Thanks Jane, I have been trying to locate Geo W Brown in 1880. In 1870 he was living in Bear Creek Township near Basco on a Farm Valued at $6000. with his wife Martha Eads and some of his family members.....family records show he died Sept 18 1881 tho I can not locate this record. He is buried in west Basco Cemetery with his wife with a very nice headstone. He would have only been 41 yrs old..... In 1880 I can find a Martha Brown working as a Cook at the Sanitarium...and their daughter living with her Grandfather Perry Eads....she is listed as still married....it would be strange for a woman to be working in those days unless she needed to support herself.... I have not been able to find her husband Geo in 1880 that fits exactly. except there is a George Brown approx the same age listed in Alms House near Carthage. Since he died at a young age it's possible he was sick or something...he had a brother that died earlier that was listed as an idiot...so maybe mental illness?.....I have been trying to find records from the Alms House to find out more about the George Brown listed there in 1880... Any help appreciated...I checked the courthouse records when there last year but didn't find his death record....thought maybe the residents of the Alms House could be listed somewhere else..... Susan A. Harnish Rockford Linear Actuation, Inc Phone:815-986-4407 Fax:815-986-4410 sueharnish@rockfordlinear.com -----Original Message----- From: ilhancoc-bounces@rootsweb.com [ <mailto:ilhancoc-bounces@rootsweb.com> mailto:ilhancoc-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of infoexchange Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 11:58 AM To: ilhancoc@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ILHANCOC] Alms House-outside Carthage One way to gather information on the residents of the Hancock County Poor Farm is to use census data. For example, in the 1900 U.S. Census for Carthage Township, Hancock County, Illinois, Supervisor's District No. 9, Enumeration District No. 14, Sheet No. 8, B, you will find the names of the the manager of the poor farm, his family, and other staff as well as all the "inmates" living there. Residents range in age from 2 to 90 years of age. Unless you¹re searching a specific name, you have to go page by page through the township census to find these entries. I've come across it in other censuses as well when doing other research. There is a chapter on the poor in Hancock County in the History of Hancock County by T. H. Gregg, which was published in Chicago by Chas. C. Chapman & Co. in 1880. Here is an excerpt from the book. "...At length a farm was purchased and a plain frame building put up for the accommodation of the county's paupers; and the system adopted of letting the farm and the keeping and maintenance of the poor to the lowest bidder. This system in its very nature offered a premium to injustice; and it is not saying too much to assert that under it these unfortunates never have received and never will receive that kind care and attention their condition requires. As a rule, perhaps, their keepers have been ordinarily kind and humane; but human nature will assert itself, and self interest thwart men's best intentions and instincts. In May 1859, a committee of the Board of Supervisors reported the cost of the poor farm and house, to date, as follows: house, $3000; barn, $800; fencing, $500; breaking ground, $250; incidentals, $350; total, $4,900; claims and allowances for the past nine years, $11,000; total cost, $15,900. The farm consists of 114 acres, with a small timber tract north of town.... As the number of paupers increased, it became more and more manifest that the building was too small and too poorly arranged and the means at command of the keeper too limited, for their proper accommodation. Much dissatisfaction was felt among the people; and at length, May 6, 1873, the committee declared the poor-house 'a disgrace to the county, and unfit for the purpose.' The Board took measures at once to prepare for the erection of an additional building. The chief complaint was of a small building know as the "Mad House," in which the idiotic and insane were confined, and which was declared to be ill-ventilated and in every way unfit for this purpose. The new "Mad House" or Insane Asylum, was built in 1874, and togeher with the original frame structure, furnishes ample accommodations for the unfortunates of all classes, and for the family of the superintendent...." The chapter goes on to describe laws and policies that were enacted both at the state and local level to insure the poor were properly cared for, as well the author's ideas about how to make the farm a positive and beneficial place for its residents. I checked the several other Hancock County histories, but this was the only one where I found it described. I skimmed quickly, though, so may have missed something. Good luck in your search. Jane ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ILHANCOC-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message <javascript:showpic('/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=D1&Date=20050803&Catego ry=PHOTOGALLERIES&ArtNo=803001&Ref=PH&Template=galleryzoom&Params=Itemnr =12',535,500)> Susan A. Harnish Rockford Linear Actuation, Inc Phone:815-986-4407 Fax:815-986-4410 sueharnish@rockfordlinear.com