The Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans (renamed the Colored Orphan Asylum in 1844) was founded by a group of New York-based Quakers in 1836. This was among the first orphanages in that to provided housing, training, and employment specifically for African-American orphans.

It housed on average four hundred children annually and was mostly managed by women. Its first location was on Fifth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan, a four-story building with two wings. The Colored Orphan Asylum was burned down by Irish mobs on July 13, 1863 during the first day of the New York Draft Riots. It was rebuilt by Quakers in 1867 in Upper Manhattan and in 1907 moved to Riverdale in the Bronx.

History

The Colored Orphan Asylum was one of the first of its kind in the United States that took in Black children whose parents had died, or were not able to take care of them. By 1830, census records show that approximately 7% of New York's population was Black. Prior to the Colored Orphan Asylum's founding, Black children were primarily excluded from services from most children's institutions, leaving many of them to harsh conditions in local poorhouses.

The orphanage initially offered schooling only for infants, feeling that their wards would not advance far in society due to being Black and orphans. Older children were bound by indentured servitude in which they were contracted to families, both Black and White, to learn a trade or skill until age 21. The families, in turn, paid a small fee to the Colored Orphan Asylum for the services which were placed in the bank for when the child left the institution.In the late 1800s, schooling was increased until grade six and sent several students to the Hampton Institute for further study. In 1918 schooling was increased until grade eight and the indenture system evolved into a loose foster care system in which the child was to be incorporated into the family and continue their studies. In 1846 Dr. James McCune Smith, the country's first licensed African American medical doctor, became the orphanage's medical director. The orphanage moved several times - within Manhattan.

By 1890s, the Colored Orphan Asylum remained among the twenty seven organizations in the United States that catered to interracial or Black children, marking a disproportionate quality children's services between Blacks and white Jewish or Catholic children.

1863 riots

Behind the Drafts

Burning in 1863
Looting in 1863

In March 1863, conscription in the United States became stricter, and the federal government used a lottery system to choose citizens for the draft. Those chosen could hire a substitute or pay the government, but most working-class men could not afford substitution, while black men were ineligible for the draft (they were not considered citizens of the United States at the time).[citation needed] Working-class white males, furious about the federal draft laws, which allowed richer whites to pay for substitutes, and did not draft blacks at all, rioted and attacked federal buildings and black neighborhoods.[citation needed]

The Attack

The Colored Orphan Asylum was ransacked and burned down by Irish mobs on July 13, 1863, at about 4:00 pm on the first day of the New York Draft Riots, Monday. It was a pinpoint of the attacks as the orphanage was viewed as a "symbol of white charity of Blacks and of Black upward mobility." However, the few police present were able to secure the orphanage for long enough to allow the orphans to escape before the building was looted and burned down, all 233 orphans were accounted for. The children were taken out by the backdoor of the home and escorted to Twentieth Precinct station house by the Superintendent of the asylum, William E. Davis, where they were received by Sergeant Petty, and housed for three nights. On the Thursday they were taken to by Captain James Todd on Steamboat No. 1. to Blackwell Island (now Roosevelt Island) where the City Hospital was. The loss of building and contents was estimated at $80,000.

Testaments of the Riots

Minutes of the Board Meeting

Journals were kept for the minutes board meetings had for the Board of Directors for the asylum; however, no entry was noted down on July 13, 1863. A entry is accounted for on July 25, 1883, describing what happened: "On the 13th July at 4 PM, an infuriated mob … surrounded the premises of the Asylum and 500 of them entered the house … they deliberately set fire to it … simply because it was the home of unoffending colored orphan children."

Admission Records

The Asylum kept Admission Record which were utilized to trach the admission, current status, and discharge information of each child. An entry was found and appeared to be written quickly, it noted: William H. Judson … admitted Jul. 6, 1863. Left with us just after the riot."

Annual Report

An Annual Report was released by the Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphan Records covering the year of 1863, published in 1864. The report holds accounts of the events transcending that day. It included a account from William E. Davis, the superintendent of the Asylum, telling of a students thought from that day: "One little girl, as she walked through the dining room, took up a large family bible … and looking up at the superintendent with a sweet smile … 'See', said she, 'Mr. Davis, I've got the Bible.' This dear child carried this treasured volume to the station house, and thence to Blackwell's Island." The Bible is incomplete and is held by Patricia D. Klingenstein Library as part of the record of Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans.

Building's History

Rebuilt on 143rd Street

Rebuild of the Orphanage

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. At the new site, the orphanage adopted a new plan to house its wards in cottages, with 25 children and a housemother in each cottage. The new plan was received favorably and encouraged ownership and self-respect in the children.

Riverdale Children's Association

In 1944, the asylum was renamed the Riverdale Children's Association. The reasoning behind the change was due to controversy over the orphanages condition. Conditions of the orphanage were shared to the press leading to the transition in 1946 to concentrate on foster care and small-group settings.

Hebrew Home for the Age

The campus in Riverdale was sold to the Jewish Home for the Aged, a retirement home for the Jewish community, it acquired up to 19 acres in 1951. With the purchase, it allowed accommodation for 150 residents and staffed up to 40 people. In April of 1951, the building was renamed the Hebrew Home for the Aged.

Harlem Dowling West Side Center for Children and Family Services

The association launched a program in 1968 to help families by giving referrals, counseling, and other services to prevent the placement of children in foster care. The location transitioned to Riverside Drive and 168th Street renaming itself the Westside Center for Family Services. A merger came in March of 1988 which combined the Westside Center with the Harlem-Dowling Children's Services. This merger led to the creation of the Harlem Dowling West Side Center for Children and Family Services, which is what the building remains as today.

Life Now

The New York Amsterdam News published an article honoring the alumni of the Harlem Dowling "Colored Orphan" Asylum to recognize its history and legacy. The article highlights the 12th Annual Adolescent Awards Luncheon, held in celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Harlem Dowling West Side Center for Children and Family Services. The luncheon includes an awards ceremony honoring Harlem Dowling students for academic excellence, along with performances from youth participants. Alumni in attendance ranged in age from 80 to 92. One alumnus, Fritz Harvey, reflected on his experience by saying that, "Going to the orphanage was the best thing that ever happened to me." Although the property is no longer an orphanage, the organization continues its mission of supporting children and families.

See also

Relevant literature

  • Seraile, William. Angels of mercy: White women and the history of New York's Colored orphan asylum. Fordham Univ Press, 2013.
  • Sappol, Mike. 1990. The Uses of Philanthropy: The Colored Orphan Asylum and Its Clients. Columbia University: MA thesis.
  • Riverdale Children's Association, 120th anniversary, 1836–1956. Founded in 1836 as the Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans by N.Y. Riverdale Children's Association (New York).
  • From Cherry Street to Green Pastures: A History of the Colored Orphan Asylum at Riverdale-on-Hudson, 1836–1936 (New York: Riverdale Children's Association, 1936)

External links

  • Media related to Colored Orphan Asylum at Wikimedia Commons