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

Name	Relationship to Head of Household	Sex	Race	Age	Marital Status
Henry, Eliza R.	Head	Female	White	63	Single
Sonnenschein, Mary D.	Servant	Female	White	34	Single
Brown, Mary E.	Servant	Female	White	61	Widowed
Ladd, George W.	Resident	Male	White	85	Widowed
West, Nathan C.	Resident	Male	White	91	Married
West, Amanda	Resident	Female	White	84	Married
Higgins, Marion	Resident	Female	White	67	Widowed
Kalb, Ella-belle	Resident	Female	White	62	Single
Marsh, Amy C.	Resident	Female	White	64	Widowed
Cady, Mary Ellen	Resident	Female	White	75	Widowed
Starkey, Eliza B.	Resident	Female	White	73	Widowed
Duncan, Elizabeth	Resident	Female	White	84	Widowed
Battelle, Anna W.	Resident	Female	White	79	Widowed
Smith, Frances B.	Resident	Female	White	88	Widowed
Lovely, Ann	Resident	Female	White	81	Widowed
Kinaman, Margaret	Resident	Female	White	87	Widowed
Yates, Maria W.	Resident	Female	White	76	Widowed
Hilborn, Jennie M.	Resident	Female	White	79	Widowed
Ayers, Almaretta	Resident	Female	White	64	Widowed
Colwell, Lina	Resident	Female	White	80	Widowed
Cramer, Ida P.	Resident	Female	White	64	Single
Schell, Cecilia L.	Resident	Female	White	72	Single
Leavell, Frances M.	Resident	Female	White	66	Single
Leavell, Alice E.	Resident	Female	White	60	Single
Gurn, Mary E.	Resident	Female	White	72	Single

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.

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[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.