State Schools Foster Care Orphanages Poor Asylums
State Schools
Soldiers and Sailors Childrens Home
Visit our page for the Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home to learn more about the facility and Oliver P. Morton High School.
Indiana School for the Deaf
William Willard opened a school for Deaf Children October 1, 1843 in Indianapolis. In January of 1844 he received full backing from the Indiana General Assembly and by 1846 it was renamed the Indiana Asylum for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb when it became the first state school to provide free education to deaf children. The Deaf School, as it is known today, is still operating at its East 42nd Street location where it has been since 1911.
The Indiana State Archives houses numerous student records, applications for admission, and the original admission register. Search the index to the Admission Records when you visit the Indiana Digital Archives! Under the Record Series for Institutions, choose School for the Deaf Admission Register in the Collections drop down menu.
Indiana School for the Blind
Under construction--Information coming soon!
Foster Children
The Foster Children Collection is comprised of files from the Children's Home Society and the Board of State Charities. The files primarily include the inspection reports completed by either a State Agent or foster parent regarding the progress of a foster child. Some files include only one slip of paper while others are quite large and contain multiple reports and correspondence between agents, family members, foster parents, and occasionally the child. Often there will be separate files for each sibling. There are around 9500 files. This collection is particularly useful for families of children who were separated due to unfortunate circumstances. Patrons may request copies of the files for a fee. Search the database under our Additional Historical Records, by choosing the Foster Children 1898-1910 collection.
Orphanages
Julia E. Work Training School
The Julia E. Work Training School opened in 1891 as the Northern Indiana Orphan's Home at LaPorte, Indiana. The facility moved in 1899 to Plymouth, Marshall County, Indiana. It was renamed the Julia E. Work Training School. Unlike the La Porte facility, which cared for dependent children, the new facility was organized primarily for the care and training of crippled, delinquent and incorrigible children. Most were sent by juvenile courts. The home was also frequently referred to as “Brightside.” The last admission in the school's “Register of Entrants” is May 12, 1938. The facility closed the same year.
Volume One: “Register of Inmates of the Northern Indiana Orphans' Home” contains the names of children admitted between March 7, 1891 and November 10, 1928. This volume was used at both the La Porte and Plymouth facilities.
Volume Two: “Register of Entrants to the Julie E. Work Training School,” contains the names of children admitted between November 9, 1928 and May 12, 1938.
Both volumes may contain the child's age, the names of parents, and to whom the child was released. Patrons may request copies by contacting the Archives at arc@iara.in.gov. Search the database when you visit the Indiana Digital Archives under the Institution Records Series by simply selecting the Julia E. Work Training School collection. Also check the Foster Children database as many of these children spent time in Indiana's foster care system between 1892 and 1910. For more information visit http://www.in.gov/iara/3017.htm
Soldiers and Sailors Childrens Home
Visit our page for the Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home to learn more about the facility and Oliver P. Morton High School.