Message: 1 Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2007 22:45:42 -0400 From: "J.H." <hnunnie@frontiernet.net> Subject: [NYWESTCH] "County Farms" or "Country Farms" To: <NYWESTCH@rootsweb.com>, <NYC-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com>, <ITALIANS-NY-L@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <00dd01c7ab09$70e045f0$01fea8c0@DJ2TNL71> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" << Has anybody heard of " County Farms" or " Country Farms" ? I believe in Brooklyn, NY. As the infant died there but came from Astoria, Queens. A 5 month infant of a g.uncle of mine - I found out died and was buried there in 1913. Undertaker is - D.P.C. - no address. Thank you, June :-) >> June, "County Farms" and also associated "Alms Houses" alternatively known as "The Poor Farm" or "The Poor House" . . . was the social system of its day before such things as Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, etc., where the "indigent", not just the old, could go to live and be supported by the county. Sometimes, perhaps even often, in some places, if there were able-bodied folk, they could be sent out to to live with families in the county, the county paying the family for their support. In my genealogy experience, I have particularly seen instances of young children, even infants, being "taken in" by people in their early sixties, to raise them, as a source of income for the older folk . . . but, adults too were often placed in private homes/farms where they could be cared for. Hope this helps, Don Angevine Bethel, Maine, USA