USA > Wisconsin > Centennial records of the women of Wisconsin > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
To meet this want a bill was introduced into the legislature of the state of Wisconsin, entitled " An act authorizing Indus- trial Schools," which passed both houses, was duly approved by the governor, and became a law on the 5th of April, 1875.
Section 5 of the act gives full authority to any court or officer having criminal jurisdiction in the state to cause to be brought before it or him,
I. Any male child under twelve years of age.
II. Any female child under fifteen. years of age which may come under the following discriptions:
1. Found begging.
2. In any street or place for the purpose of begging or re- ceiving alms.
3. Found wandering and not having any home, guardian or means of subsistence.
4. Destitute, either by being an orphan or having a parent or parents who are undergoing imprisonment.
5. That frequents the company of reputed thieves or lewd persons, or notorious resorts of bad character.
6. Found wandering in the streets and belonging to that class
33
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
called "rag pickers," or that is the inmate of any house of ill fame or poor house.
7. Abandoned by his parents or guardians.
S. Withont means of subsistence or support.
"The court or officer before whom any such child shall be brought, if satisfied that the welfare of such child will be pro- moted thereby, may order such child to be sent to any Industrial School within his own county, if there be such school therein, and if not, to any such school in any county in this state, and may direct that such child be kept and maintained at the ex- pense of the county, in such school until it arrives at the age of twenty-one years, or be sooner discharged as in this act pro- vided."
The organization which had instituted this work immediately took steps to organize in pursuance of the law, and became a corporation in April of the same year.
A building and lot were rented at once, in a central and healthy part of the city, and preparations were made to enable the corporation to carry out the purpose of the law in its true intent and meaning. Scarcely, however, had it received into its care some of the children for whose reformation and protection the law was intended, when certain parties not in sympathy with the movement claimed that the law was unconstitutional, and took steps to test its validity. A suit is now pending and is still undetermined.
The question of the validity of the law arose in this way:
3
34
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
Certain children were taken from the poor house of Milwaukee county, by virtue of the law and the order of the court, and were placed in the custody and under the control of the Indus- trial School. A bill was presented to the board of supervisors of Milwaukee county for payment of the expenses of caring for such children. The board of supervisors declined to pay the bill, on the ground that the law was unconstitutional. There- upon an application was made by the corporation for a writ of mandamus against the board of supervisors, to compel the pay- ment of the bill as rendered. The counsel of the corporation think there is no doubt of the validity of the law, and that the board of supervisors will be ordered by the court to pay the bill. Should that feature of the law, however, which requires the board of supervisors to pay the expenses of children taken from the poor honse, be declared invalid, it will not, as the corpora- tion is advised, impair or affect other provisions of the law.
The Milwaukee Industrial School is the only reformatory in- stitutitution for girls in the state. Believing it to be a most important charity, and well deserving the sympathy and cooper- ation of the public, it will look, not only to the people of Mil- waukee, but to the state at large, for the necessary means to carry out successfully the purpose of its organization.
An Industrial School for Boys is already established in the state, in which boys ten years old and upwards are received. A petition is now before the legislature of this state praying for the passage of a law to permit the transfer of boys from the
35
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
Milwaukee Industrial School to that institution whenever the prescribed age is reached.
There is a steady increase in the number of resident immnates of the Milwaukee Industrial School, and the demand for accom- modation already begins to tax the capabilities of the building, compelling prospective measures for prospective wants. The corporation is largely dependent upon voluntary contributions, and is in need of state aid. The board of managers consists en- tirely of ladies who have associated for the purpose of conduct- ing and maintaining the school. Their services are voluntary and unpaid. Only the matron, teacher and two assistants re- ceive pay for their services. Fifty-nine children have been re- ceived into the institution during the ten months of its exist- ence, forty-one still remain, eighteen having been discharged ac- cording to the provisions of the law.
The cash receipts have amounted to three thousand, five hun- dred and thirty-seven dollars, and the disbursements have been three thousand and sixty-two dollars.
To Mrs. WM. P. LYNDE, our worthy president, is due the in- ception of the work, and to her untiring thought and labor, cor- dially seconded and assisted by the officers of the corporation and the executive board, as well as by the whole corps of co- laborers, belongs the execution of the work. The officers of the corporation are as follows:
Mrs. WMr. P. LYNDE, President.
Miss MARY MORTIMER, 1st Vice President.
36
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
Mrs. E. P. ALLIS, 2d Vice President. Mrs. EDWARD SANDERSON, 3d Vice President. Mrs. C. D. ADSIT, Treasurer. Mrs. H. M. FINCH, Secretary.
Executive Committee.
Mrs. JOSEPH E. FOLLETT, Mrs. A. C. MAY, Mrs. W. G. BENEDICT, Mrs. T. H. JUDD, Mrs. W.M. H. METCALF.
The executive committee have been ever on the alert to man- age the affairs of the corporation for the best interest of all con- cerned, and have watelied with jealous care every detail. The other committees have also been active and faithful.
The managers feel greatly encouraged to continue in their work, by the improvement of the children for whom they labor. The future alone can attest the benefits of the institution, but the success of similar schools in both continents approves the method.
Every day are the managers of the Milwaukee Industrial School confirmed in the belief of its advantages to those for whom it is organized. The work is arduous, the duties labori- ous, but the results are not for time. The words of the Master seem peculiarly appropriate: "Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these, ye did it unto me."
Mrs. H. M. FINCH, Secretary.
MILWAUKEE, WIS., Feb. 25, 1876.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Astor, Len x and Tuden Foundations.
SOLDIERS' ORPHANS' HOME.
37
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
THE SOLDIERS' ORPHANS' HOME.
THE HISTORY of this blessed and most successful work cannot be even briefly sketched, without going back and giving some of the steps which led to its foundation.
Among all the noble women who gave themselves to the sani- tary work of the war, perhaps few were more peculiarly fitted for forming and carrying out plans than Mrs. C. A. P. HARVEY. Just at her entrance upon womanhood, she had been left the eldest of a family of motherless girls, over whom she exercised a tender care even after her marriage.
The thrill of horror with which the people of Wisconsin learned that their Governor, LOUIS P. HARVEY, had been drowned at Savannah, after the frightful battles of Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh, was one of those things never forgot- ten. His self appointed work had been the care of our soldiers in that fearful erisis, and out of this grew the career of his stricken wife. Denying herself the usual period of seclusion for the indulgence of a widow's grief, she, at her own request, re- ceived from her husband's successor, Governor SALOMON, a com- mission to act as one of the sanitary agents of the state.
In the performance of duties thus assumed by her, she found many northern men languishing in southern hospitals, whose lives depended npon their removal to a more invigorating cli- mate. Becoming convinced of this, she went to Washington,
38
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
and by her own almost unaided efforts procured the establish- ment of a convalescent hospital at Madison, Wisconsin.
This portion of Mrs. HARVEY's work forms no necessary part of our story, so we must reluctantly pass in silence over many incidents, and her most interesting interviews with President LINCOLN, the particulars of which are to be found elsewhere.
The building thus used and known as Harvey Hospital, had been built for a residence by Governor FARWELL, and by its high, spacious and airy rooms, with ample communication be- tween them, was admirably fitted for hospital purposes. After it was no longer needed for this use, Mrs. HARVEY conceived the idea of converting it into a home for soldiers' orphans.
Upon her return from the sonth, in 1865, she brought with her a half dozen orphans of the war, whom she had picked up, not inquiring on which side their fathers fell. Chiefly through her persistency and indomitable will, the U. S. government was in- duced to convey to the state of Wisconsin . the three wings which had been rented as hospital wards, and all the fixtures and supplies, provided the state would purchase the building and grounds. Before, however, this arrangement was com- pleted, necessary funds were raised by private subscriptions, and the Home was opened Jan. 1, 1866, with eighty-four orphan in- mates, and Mrs. HARVEY at its head. It became a state institu- tion March 31, 1866. A board of trustees was appointed, and Mrs. HARVEY confirmed in her position as superintendent. Thus through the persevering efforts of one woman, Wisconsin
39
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
was led to keep the promises made to brave fellows as they enlisted: "We will take care of your wives and children."
Were we writing a story of man's work, other names might be mentioned, preeminently that of B. F. HOPKINS, M. C., who gave efficient aid, and was an active and untiring member of the board of trustees, until death ended his labors.
Mrs. HARVEY retained her position, giving a personal super- vision to every smallest detail, and knowing every child by name, although their number rapidly mounted to nearly three hundred, but when it was securely established, she resigned, in May, 1867. After this time the office of Superintendent was filled by gentlemen, whose wives acted as Matrons, giving in all instances their whole strength and energy and the tenderest care to their work. Mr. and Mrs. F. B. BREWER and Rev. I. N. CUNDALL had each a brief authority, and upon the resignation of the latter, W. P. TOWERS was their successor, and his wife Mary Towers, as Matron, gave her utmost sympathy and indus- try to making the children comfortable and happy. Women were always employed as teachers, and, in nearly all, if not in all, cases it was a labor of love, in which the time out of regular hours was given to the effort to supply the place of real mothers to these bereaved ones.
Upon the resignation of Mr. and Mrs. Towers, in March, 1872, Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Burton were selected to fill their places. Larger numbers of the girls were now approaching wo- manhood, and, like her predecessors, Mrs. Burton spared no ex-
40
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
ertions to surround these children with elevating and refining influences, in which she was sustained by her husband, and they were eminently successful. A few more years would have com- pleted the work and sent the youngest soldiers' orphans out in some measure prepared to fill useful positions in the world. Retrenchments were, however, deemed necessary, and in 1874 the work of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home was brought to a close. Mr. and Mrs. Burton exerted themselves to the last, find- ing homes for those who were still incapable of self manage- ment. Of each of these "mothers " we may truly say, " Her children shall arise and call her blessed."
Seven hundred children were thus cared for, clothed and edu- cated, and it must be conceded that they were made to feel themselves the objects of a peculiar regard, and thus peculiarly bound to live useful, honorable lives.
MADISON, WIS., March 1, 1876.
S. F. D.
LOCAL VISITING COMMITTEE
For the Milwaukee County Public Charities and Corrections.
THIS COMMITTEE was organized April 2, 1873, for the purpose of ameliorating the condition of the inmates of the County Poor House, the House of Correction and the Jail.
The State Board of Charities and Reforms, in the annual re-
41
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
port presented to Gov. WASHIBURN, in December, 1872, com- plained of the condition of the Milwaukee County Poor House. The report says: "Beds in an unsatisfactory condition. Lack of neatness around the buildings. Hospital neat and clean. Bad smell all over the house, in some parts intolerable and enough to create sickness." The board of supervisors was ap- pealed to, but in vain, to rectify the abuses which had crept into the management of the Poor House.
At the annual meeting of the Ladies' Bible and Benevolent Association, Mrs. LYNDE, as a member of the State Board of Charities and Reforms, laid the case before them. The associa- tion appointed a committee of four ladies - Mrs. ANGUS SMITHI, Mrs. A. J. AIKENS, Mrs. J. MAGIE and Mrs. J. S. RICKER - to investigate the condition of the Poor House. Their report fully corroborated the truth of Mrs. LYNDE's statements. The Be- nevolent Association called a meeting of all the working chari- table and benevolent women of Milwaukee. The meeting was largely attended. The officers of the Bible and Benevolent As- sociation resolved to engraft a new department upon their soci- etv-such was the origin of the Local Visiting Committee for the Milwaukee County Public Charities and Corrections. It is an association of women, having an advisory committee of gen- tlemen.
The aims of this association are to create a public interest in the welfare of the inmates of our charitable and penal institu- tions, to secure for these institutions proper sanitary regulations,
42
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
to see that the sick are properly cared for, and that a better clas- sification of the inmates be made, so that the blind, the mute, the insane may be removed to appropriate asylums, and that the children may be taken from the County Poor House and trained in a healthier moral atmosphere to become worthy citizens, the ladies of the committee feeling that this last duty is the most imperative. Here, as in every community, there is a class poor and vagrant, dependent for their support upon public or private charity. Milwaukee has made ample provision for the relief of this destitute class. She has a county farm of several hundred acres, upon which are erected substantial brick buildings; one is devoted to hospital purposes; another is assigned to incurable old men; a large building is occupied by adult paupers; in this building is the insane department; there is also a small building for children.
Upon the organization of this society six standing committees were appointed, four for visiting the different departments of the Poor House, viz., committee on children, hospital commit- tee, committee on adult panpers, and committee on insane. Two other committees, viz., committee for men and women at House of Correction; committee for inmates of jail and police stations. Each committee has a chairman and secretary, and makes reports to the Local Visiting Committee at its monthly meetings.
The officers of the association are, a president, two vice presi- dents, a recording secretary, and a treasurer. They are elected
43
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
for the year by a two-thirds vote, by ballot at the annual meet- ing, and are ex-officio members of all standing committees. The insane department, the hospital, and the children's department, are visited once a fortnight ; the other committees pay monthly visits. The members of this association feel that their labors have not been in vain, though they have failed to produce some necessary reforms, yet they are encouraged by what has been accomplished. They have awakened a healthy public interest in the charities and reforms of the county. Tax payers now take an interest in the manner in which the funds appropriated for the relief of the poor are disbursed. The bad bread provided at the Poor House was commented on in the Chamber of Com- merce, and the person taking the contract for flour for that in- stitution was censured.
The sick in the hospitals have been cheered by the kindly care of the ladies; they are now provided with better beds, and the ventilation of the building is decidedly improved.
The children have been removed from the Poor House, some to orphan asylums, but many more to the Industrial School. From the first the ladies of the committee have felt that the Poor House was not a proper asylum for children; for two years the committee labored to improve their condition there, but feel- ing how fruitless was the hope of any permanent good being effected, the members of the association last winter petitioned the legislature to pass a general law under which they could organize an association, and hold children as custodians.
44
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
Such a law was passed, and an Industrial School organized, a home and school in which children can be trained in the decen- cies of life, rescued from a life of vice and misery, and taught to gain an honest livelihood. The children placed in this school cannot be reclaimed by their parents.
It was not without some difficulty that the ladies succeeded in removing the children of the Poor House to this school. The Roman Catholics objected to the children of parents belonging to the Romish Church being under Protestant care. It was finally arranged by the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum receiv- ing the children of their communion.
If no other good had resulted from the efforts of this associa- tion but this, the founding of the Industrial School, it alone would amply compensate for the time, thought and labor ex- pended. But other good results have attended the labors of the society. The management or mismanagement of the insane de- partment was a disgrace to a Christian community. The poor unfortunates were under the care of a brutal drunkard, they were handcuffed, chained and beaten, thrown into the cellar, in- sufficiently clothed and fed, deprived of what the lowest creature is entitled to, fresh air and clean water. Thank God! this is all changed, though not without great trouble have the insane been freed from the tyranny of a brutal keeper.
The ladies' efforts were misconstrued; impediments thrown in their way by officials, and although sufficiently positive proof was brought to convict the keepers of drunkenness and cruelty,
45
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
yet were they sustained and continued in office for some time. Lately they have been dismissed, and under the new rule of kindness these unfortunates have wonderfully improved; they now enjoy such comfort as humane care can afford.
The association has petitioned the legislature to have all the insane removed from the county poor houses to the state Innatic asylums, in order that they may have the benefit of proper med- ical treatment. Many patients who have been sent from our Poor House to the State Insane Asylum at Madison have been restored to reason and returned to their families, capable of earn- ing their own living. If all the insane throughout the state could have the benefit of the excellent treatment afforded by the state asylums, not only would the individuals so treated be ben- efited, but the number of paupers would be reduced, and an in- calculable amount of good would be effected.
Great improvements have been made in the Poor House, through proper attention to cleanliness; the air of the place is much improved. The present Poor Master, Mr. Haas, is a hu- mane man, and keeps the establishment in a clean and orderly condition. New furnaces have been put into the building, bath rooms added, and a better system of sewerage introduced, iron bedsteads have been provided, and also a better supply of bed- ding.
THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION.
The committee has not affected much good by its visits to this establishment; visits have not been well received by the superin-
46
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
tendent. It is hoped in the future, that some good may be effected by the ladies acquainting themselves with the time at which the women's term of punishment expires, and by then as- sisting them to obtain employment and decent lodgings.
THE JAIL AND THE POLICE STATION.
The jail and police station have been visited every month. The visits, if not attended with any particular results, have per- haps tended to have those places kept in a cleaner condition than heretofore. The visitors have supplied the inmates with books and papers. They have at all times been courteously received by the officials.
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
Officers.
Mrs. WMr. PITT LYNDE,
Mrs. J. H. VAN DYKE,
Mrs. J. FAIRBANKS,
Mrs. GALBRAITH MILLER,
Mrs. J. MAGIE,
President. 1st Vice President. 2d Vice President.
- Recording Secretary. Treasurer.
Executive Committee.
Mrs. WM. PITT LYNDE,
Mrs. A. J. AIKENS,
Mrs. ANNA MCCARTER,
Mrs. J. H. VAN DYKE,
Mrs. J. S. PECK,
Mrs. Wm. H. WOLF,
Mrs. J. FAIRBANKS,
Mrs. H. M. FINCH,
Mrs. GEO. W. BACON,
Mrs. GALBRAITH MILLER,
Mrs. G. W. ALLEN, Mrs. E. SANDERSON,
Mrs. J. MAGIE,
Mrs. J. T. GILBERT,
Mrs. E. D. HOLTON.
Respectfully submitted to the Centennial Committee on Charities.
Mrs. GALBRAITH MILLER, Recording Secretary.
47
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
HEBREW BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION.
Being requested to give a brief sketch of the work of our He- brew Women of this city, I will comply to the best of my abil- ity, though there is but little to be said, being so few here. We organized in the year of 1862 a Ladies Hebrew Benevolent As- sociation, numbering twelve members, for the purpose and ob- ject of assisting and relieving those needy and in distress, par- ticularly our object has been to aid widows and orphans, though by no means do we make it a point of exclusively assisting those of our faith. Whoever calls upon us receives benefit, as long as our funds hold out.
Our President, Mrs. S. Klauber, attends to all business trans- actions and, at our semi-annual meetings, gives account thereof. Not wishing to specify any direct deeds of charity tendered, will close by stating our motto is, "Never let one in need pass your door without giving your mite." By always acting up to this, we try to fulfill our calling.
Mrs. S. KLAUBER, President.
Mrs. C. KLAUBER, Secretary.
MADISON, WIS., February 18, 1876.
43
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
WISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF AND DUMB.
THIS INSTITUTION is situated in Delevan, and deserves a special place in our records, inasmuch as it has been greatly aided by the efficient teaching and management of our sex. De- prived from birth of the sense of hearing and as a consequence of the interdependent power of speech, how pitiful is the appeal of these afflicted ones to those upon whom every sense is showered in full development - alas, too often, like the common blessings of air and sky, they fall unnoticed on ungrateful hearts. We cannot sufficiently admire those whose gratitude for the beauti- ful gifts of heaven has led them to a consecration to the work of opening deaf ears, and teaching the dumb the divine art of speech.
We honor Miss EMILY EDDY, a highly educated and benevo- lent hearted lady, who has given her life, for nearly twenty years past to the children and youth upon whom nature has placed the ban of silence, gathered in the Wisconsin Institution.
By a wonderful tact and skill which her experience has de- veloped, she has invented a system of articulation and lip read- ing, which greatly facilitates the process of placing these unfort- unate yonth in communication with the outer world. It is often said by those who would depreciate female capacities, that the names of women are never found on the roll of inventors. It is true that her limited arena has made this statement partially
INSTITUTE FOR DEAF & DUMB, DELAVAN.
"Saukee Dthold '
NEW PUBLICITARY
Astor, Left> art Four . ' 1
49
CENTENNIAL RECORDS.
correct. But that women are not endowed with the same native powers, in virtue of which, men contribute so heavily to our patent offices, we deny.
Let a man share for one day in the avocations of domestic life, and he would discover from the devices resorted to in the kitchen and sewing room, and which are necessary to round out the harmonies of the home, that invention is a second nature to woman. And here in the case of Miss EDDY, we behold invent- iveness carried to its ultimatum in supplying the lack of two important senses, by wisely guiding a third sense, so as to make the most of it, and thus correct the very inaccuracies of Nature herself.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.