Colored Orphan Asylum
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The Colored Orphan Asylum was an institution in New York City open from 1836–1946 that housed on average four hundred children annually and was mostly managed by women.[1] Its first location was on Fifth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Street, a four-story building with two wings.
The Colored Orphan Asylum was founded in 1836 by three Quakers;[2] Anna and Hanna Shotwell and Mary Lindley Murray. It was one of the first of its kind in the United States to take in black children whose parents had died, or were not able to take care of them.[3] In 1846 Dr. James McCune Smith, the country's first licensed African American medical doctor, became the orphanage's medical director.[3] The orphanage moved several times in Manhattan.
1863 riots
In March 1863, conscription in the United States became stricter. The federal government used a lottery system to choose citizens for the draft. The chosen could hire a substitute or pay the government, but most workingmen couldn't afford substitution. Black males weren't eligible for the draft because they weren't considered citizens of the United States. Working-class white males who were furious about the federal draft laws rioted, and attacked federal buildings and black neighborhoods.[4] The Colored Orphan Asylum was burned down by Irish mobs on July 13, 1863, during the first day of the New York Draft Riots. A policeman was killed while leading the children out the back door to escape.[5]
Rebuilding
The asylum was rebuilt by the Quakers in 1867 on 143rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The operation moved to a new building in 1907, in Riverdale, Bronx. In 1944, the asylum was renamed the Riverdale Children's Association.[1] This building later became the Hebrew Home for the Aged.
References
- ^ a b "Colored Orphan Asylum - Encyclopedia of New York City". www.virtualny.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
- ^ Catherine Reef (2005). Alone in the World: Orphans and Orphanages in America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 13–. ISBN 0-618-35670-3.
- ^ a b "MAAP | Place Detail: Colored Orphan Asylum". maap.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
- ^ "The New York City Draft Riots of 1863". www.press.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
- ^ Gootman, Elissa (2003-04-07). "Recalling a Place of Sanctuary for Black Orphans". New York City: NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2015-07-12.