Abandoned Children: A Study of the Factors in the Abandonment and Disposition of Children Admitted Through the Police to the New York Foundling Hospital in 1952
Abstract
In New York City in the middle of the nineteenth century, conditions concerning abandoned children were deplorable. . Sister Irene of the Sisters of Charity was deeply concerned about conditions and appealed to Archbishop, later Cardinal McCloskey, for help in alleviating them. He turned to the Sisters of Charity whose centuries of caring for dependent and abandoned children made them a logical choice to initiate a similar service in this community. Sister Irene and Sister Theresa Vincent were given the assignment of establishing some organization and shelter for destitute children in New York City. A small house was acquired on East 12th Street, and on the night the Sisters moved into the house, October eleventh, 1869, their first abandoned baby was left at their door. In a little over two months, they had received 125 babies. The 12th Street house was soon outgrown and a move was made to a house on Washington Square. That residence also proved to be inadequate within a short time. Today the New York Foundling Hospital occupies the entire city block from 68th to 69th Street and from Lexington to Third Avenue.
Subject Area
Law enforcement|Public administration|Social work
Recommended Citation
Fanelli, Marino Joseph, "Abandoned Children: A Study of the Factors in the Abandonment and Disposition of Children Admitted Through the Police to the New York Foundling Hospital in 1952" (1953). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30557703.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30557703
