.ResidentFemaleWhite72Single

Sources

Collins, William. 1905. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Page 234.

United States Bureau of the Census. 1913. Benevolent Institutions 1910. Washington, D. C.: Governmental Printing Office. https://books.google.com/books?id=fmgGAQAAIAAJ.

Welfare Bulletin: The Institution Quartly, Volume 4. Illinois Department of Public Welfare. 1913. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Welfare_Bulletin/YqxCAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.

Wilson, Doug. 2012. “Anna Brown House was a 137-year-old landmark.” Herald Whig (Quincy, Illinois), August 16, 2012. https://www.whig.com/archive/article/anna-brown-house-was-a-137-year-old-landmark/article_f885e058-cbff-53dc-a654-84f0ef4e7012.html.


[1] Wilson, Doug. 2012. “Anna Brown House was a 137-year-old landmark.” Herald Whig (Quincy, Illinois), August 16, 2012. https://www.whig.com/archive/article/anna-brown-house-was-a-137-year-old-landmark/article_f885e058-cbff-53dc-a654-84f0ef4e7012.html.

[2] Wilson, Doug. 2012. “Anna Brown House was a 137-year-old landmark.” Herald Whig (Quincy, Illinois), August 16, 2012. https://www.whig.com/archive/article/anna-brown-house-was-a-137-year-old-landmark/article_f885e058-cbff-53dc-a654-84f0ef4e7012.html.

[3] Collins, William. 1905. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Page 234.

[4] Collins, William. 1905. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Page 234.

[5] Collins, William. 1905. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Page 234.

Adams County Almshouse

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

SurnameFirst NameDate of BirthDate of DeathNotes
AdlerGeorg Martin11-4-183511-9-1913
AlexanderAnna18632-12-1901
AllenEliza Jane18352-11-1914
AllenGeorge L3-13-18524-12-1936
AllenHenry L186412-10-1919
ArmstrongWilliam18311881
ArnoldGeorge180411-13-1880
ArnoldJohn Robert1-18-18631-18-1937
AschenbrennerAnnie Janie18693-1-1923w/o John
AschenbrennerJohn Theodore12-23-18577-19-1907
BaileyMarcuss12-19-184010-13-1917
BartlettRuth18606-15-1926
BaxWilliam9-1-18518-27-1931
BeagleCharles18548-17-1898
BeckmanFred W6-11-1898
BiggsUnknown18838-30-1906
BrannonThomas William19581985
BrenekampBarnard18318-11-1911
BrocksieckCharles9-4-18671-7-1914
BrownGeorge6-11-18754-12-1917
BusbyWilliam18723-5-1900
CabreelsonAlfred18596-26-1906
CampbellJoe Dave8-11-18423-15-1921
CarrierFred5-1-18744-17-1926
CaseJohn L11-8-18664-7-1936
CheekJames2-23-18471-23-1907
ClarkJohn183210-24-1882
ClaytonGeorge18246-3-1908
DurfeeJames9-16-17987-16-1844
HillWellington18557-19-1935
KingElmer W18641936
KingMamie E18661944
PhenisAlbert18532-9-1937
ThompsonAnna3-9-1908
TongateAmbrose S183010-27-1879
TriplettElzy3-22-18193-21-1882

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.