Poor Farms

[Argie's Wife]

Just learned the other night that Alton had a poor farm.

I attended a presentation at the Gilman Library here in Alton that was given by a wonderful woman by the name of Barbara Gilman. She did a great job talking about some of the old homes here in Alton and the families (aka "Alton Royalty") that founded the town. There were over 60 people in attendance - better than our Deliberative Sessions, I should say.

After her talk, I approached her with some questions about some of my family but before I got a chance to talk with her, someone came up to ask if she had information about the Town Poor Farm, as she and her husband lived in the house that used to be the poor farm.

Hot dang. That was a neat discovery. I love stuff like this!

The house is on Rines Road in East Alton and was built in the 1770's. I'm working on getting info about the house, as I believe it wasn't built first for the Poor Farm but I could be wrong. It was originally on 250 acres of land. The town sold it to Charles Rines in 1876 and he divided it up quite a bit, as I'm sure you can imagine. The house and barn today is breathtaking and seems to be in good shape (at least from a distance.) But I love old farm houses - this is a gem!

I have found several census' that list the dwellers of the place (1850, 1860, 1870) and include the position of "Overseer of The Poor" which, as I understand it, was an elected position. I have census from that area from 1790 and 1780 but unfortunately those only list the men of the house and there's no markings on the documents that allow me to really tell who was a resident or overseer. I'm still digging and hoping to hit pay dirt soon via a list of election results or a budget line item or a report of the overseer of the poor - so many options.

Anyhow, I thought I'd post about my findings here.

Any of the other LR towns that had poor farms and still have the old building standing?

By the way - there's very little (almost none!) info about the poor farms of Belknap County on the web. Perhaps this thread could be fodder for that, as there is a website dedicated to the poor farms of NH.

[CrawfordCentury]

The special collections library at the NH Historical Society in Concord has several lists of recipients of financial support in antebellum NH - as well as the reasons for their status. Everything ranging from recent widowhood to idiocy.

Can't recall specific towns.

[tis]

Wolfeboro has it's poor farm. It was located on Poor Farm Hill which is off North Main Street a little less than two miles from town. The building is not there but it is still named Poor Farm Hill. TH\here is a private home there now. I have never seen a picture and would love to see one. As a young girl my Mother used to cross country ski all around there. There was some kind of a trail. (Not sure if it was called cc skiing then.)

What an interesting subject AW!

The poor farm in Alton doesn't look like it held many people, does it?

[fatlazyless]

If you google "poor farm, social security act," the Wikipedia reference informs the reader that the Social Security Act was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on August 14 1935, at about 3:30-pm. It took about fifteen years for social security to eliminate the need for the local poor farm, as most all poor farms had disappeared by about 1950.

There was probably plenty of Wolfeboro residents who were very unhappy with Roosevelt being the president at that time in 1935. 'Like, without that old poor farm, where do we go for our cheap labor when it's time to harvest the hay fields?'

Wonder what it was like.....living on the Wolfeboro poor farm....and did it have a good, hilltop view of Lake Winnipesaukee?

[Yosemite Sam]

Over time haven’t the Poor Farms morphed into County Farms & Hospital/Nursing Homes?

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by Yosemite Sam

Over time haven’t the Poor Farms morphed into County Farms & Hospital/Nursing Homes?

Yes, many have.

My parents managed an infirmary (Mt. View Infirmary, Sanford, ME) from 1972-1985 and I grew up there. The infirmary used to be the town's poor farm and there was quite a barn and lots of acreage. My dad developed the farm into a working farm with some livestock and it brought in revenue for the town. The people who lived there were folks who couldn't live alone but could dress and feed themselves and most were ambulatory. Some should have been in a mental health facility or something of the sorts but back then there wasn't those types of homes like there is now. Some of the folks worked in the garden or at the farm stand where produce was sold that wasn't used for the Infirmary - that was strictly a volunteer basis sort of thing and I think some of them received a little compensation for their work. Most were on SSI or disability but some received no money, had no family, etc. Mt. View Infirmary is now owned by Goodall Hospital, I believe, and is an Alzheimer's center. That is one that I know about first-hand - VERY first hand.

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

If you google "poor farm, social security act," the Wikipedia reference informs the reader that the Social Security Act was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on August 14 1935, at about 3:30-pm. It took about fifteen years for social security to eliminate the need for the local poor farm, as most all poor farms had disappeared by about 1950.

There was probably plenty of Wolfeboro residents who were very unhappy with Roosevelt being the president at that time in 1935. 'Like, without that old poor farm, where do we go for our cheap labor when it's time to harvest the hay fields?'

Wonder what it was like.....living on the Wolfeboro poor farm....and did it have a good, hilltop view of Lake Winnipesaukee?

The one in Alton was sold to a private party, Charles Rines, in 1876. I believe that was the end of the poor farm setup here in Alton. I'm not sure if there was a second one somewhere else, but to the best of my knowledge, this one was the only one. I've read that post-Civil War, many of the towns stopped having a poor house but just had an overseer of the poor or a welfare officer for the town.

[Kamper]

Originally Posted by Yosemite Sam

Over time haven’t the Poor Farms morphed into County Farms & Hospital/Nursing Homes?

I'm afraid I can't cite you any sources but I have read a few times of men being sentenced to the county farm for minor crimes.

[sunset on the dock]

This past summer I posted about the numbered stones in the Ossipee cemetery near the old registry of deeds off Rt.28. I have subsequently found that these are all from the Carroll Cty. poor farm. The names of those buried there are listed by # at the Ossipee public library. A couple of the numbered stones were later replaced with named stones by relatives but only 3 out of about 200. I understand someone by the name of Maryjane Pettingill who used to live in Ossipee did her thesis on poor farms(? I think this one) but I never was able to find a copy to read.

[Argie's Wife]

Here's a picture of the Carroll County Almshouse, Ossipee, N.H.




Thanks for sharing what you did about the grave markers.

I think I've found Maryjane and am waiting to hear back from her. I'll let you know what she shares with me, with her permission.

[glennsteely]

I get that it is some kind of hospital? For people who cant care for themselves, and cant afford to pay? I've never heard the word before, everytime I leave the history section, I get a little bit smarter. I love this!!

[tis]

In the old days, when someone was too poor to support themselves they went to the "poor farm" to live. Most towns had these and the people just went there to live courtesy of the town. They weren't hospitals.

[sunset on the dock]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

Here's a picture of the Carroll County Almshouse, Ossipee, N.H.




Thanks for sharing what you did about the grave markers.

I think I've found Maryjane and am waiting to hear back from her. I'll let you know what she shares with me, with her permission.

Thanks...I'd love to read it. Stop by this cemetery if you're in the area...it's very moving and thought provoking to stand there and think what were these people's lives like.

[Gearhead]

I drove by there on Saturday, on my way to Wakefield and I didn't get the connection between the numbered stones in the cemetary down the road from the poor farm, but the stones are hard to miss as you drive by. At first I thought it was a religious society or something, but I now see what it really is. These people died while at the county farm.

Imagine having lost everything (EVERYTHING) and having nowhere else to go but to a poor farm?? My wife tells me I worry too much, but I drive by a place like that and my imagination just runs wild.

GH

[Gearhead]

The postcard of the Ossipee poor farm shows open fields everywhere, but it's now in the middle of a forest. The next time I drive by I'm going to snap a picture for comparison.
GH

[tis]

Is the house still there in Ossipee? Where is it?

[Argie's Wife]

I believe a part of it is but I'm not 100% sure. I read somewhere that there was a fire but I can't find that resource again... I'll post more when I find it again...

[Greenbean]

There was a fire in the late 1800's that took the Ossipee Registery and Courthouse along with the vast majority of written records like deeds, maps, etc. If you want to research a really early deed you can go to Strafford County which was what Carroll County used prior to having their own buildings. So you can search real early stuff or anything post 1880's but not too much from the mid to late 1800's because that was what was lost.

This fire is what makes the large Carroll County Maps more valuable then the other county maps because so many were lost in the county fire.

[luru]

Hi,
I have been doing my ancestry and my 7th great grandfather i found was in the Belknap County Farm in 1850. The old farm which is where the new one is now, housed the poor, the feeble, etc. Sadly I found out that they were treated poorly. They were forgotten. When they died they were stripped of their identities and heritage and buried in graves with just a number on the stone. There is a cemetary for paupers behind the aavid engineering building. The stones have numbers 1-30. So sad . No records to my knowledge at this time of their identities. There were about 3 rows of stones with names and dates around 1877, but the rest were just a number. So Sad.

Lu

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Originally Posted by luru

Hi,
I have been doing my ancestry and my 7th great grandfather i found was in the Belknap County Farm in 1850. The old farm which is where the new one is now, housed the poor, the feeble, etc. Sadly I found out that they were treated poorly. They were forgotten. When they died they were stripped of their identities and heritage and buried in graves with just a number on the stone. There is a cemetary for paupers behind the aavid engineering building. The stones have numbers 1-30. So sad . No records to my knowledge at this time of their identities. There were about 3 rows of stones with names and dates around 1877, but the rest were just a number. So Sad.

Lu

Would that be Levi Lovitt? The Gunstock Parish, by Adair Mulligan, states that he was a resident at the poor farm that was located across the road from where Ellacoya State Park is now. He was a Basketmaker.

Guess the towns did what they could back then. Tough times.

[luru]

Rattlesnake Gal, oh my, Thank you for that information about Levi! I need to find where he is buried. I have been looking everywhere for him. I thought he was at the county farm in Laconia. I have been to every cemetery.I was losing hope.

Yes Levi is listed in the history books for gilford as one of the first settlers in 1777. He was nine years old at the time. He settled at the mouth of lily pond on black brook. I am trying to figure out why he left his family so young and where he came from. I know he was indian. He was a basket maker and he taught his sons the trade. Basket Making kept going for many generations after him.

The more I learn about all my ancesters the closer I feel to them. I need to find his resting place.

I will go to the Ames historical Society and read the gunstock parish!. Thank You So Much!!

[Slickcraft]

Wow, it's wonderful to see such a connection made here. This forum is great. Good luck Luru!

[Argie's Wife]

Luru -

I've done a little digging and found mention of Levi Lovitt in an 1850 census - he was 82 yrs old (b. 1797), and he was listed with his wife, Lydia (Runnels) (b. 26 Jul 1801, m. 1842). She is noted to have been deaf and further census (1880), show her as being a widow but still at the Belknap County Almshouse. (In the 1850 census she's listed as being about 45 yrs old - yes, she's quite a bit younger than Levi.) She was the daughter of Mary Thurston and Isaac Runnels.

SOURCE: HERE

Mary Thurston, bom May 17, 1779; married, 1798, Isaac Runnels, born April 23, 1778, son of Isaac and Anna (Ham) Runnels of Barrington, N. H. He was a farmer in Gilmanton and Gilford, N. H. She died Oct. 15, 1816. He married, second, March 17, 1817, Eunice Eaton of Tuftonboro, N. H., born in Meredith, N. H., Nov. 30, 1784, died 1818; third, Feb. 28, 1820, Sophia Leavitt of Gilmanton, born Dec. 15, 1792, died Nov. 17,1846; fourth, November, 1847, Mrs. Susan Weeks of Gilford, died 1862. He died at his daughter's, Mrs. Buzzell, Jan. 14, 1864. Children.
5368 Isaac (Runnels), b. June 2, 1800; a farmer in Gilmanton and Loudon, N.
H., Bennington, Vt., and Warrensville, 111.; m. 1st, Mehitable P. Sargent of Loudon; 2d, Mrs. Anna Vaughn; five children.
5369 Lydia (Runnels), b. July 26, i8o[; m„ 1842, Levi Lovett of Laconia, N. H.
She was deaf and dumb, but enabled to lead a very useful life.

I can't verify this fact but I believe that her obituary is in the March 11, 1902 issue of the Laconia Democrat (sorry but I couldn't pull that up online so I'm not 100% on that fact).

Finally, I think that Lydia and Levi had a son named Philbrick - I couldn't find a date of birth on him but found he died 3 Mar 1887 and he's listed in the 1887 Laconia Annual Report. He was also a basket maker. He was born in Gilford and died in Laconia.

But back to Levi and Lydia - Lydia's family was very active in the Sanbornton Community Church. You may want to check with the Sanbornton town clerk, Cemetery Association (or Committee or whatever they have) or their Historical Society for more information. (There's over 80 cemeteries in Sanbornton - no joke) I'm thinking that your ancestors may be in a family plot in the area, but there's no doubt in my mind that Levi was in the almshouse when he died.

I've noticed that on different census records there's variations in the name "Lovitt" - I'm also seeing it as "Lovett" elsewhere online.

Hope this helps.

[luru]

wow thank you argie's wife. I have some of that information and some I didn't. Thats great!
I wonder where they would have buried him. There must be some old cemeteries near Ellacoya State Park. I just found out about McCoy cemetery and I will go there in the morning to see if he is in there. Levi died in 1851 in the almshouse for sure and Lydia died about 30 years later.

I was unaware that there was more than one almhouse in the Laconia- Gilford area.

yes throughout this ancestry journey I have found slight name changes. Lovit, Lovitt, and Lovett. The majority of the time it is Lovett. I noticed that alot with other families. It tells me they had something to hide, I believe. Very hard times, very racist, very very poor etc. I understand the Lovett's change because they were trying to hide their indian heritage as much as possible. The irish were also degraded and tried to hide their heritage by slight name changes. Same with the French. It seems to have been common practice back then.

All of you are great! Thank You again

wish me luck lol lu

[Slickcraft]

Poor Farm Brook enters the lake at Ellacoya State park. However the headwaters of the brook are on the south/west side of Rt. 11A (Cherry valley Road) not far from Poor Farm Road, off of 11A. I have often wondered if the old Poor Farm or crop fields were located up that road. It would be strange to name it Poor Farm Road if there was no historical connection to the farm.

[Slickcraft]

Cemetery near Ellacoya, "CEM" under the P in Lake Shore Park:

[Buffalo Gal]

Learning family history is a great thing to do. I've been researching my own family history for over 20 years. I'd like to clarify a few things about all of those "name changes". Many people in the 19th century, and even into the early 20th century, were illiterate. Names were written as they sounded. Official records may have been written by someone who heard a name verbally, and then recorded it phonetically. This was especially true with non-english names. French surnames were even spelled differently by siblings in the same family! I have many French Canadian ancestors whose surnames changed slightly from generation to generation. And of course there are the French to English conversions which happened over time: Leblanc becomes White. There is also a misconception that many names were changed for those people who came through Ellis Island. Ellis Island had Italian speaking people working on site who wrote down the information given them by Italian immigrants, and the same for the Germans, French, and other nationalities. Official immigration records are usually accurate because of this. Later, some families changed their surname to sound more "American", not always out of fear, but out of a desire to fit in, to be more American. My grandfather was born in Italy with the surname "Costantini" but changed it when his children started school to "Constantine"! Kind of silly, because it became a Greek sounding name rather than an Italian name, but he wanted his children to really be Americans. Anyway, enjoy learning all that you can about your ancestors, and good luck!

[Argie's Wife]

Slickcraft - There's a cemetery on Youngstown Rd here in Alton that's my family's but I haven't been able to locate it. I assume it's back on someone's property somewhere. I'm wondering if you can also find it on a map for me, please? Thanks!

[Slickcraft]

luru: On the way home from Welch this morning we went by Ellacoya, there is an old cemetery next to the road about where noted on the map, I think the name was "Carr Cemetery".


AW, sorry no luck. The map below was from http://www.granit.unh.edu/
Select NH GRANIT DATA MAPPER. Very useful with several data layers, once you zoom in enough you can use the DRG Topo map layer which these maps came from. You have to play with this mapper a while to figure it out.

Another resource for old maps is: http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm
No cemetery near Youngstown Road shown here either.

[luru]

Absolutely buffalo gal. You are right. They wanted to fit in. The names changes happend alot. Back then they changed their names easily. No legalities like it would be now. The handwriting was hard to read also. I have seen mistakes on Census reports.

This journey I am taking with ancestry is a roller coaster through the past. Learning of their existence, knowing how they lived back then. The excitement of their successes and the heartbreak of their struggles. The more I know the closer I feel towards them. Very enlightening.

I can't imagine Levi would be buried far from the almhouse knowing how they felt about the poor back then. I suppose unless Lydia's parents buried him in their family plot. Which I guess I can check out my new lead in Sanbornton. Thank You for that.
I am heading to Ellacoya in hopes to find and old cemetery nearby. Thank You for the map!! wish me luck! I will scream from the rooftops if I find him. LOL

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

Slickcraft - There's a cemetery on Youngstown Rd here in Alton that's my family's but I haven't been able to locate it. I assume it's back on someone's property somewhere. I'm wondering if you can also find it on a map for me, please? Thanks!

Also the Alton tax maps are now on line. On Map 8 lot 11 shows a 70' X 72' cemetery, marked with a cross.
http://alton.nh.gov/Maps/Alton08.pdf

The deed, book 1585 page 397, refers to it as the Young Cemetery

[luru]

well I went to ellacoya today and I did see the brook. I noticed across from the park, across the highway was a big metal gate. The road seems to go up the hill. Does anyone know about this gate and the road? There are no signs saying no tresspassing and it doesn't look like its being used much. I can't help but wonder if the almshouse used to be up that road on the hill. The brook runs beside it. Maybe the town of gilford could help me out.

I did go to the carr cemetery, ames, and many others in the immediate area with no luck. the search continues lol

[Slickcraft]

We get the Gilford Library weekly e-mail with this item included in this week's schedule. http://www.gilfordlibrary.org/gpl/events.asp
Even if you can't make it to the library at 4 tomorrow, Judy Cott may be a good resource to contact.

Special Events

Historic Cemeteries in Gilford

Tuesday, 4-5 p.m.

Judy Cott from the Thompson-Ames Historical Society will talk and share pictures of 14 historic cemeteries in Gilford as well as two cemeteries in Laconia that were once part of Gilford. She will highlight some of the more interesting stones and the families with which they are associated.

[Argie's Wife]

I thought I'd share with all y'all about this website I found...

New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association


I love how it provides GPS coordinates, too - yea!

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

Also the Alton tax maps are now on line. On Map 8 lot 11 shows a 70' X 72' cemetery, marked with a cross.
http://alton.nh.gov/Maps/Alton08.pdf

The deed, book 1585 page 397, refers to it as the Young Cemetery

Apparently there's more than one cemetery on Youngstown Rd. When I have a chance, I'll post the pictures of the one I was just at today. It's about the most pathetic looking cemetery I've ever seen. There was hardly a headstone in one piece there.

[RLW]

Angie, have you tried using Google Earth with the GPS figures. I tried on a couple in Northwood and found my self deep in the woods on 2 and right on, on one of them. However it was kinda interesting checking out the areas around the spots.

[Argie's Wife]

I have used GoogleEarth but the area is very wooded, so even a zoom at the tightest % didn't work.

BTW - I'm not Angie. But I know the lady of whom you speak - she's my aunt-in-law.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

I have used GoogleEarth but the area is very wooded, so even a zoom at the tightest % didn't work.

BTW - I'm not Angie. But I know the lady of whom you speak - she's my aunt-in-law.

That was my screw up as I really meant for the answer to go to you. Guess one can not hurry when inputting. Sorry. I was able to go to some of the old ones that I knew the locations up here on Alton Mountain and looked at them via Google and they came in nice and clear.