St. Aloysius Orphanage Records - Mss 1098 Cincinnati Museum Center Cincinnati History Library and Archives St. Aloysius Orphanage Records 1837-2013, n.d. Mss 1098 Creator St. Aloysius Orphanage, 1837-Present (Author/Creator) St. Aloysius Orphan Society, 1837-? (Author/Creator) Abstract The St. Aloysius Orphanage was established in 1837 in Cincinnati, OH. The St. Aloysius Orphanage records include vital records for the orphans, operational and financial material, publications, and other material. Also in this collection are board minutes and membership material for the St. Aloysius Orphan Society and Ladies Auxiliary: two organizations that financed and managed the orphanage. Quantity 97 boxes (71 cubic feet) Date Span 1837-2013, n.d. Call Number Mss 1098 Repository Cincinnati History Library and Archives, Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45203, USA Scope and Content The St. Aloysius Orphanage Records consist of 97 boxes (71 cubic feet). The collection consists of two main types of material: vertical files and horizontal ledgers or scrapbooks. The records are organized first into series and sub-series and then by material type and lastly chronologically, unless otherwise stated. Most of the records written before 1920's are in German. Also many of the older ledgers are in poor condition and may not be available for unrestricted use. Series 1, Vital Records, is divided into five subseries. Most of the material documenting the children who stayed at the orphanage is located in this series. Generally records of the children are minimal in the first 80 years of the orphanage. Sub-series 1A, Census/Admission and Dismissals, documents the children admitted to the orphanage. The census files are mostly just lists of the children related to their school grade or age group. The admission and dismissals files are also lists of children, but they include information on the children. The information can range greatly. Some children have exact admission dates, birth dates, and to whom they were dismissed. Some children have relatively little information. The vertical files are in English. Most of the horizontal ledgers are in German. If translations are available, they are listed on the container list. See Note to Researchers for detailed instructions on finding children in the orphanage. http://library.cincymuseum.org/ Page 1 of 73 Friday, May 19, 2017 St. Aloysius Orphanage Records - Mss 1098 Cincinnati Museum Center Sub-series 1B, Orphan files, documents the biographical information for children who stayed at the orphanage. Each file usually documents an entire family. The earliest date on the files usually indicates when the child was admitted. Letters written by the children or requesting information about former children were also placed in student files. There are three subgroupings in this subseries: early orphan files, later orphan files, and legal material from the orphan files. The files are organized alphabetically within their subgroupings. The early orphan files generally document children who were admitted from 1845 to 1899 and have sparse information. Some information that can be found in these files are birth dates, admission dates, parental information, baptismal information, and some dismissal information. Most of the early orphan files are in German. The files with 2010 and 2011 dates have translations. The later orphan files generally document children who were admitted between 1900 and the mid- 1990s. The orphan files of children admitted between 1900 and 1920 have similar information to the early orphan files and they are mostly in German. Starting in the mid-1920s more information was kept on the children. In-depth family backgrounds, health records, school records, and material gathered by Catholic Charities can be found in the later student files. Photographs can be found in some of the later student files starting in the mid-1940s through the 1970s. The legal material from the orphan files are mostly court documents. See the finding aid for folders that are related. Please note: Records in the Orphan files that are less than 70 years old are restricted for privacy reasons. Only people obtaining their own records may have access when an ID is presented. Sub-series 1C, Other Student lists, documents the children in the orphanage through various reports and lists. Items that are of particular interest are the wage home files and personality reports. Sub-series 1D, Guardianship and Estate material, documents various families histories and legal proceedings involving the children in the orphanage. These records are from the first 100 years of the orphanage and they may provide more depth to the early student files. Sub-series 1E, Religious ceremony records, documents baptisms, communions, confirmations, and marriages performed at St. Aloysius. These records do not appear to be complete. Series 2, Administration, is divided into three subseries. Most of the material documenting the daily running of the orphanage is located in this series. Since the St. Aloysius Orphan Society was the administrative body for the orphanage there is a grey area where the Orphan Society begins and the orphanage ends. There may be additional administration information within series 5, St. Aloysius Orphan Society. Sub-series 2A, Operations, is divided into four subgroupings: general operations, building and maintenance, correspondence, and inquiries. This sub-series is organized first by subgrouping and then chronologically. Items of note within the general operations documents are building leases, contracts for the Sisters of Notre Dame, lists of personnel, and childcare handbooks. Most of the material in building and maintenance is from the 1900s. There are a few documents from the very late 1880s. The correspondence subgrouping is relatively small. It does not appear to be a complete record of the correspondence at the orphanage. The inquiries subgrouping consists of inquiries from former residence of the orphanage and their relatives. http://library.cincymuseum.org/ Page 2 of 73 Friday, May 19, 2017 St. Aloysius Orphanage Records - Mss 1098 Cincinnati Museum Center Sub-series 2B, Financial, is divided into five subgroupings: general financial, cashbooks, children's money, bequests, and investments. The general financial subgrouping has vertical files and horizontal ledgers that document assets, expenses, liabilities, and income. The cashbooks are very large ledgers showing the various cash transactions at the orphanage. The children's money ledgers document the orphanage's practice of investing children's money. Older children were sent out into the community as apprentices and the money they earned was looked after by the orphanage. When the child was dismissed from the orphanage the money and any interest accrued was returned to the child. The bequests subgrouping is fairly small. It mostly documents material left to the orphanage in wills. The investments subgrouping documents 60 years of the orphanages investments. It consists of a bond register and bond investment pages. Sub-series 2C, Events, documents the various events and celebrations used to fundraise for the orphanage. The two notable events are Orphan feast and Pal-Al- Soirée. Series 3, Press and Publications, consists of the St. Aloysius Bulletin and newspaper clippings about the St. Aloysius Orphanage. The first St. Aloysius Bulletin was published in March 1914. This collection has copies starting in 1920. Some of the newspaper clippings may document the St. Aloysius Orphan society, the Ladies Auxiliary, or Catholic community. Series 4, Histories and Anniversaries, documents the anniversaries of the orphanage starting with the 50th anniversary in 1887. The histories located in the souvenir programs are very informative. There are multiple personal accounts of time at the orphanage by former children and nuns. Series 5, St. Aloysius Orphan Society, is divided into three subseries. Most of the material documents the operation of the society and not the orphanage, but there is some overlap. Meeting minutes, especially the older minutes, probably discussed operations at the orphanage as well as the dealings of the society. Sub-series 5A, Meeting Minutes, is divided into four subgroupings: regular board meeting minutes, special committee meeting minutes, subcommittee meeting minutes, and other minutes. The regular board meeting minutes start with the first St. Aloysius Orphan Society meeting which met on January 27, 1837. The regular board meeting minutes continue through 1950. Extensive translations have not been completed for the meeting minutes, so the details of the special committee and the various subcommittees are not known. The regular meeting minutes seem to be the most complete records of all the meeting minutes. Sub-series 5B, Membership/Dues, documents the members of the St. Aloysius Orphan Society and the dues they paid. The earliest records start in 1843. There are published rosters of members from 1898 to 1973, but there are some missing years. There are pages from ledgers and notecards that document deceased members, resigned members, and ladies auxiliary members from 1916 to 1996. Sub-series 5C, General Orphan Society, documents the administrators of the society and memorials for members of the society. Series 6, Ladies Auxiliary, documents the Ladies Auxiliary, a woman's organization, http://library.cincymuseum.org/ Page 3 of 73 Friday, May 19, 2017 St. Aloysius Orphanage Records - Mss 1098 Cincinnati Museum Center which was