USA > New York > New York and its institutions, 1609-1871. A library of information, pertaining to the great metropolis, past and present > Part 28
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ST. LUKE'S HOME FOR INDIGENT CHRISTIAN FEMALES. 443
subject. Soon a constitution was adopted, and a subscription liberally signed to support the charity. Two floors in a build- ing were first hired, and several women, who had some em- ployment, were allowed to occupy these furnished rooms gratuitously. Next an entire building was leased, the first floor rented for a store, and the remaining three occupied as the Home. Such as lacked the means of procuring food were assisted by their personal friends, or by members of St. Luke's church. After a few years, its managers resolved to make the enterprise more general, and to enlarge its plans and accommodations.
The Legislature passed an act of incorporation in 1856 or 1857, and it thus passed from a parish to a general institution/ under the control of the Protestant Episcopal church of New York. The real estate and finances are vested in a board of managers numbering not less than seven or more than twenty- one ministers and laymen of the Protestant Episcopal church, of whom the bishop of the diocese is the president, and the vice-president is the rector of the Institution. An associate board of lady managers has charge of the internal workings of the Institution, and now numbers in its board representa- tives from thirty-eight churches. About the time of its in- corporation a large brick dwelling immediately adjoining St. Luke's church was purchased, the ground being leased for a term of years. This edifice was afterwards enlarged, but was never large enough to accommodate over thirty-two inmates at one time. A desire for a larger edifice led to an effort to collect a building fund, and $19,000 thus collected were deposited in United States securities in the safe of the Roval Insurance Company, which was robbed, inflicting a loss of $14,000 on this society. This delaved the erection of the new building several years, but the difficulty has been overcome. On the eighteenth of October, 1870, the corner-stone of the much-desired structure was laid by Bishop Potter, in the presence of a large number of the clergy and citizens of New York.
The building is located on the north-east corner of Madison avenue and Eighty-ninth street, one block from the Central Park, and two blocks only from one of the principal en- trances to the Park.
The building is four stories high and in the form of an L, with main entrance on the corner; it extends eighty feet on Madison avenue and seventy-five feet on the street. The
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
style is medieval Gothic, with Mansard roof, and three towers. The materials are Philadelphia pressed brick trimmed with Buena Vista stone.
On the first floor is a vestibule, a fine octagonal hall, 15 x 15, a large room, 38 x 19, for the meetings of managers, and a dining-room, 33 x 19, intended to seat some sixty or seventy persons ; the whole so arranged that by opening folding-doors a sweep of over seventy-three feet can be obtained. Back of the main entrance hall is a roomy inner private hall and corridors leading to dining-room, etc. On the same floor will also be found the matron's room and office, the infirmaries, the rector's and doctor's office, and five chambers, adapted to the use of such of the inmates as may, through great age or infirmity, find it difficult to ascend the stairs.
Two elevators ascend to the upper story, and three stair- ways afford means of escape in case of fire. There are 208 doors, 114 windows, 67 marble wash-basins, and 77 rooms, affording space for seventy-four inmates. The building was erected with the strictest economy, and cost $55,000.
On grounds contiguous to the Home, Miss Caroline Talman has just erected a small church, a memorial of her deceased parents, thus securing to the beneficiaries of the Home a convenient place for public worship.
Applicants for admission into the Home must be persons of respectability in reduced circumstances, and members of churches represented in the board of associate managers, and contributing to the support of the Institution .. An ad- mission fee of one hundred dollars is required from each beneficiary, and the person is then received for life. Every inmate, if able, is required to keep her own room in a neat and clean condition, to take her turn in dusting the parlor and in washing the dishes; but if ill, her meals are carried to her room, and the attention of the physician and the nurses. promptly provided. The Institution contains a. library of pleasant and interesting books, and visitors read to those who are sick or unable to read for themselves. The old ladies at the Home. in March, 1867, formed themselves into a benevo- lent society, to fashion little garinents for the children of the " Sheltering Arms," another Institution of the same denomin- ation. The material they obtain from their friends outside, and do much more. than one would suppose. The first year after their organization they gave away 25 pairs of hospital slippers, 109 garments, 48 pillow-slips, 2 dresses, and 15
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ST. LUKE'S HOME FOR INDIGENT CHRISTIAN FEMALES. 445
pairs of knit stockings. Thus, while they receive, they find it blessed to give. Many applicants have long been waiting admission into the Home, and a year or two since one actually · died of joy on receiving the welcome summons to enter the Institution. Rev. I. H. Tuttle is still the chaplain of the Institution. His presence among the inmates is always as a ray of sunshine, and to him are referred all differences and difficulties.
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PRESBYTERIAN HOME FOR AGED WOMEN.
(East Seventy-third street.)
The first Presbyterian church in New York was erected in 1719, since which many costly structures have been reared, and the denomination now ranks among the most populous, wealthy, and benevolent of the city. But while the members of this church have contributed liberally to many excellent enterprises, it is a little remarkable that no charitable institution" distinctly Presbyterian was ever pro- jected until very recently. . In April. 1866. several ladies. members of the different Presbyterian churches of the city. moved with the laudable desire to provide for the poor mem- bers of their own communion, invited their pastors to confer with them and consider the propriety of establishing s "Home for Aged Women." in whose advantages Presbyter- ians might specially share, and in whose direction they should hare entire control. The meeting was held in the lecture-
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PRESBYTERIAN HOME FOR AGED WOMEN.
room of the First Presbyterian church, and was entirely suc- cessful. The facts disclosed at this conference showed so clearly the want of such an Institution, that the pastors and members present pledged a cordial support in the undertak- ing. A board of thirty-two female managers, and an advis- ory committee of five gentlemen, were accordingly elected, and measures taken to immediately inaugurate the enterprise. On the eighth of June the building No. 45 Grove street, then known as the "Lincoln Home," which had been a temporary hospital for disabled soldiers and sailors, was rented, and after much cleansing pronounced ready for occupation. The first inmate was received on the ninth of July; the next day another was added; on the twenty-third one more, and the report at the end of the year showed that fifteen had been admitted. No regular matron was appointed until October, and her official relation to the Institution was dis- solved the following spring, and the present incumbent ap- pointed. The society continued its operations in the same house until April, 1870, when, its new and commodious build- ing having been completed, the family was removed to it. The house in Grove street was never able to accommodate over thirty, besides the matron and servants; hence a small number only of those anxious to gain admission could be re- ceived. During those four years, however, fifty beneficiaries were admitted, three of whom died the second year, six the third, and several the year following. Among the inmates the managers mention the mother of a Presbyterian clergy- man, the widowed mother of a devoted and successful mis- sionary to China, and the daughter of Dr. McKnight, one of the early pastors of the First Presbyterian church of this city. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature December 7, 1866. The Institution is called the Presbyterian Home, but its doors are open to Congregationalists, to the Reformed Dutch, and to the several divisions of the Presbyterian fam- ily, making it very general in its character, certain of numer- ous beneficiaries, and of liberal supporters. All applicants for admission must be sixty-five years of age, residents of New York city, having been three years a member of the church, and recommended by the church session. Three dollars per week. must be paid for board, and at death the funeral ex- penses defrayed by the church or party made responsible at her entrance. €
The auspicious beginning of the enterprise led the man -.
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
agers at the close of the first year to confidently appeal to the benevolence of the denomination for the means to build and furnish an asylum in some sense adequate to the wants of the churches interested. This was soon responded to by Mr. James Lenox, by the donation of four choice lots of ground on Seventy-third street, between Madison and Fourth avenues, worth $40,000. Donations of money came also from many sources, so that at the end of the year $13,000 were invested as a building fund, and the third report showed that $62,000 had been contributed toward building. The building when completed was appropriately dedicated, Drs. Paxton, Murray, Thomson, Hall, and several distinguished laymen taking part in the exercises. The edifice is an elegant four-story brick, trimmed with Ohio freestone, surmounted by a chaste tower, and is charmingly arranged for the accom- modation of the inmates. . All its rooms and halls are lighted from the exterior. There are two staircases extending to the upper story, and its heating and ventilating apparatus are of the most approved character. The basement contains kitchen, laundry, and other appropriate rooms. The first floor con- tains visitors' room, committee-room, and well-arranged chapel, with seating for a hundred and fifty persons. The next floor has an infirmary, a ladies' room, and the rooms for the most infirm. The interior is supplied with iron doors, and the entire structure nearly fire-proof, the staircases being of iron, with little wood-work exposed to the action of fire. The edifice cost over $100,000, and is the finest building of its kind yet reared on the island. . The Institution will, however, soon be too small to accommodate the aged and worthy poor of the one hundred and sixteen churches connected with the enterprise. May these consecrated homes of piety and rest for the comfort of the worthy poor be multiplied in all our .denominations, until saintly pilgrims are no longer left in penury to suffer alone.
UNION HOME AND SCHOOL.
(One Hundred and Fifty-first street and the Boulevard.)
The care of orphan and friendless children is always one of the first duties of Christian civilization; but when the parents of these dependent ones bravely sacrificed their lives in de- fence of their native land, the least that a nation's gratitude can do is to provide maintenance and culture for their helpless offspring. On the 22d day of May, 1861, a few patriotic women, almost without means, but impelled by the pressing necessity of making some provision for the children of those who were certain to be sacrificed in the impending struggle, organized the " Union Home and School for the Maintenance and Instruction of the Children of our Volunteer Soldiers and Sailors." The act of incorporation passed the Legislature April 22, 1862. Until 1867 the Institution was carried on in an inconvenient hired building not capable of accommodat- ing over eighty children, and supported by the contributions
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
of the benevolent, an occasional fair, and some small State- appropriations. In 1867 a large festival was planned, from. which the handsome sum of $98,998.40 was realized. This enabled the managers to pay all their outstanding indebted- ness, including the mortgage on a building and six lots of land purchased the previous year for $28,000, on Fifty-eighth street, and make other preparations for enlargement. About this time the propriety of removing the Institution to the country, where land was cheap, began to be discussed, and ac- cordingly a large frame building, known as the "Laurel Hill Seminary," at Deposit, Delaware county, was purchased and. repaired, at an expense of over $16,000. The building, how- ever, did not prove satisfactory, the children suffered with: diseased eyes, and arrangements were made to remove again. . to New York. In the spring of 1868 the managers purchased: the Fields mansion, situated at One Hundred and Fifty-first street and the Boulevard, with ten lots of ground, for $32,000 .. The property on Fifty-eighth street has since been sold to pay for this new property at Washington Heights. The Fields. mansion is a large brick edifice, with stone facings, seventy by eighty feet, and when purchased was three stories high .. Over $11,000 were expended in repairs. But when the fam -. ily had just settled, the ladies were notified by the Commis- sioners of Central Park that the edifice must be removed at least twenty-five feet, by April, 1869, to make way for the opening of the Boulevard. What would have once been con- sidered an impossibility has been successfully accomplished ; the building was moved forty feet, improved with two addi- tional stories and a Mansard roof, at an expense of about $25,000. When compelled to remove the children for the removal and repairs of the building, it was proposed to trans- fer them to the building at Deposit, but about that time news. was received that this building had just been destroyed by fire. Its value was nearly covered by insurance. . Happily an old-fashioned country house near Harlem bridge was leased for a few months, until the building at Washington Heights. could be put in order. On the 6th of June, 1870, the newly refitted Home and School was reopened with appropriate ser- vices, the children having been previously transferred to it. The building is well adapted to its use, and has accommoda- tions for three hundred and fifty children. The kitchen, laundry, and dining-room are in the basement. The first floor contains the reception-room, a fine committee-room, a
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UNION HOME AND SCHOOL.
large chapel, and two school-rooms, which can be connected with the former for Divine service. The other stories are de- voted to dormitories, school-rooms, etc. One room is called the armory, and contains the boys' uniform and miniature . sabres, which they are allowed to wear on public occasions. Several acres of ground at least should be connected with the Institution, to afford the play and exercise necessary for the health of the youthful inmates. The location is certainly one of the finest in the world, situated on a lofty eminence, fanned with pure breezes, and surrounded with trees and yards of surprising beauty. The lofty observatory affords a command- ing view of the Hudson and the East rivers, the New York
bay, and the surrounding country. Up to January, 1870, three thousand and forty children had been admitted. The only condition required for admission is proper evidence that they are the children of soldiers or sailors, and that the sur- viving parent, if any, is unable to support them. No pay- ment is required for food, clothing, or instruction. No papers. of surrender are required of the parent, to whom they are cheerfully returned as soon as able to provide for them, and their vacant places are immediately filled with other needy applicants. The schools appear to be well conducted. The present matron, Mrs. E. M. Cilley, has very creditably con- ducted her work. The Common Council and the Legislature have made several handsome appropriations toward this en- terprise. The Institution is free from sectarianism, and clergymen of all denominations are welcomed to the Home. Another fair was held in December, 1870, in the Twenty- second Armory, New York city, but, owing to the fact that an unusual number of charity fairs had just. been held, less interest than formerly was taken in this, and the proceeds did not exceed twenty thousand dollars. The patriotic ladies who have so nobly carried forward this commendable charity are worthy of all honor, and merit the thanks of more than soldiers or soldiers' children. Mrs. U. S. Grant is the chief officer of the society, having gained the presidential chair several years in advance of her husband.
THE FEMALE CHRISTIAN HOME.
(No. 314 East Fifteenth street.)
HIS Institution was established in the summer of 1863, by an association of benevolent Christian ladies, in a small hired building, No. 180 East Seventeenth street. The object of the organization was to provide a re- spectable Christian home, at moderate expense, for women obliged to earn their own livelihood. The enterprise proving a success, the managers, in 1867, purchased the building No. 14 East Thirteenth street for $18,000. The number of in- mates in this building never exceeded thirty-three at one time, and the numerous applications made by worthy females induced the managers to dispose of this property and enlarge their accommodations. In May, 1870, the Home was removed. to the newly purchased building, No. 314 East Fifteenth street. The building is a beautiful four-story brown-stone, with. high basement, twenty-six by seventy feet, and cost $29,000. From its windows the inmates overlook the Stuyvesant Square park, rendered vocal with feathered songsters, beauti- ful and fragrant with waving branches and blooming flowers. The Home now stands in one of the choicest blocks in that portion of the city, and has the appearance of a private resi- dence. An indebtedness of $10,000 remains on the property at this writing, which the enterprising managers will proba- bly remove ere this volume sees the light. The building contains apartments for fifty inmates, and is far too small to. accommodate the multitudes anxious to gain admission.
The price of board varies from three dollars and a half to five dollars per week, according to the room occupied, use of furniture, food, fire, and light being included. None are ad mitted without satisfactory testimonials to the propriety of their conduct, the respectability of their characters, and their expressed willingness to submit to the regulations of the Home.
The matron is charged with the conduct of the house, the keeping of the daily accounts of purchases and donations,. and the enforcement of the rules.
Morning and evening prayer is regularly conducted, and each inmate is required to be present. A Bible-class is con-
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THE HOME FOR FRIENDLESS WOMEN.
ducted every Sunday afternoon, and all the inmates are ex- pected to attend.
The receipts from the boarders during the last year covered the expenses, exclusive of rent, furniture, etc. The inmates consist of students, teachers, sales-women, book-keepers, copy- ists, and those employed in the various departments of needle- work.
Young ladies from the country, spending a few months of study or business in New York, should apply, and count themselves happy if admitted to one of these Christian Homes established during the last few years for the safety and com- fort of their own class.
THE HOME FOR FRIENDLESS WOMEN.
(No. 86 West Fourth street.)
DEEP and abiding interest during the last few years has been manifested in the condition of fallen women, and of those who stand on the slippery precipice ready to descend. This interest is not confined to us nor to our country, but is being similarly manifested in all Christian lands. A few years ago, a devoted Christian lady in Glasgow became concerned about the outcasts of her sex, and resolved to go to work in their behalf. Meeting in the street one of the lowest of this class, she procured her lodgings in a poor but pious family, clothed her, and labored with her until she saw a change. Then she procured her employment. Encour- aged with her success, and strengthened with pious asso- ciates, arrangements were made for enlarging the enterprise. Street girls were taken, and soon more applied than could be admitted. In twelve months they reported two hundred and fifty fallen women reclaimed, many of whom gave evidence of saving faith. Only twenty of those admitted had relapsed, eighty-five reformed girls had been restored to their parents, forty were employed as servants, forty-five in miscellaneous employments, and sixty-six still remained under their care. The .
Home for Friendless Women in New York was organized by
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
a number of Christian ladies and gentlemen in 1865, and the building No. 22 West Houston street, having been leased, was opened with suitable religious services on the 27th of December of that year. At the close of the first year their report showed that one hundred and twelve had been admit- ted, of whom fourteen had been dismissed for bad conduct. twelve went out of their own accord to former habits, ten of the thirty-two sent to situations left them, yet after inquiring into the conduct of those returned to friends, and of those re- maining in the Institution the society believed that sixty per cent. of the whole number had been saved. The second year eighty-two were admitted, but one sent away for miscon- duct, two placed there by friends escaped, forty-six were pro- vided with situations, twenty-three returned to their friends, five sent to other institutions, three were honorably married, and thirty-two remained. Eighty-five per cent. this year gave evidence of reformation. During the five years closing January, 1871, the whole number admitted amounted to four hundred and twenty-six, about seven-tenths of whom appear to have reformed. The society continued its operations in Houston street until May, 1869, when a more eligible build- ing was taken at No. 86 West Fourth street. The building in Houston street was in the midst of the evil it sought to remove, and consequently many drifted in with little desire to reform, and after annoying the inmates were either dis- missed or else departed of their own accord to join old asso- ciations. The change in location has been followed by a cor- responding change in the character of the applicants. The class hardened by long years of crime less frequently apply, while those drawn away from the path of virtue by misplaced affection, sudden temptation, or the most fruitful of all causes, destitution, are still readily reached. The Home is pleasantly located . Its long double parlor on the first floor is also the chapel, where divine service is regularly conducted on Sabbath afternoon and on Tuesday evening by a city missionary, where a Bible class convenes twice each week, taught by the female managers, and where family worship is daily conducted by the superintendent and others. The windows of the upper stories look out upon the beautiful Washington Square park, with its shaded walks, crystal fountain, and waving trees, made vocal with the melody of their feathered songsters.
Still it is far from being adequate to the demands of the undertaking. It can well accommodate only thirty, beside the
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THE HOME FOR FRIENDLESS WOMEN.
officers, with suitable lodgings and work-rooms, hence scores if not hundreds annually apply in vain, who might be re- formed and saved if suitable accommodations could be se- cured. The managers have felt the necessity of classifying and grading the inmates according to their moral status, of introducing a system of promotions, and of devoting a depart- ment to indigent young women in danger of ruin, who might depart from the Home without necessarily carrying with them a diploma of degradation. A Lying-in Asylum is also a nec- essary appendage of an institution of this kind, without which they are compelled to turn away the class in which the largest number of true penitents is found. This wise, systematic management cannot be successfully executed in a small, ill- arranged, and crowded building. The managers have ap- pealed to the public for $50,000 to build or purchase a suit- able Institution, which we hope will be soon forthcoming. The twenty thousand or thirty thousand fallen women of the city, whose numbers are steadily increasing, should remind us that too few institutions for their recovery have been founded, and those few on too small a scale. That multi- tudes of these might be reformed has been already proved, yet the managers truly say that " those saved during the past ten years by all the institutions of New York working for this class will not equal the number mustered out by death dur- ing a single year."
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