%0 Manuscript %G English %T Orphan Society of Philadelphia records 1814-1965 %U http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1913orphansoc.pdf %X The Orphan Society of Philadelphia, a privately supported institution, was founded in 1814. In March 1815, the Society began operations and soon was caring for twenty-five orphans in a rented house on Market Street, west of Broad Street. Most of the original orphans were children who were moved from the Almshouse upon a recommendation by the Guardians of the Poor. The orphanage operated continuously from 1815 until 1965 when it merged with the Elwyn School in Elwyn, PA. The institution, while non-sectarian, was Christian-based in philosophy and teaching. For at least the first one hundred years, admission was restricted to “destitute fatherless children of married parents.” Boys were not admitted over the age of seven and were housed until the age of sixteen; girls were not admitted over the age of nine and were housed until the age of eighteen. During the 150 years of its operation, the Society resided in four successive homes in three locations and served approximately eighty to one-hundred orphans most years. However, by the 1950s, applications had decreased significantly; there were only twenty-three orphans under the Society’s care when it merged with the Elwyn School on February 14, 1965. This collection, which includes annual reports, historical records, committee and financial reports, ledgers, account books, real estate papers, admission books, and indenture and binding books and papers, is richest in the detailed minutes that record the administrative workings of the Society, the Visiting Committee reports, and in the books, correspondence, and papers reflecting the lives of individual orphans.