Title: La Crosse County, Wisconsin, Poor Home and Farm, and Outdoor Relief Records
Inclusive Dates: 1876-1933

Creator:

• La Crosse County (Wis.). Supervisor of the Poor

Call Number: La Crosse Series 23

Quantity: 3.0 cubic feet (3 archives boxes and 9 volumes)

Repository:

Housed at the Special Collections & Area Research Center, Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

UW-La Crosse Murphy Library / La Crosse Area Research Ctr. (Map)

See the catalog entry for information on possible additional materials and shelf locations.

Abstract:

Records of the county Superintendent of the Poor in his capacity of superintendent of the Poor Home and Farm and administrator of Outdoor Relief, 1876-1933, documenting the management of the Poor Home and Farm and distribution of monetary aid to the resident poor.

Note:

Volume numbers in brackets indicate that the volume was placed in a box.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-lacr0023

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The City of La Crosse established a Poor Farm soon after the city incorporated in 1856. The facilities of the City Poor Farm, located in the town of Shelby, and its administration were turned over to La Crosse County in the 1890s.

Records document the last few years of the City Poor Farm (1876-circa 1895), much of the life of the County Poor Home and Farm (circa 1895-1933), through the administration of welfare by the county under the Superintendent of the Poor (circa 1895-1933) until the time of state aid for poor relief (1932) and federal relief (1933). The records are arranged into two series: Poor Home and Farm (1876-1933), and Outdoor Relief (1891-1933).

Poor Home and Farm records document the superintendent's financial and personnel (employees and residents) administration of the institution. The superintendent's outgoing correspondence consists of photocopies of the original letterpress books and covers all aspects of administration including information about specific cases. Although the correspondence gives a good overview of the conditions at the home and the people it served it spans only a short amount of time: 1892-1894, 1900-1904. Poor Home and St. Francis Hospital registers is a log of residents reporting to the poor house infirmary and being admitted either to the Poor Home Hospital or the St. Francis Hospital. Entries are arranged by admission date and give name, age, color, cause of admission, if a county or city charge, where discharged to, nationality, and remarks. The volume for 1888-1894 includes a few entries for the "Old Woman's Home" and a section labeled "important cases" (1891-1895) which is a detailed account of certain cases. The Superintendent's daily logs provide insight into the problems of those seeking help and the action taken. Entries give the person's name, circumstances, residence, nationality, and resolution or action. The Inmate register is arranged chronologically by date of admission and give the person's name, age, birthplace, marital status, cause of poverty, when discharged or deceased, and if buried on the premises, the headstone number. Also included is a summary of burials, 1895, 1915-1933. Entries in the Pauper's register are arranged alphabetically and thereunder by year and records the name, age, when and where born, nationality, information about children, and address.

Financial aid to county residents in need of assistance and not living at the Poor Farm was termed Outdoor Relief. The Superintendent, as representative of the Trustees of the County Poor Home and Farm or the Board of Supervisors, submitted accounts to county clerk who issued orders on the county treasurer for their payment to individuals: Orders, 1881-1933. Entries are usually arranged chronologically and thereunder alphabetically, and give the order date, order number, recipient's name, address, total amount, category of expenditure, and remarks.

Acquisition Information

Accession Number: C2015/041

La Crosse Series 23	Series: Poor Home and Farm, 1876-1933
Box   1 Folder   1-5	Outgoing correspondence, 1892-1894, 1900-1904
	Poor House and St. Francis Hospital registers
Box   2 Folder   1	1877-1887 Note: City
Box   2 Volume   [1]	1888-1894
Box   2 Volume   [2]	Births and departures record, 1891-1895
	Superintendent's daily log
Box   2 Folder   2	1892-1898 Note: County
Box   2 Folder   3	1895-1896 Note: City
Volume   3	Inmate register, 1915-1933
Box   2 Volume   [4]	Pauper register, 1891-1895 Note: City
	Financial records
Box   2 Volume   [5]	Purchases, 1876-1892
Box   3 Volume   [6]	Cash receipts and disbursements, 1888-1919
Box   3 Volume   [7]	Daybook, 1892-1897
Volume   8	Ledger, 1892-1895
Volume   9	Claims presented [for operating costs], 1895-1931
	Series: Outdoor Relief, 1891-1932	⇧
	Orders [for payment]
Volume   10	1881-1888
Volume   11	1898-1909
Volume   12	1910-1930
Volume   13	1931-1932
Volume   14	1932
Volume   15	1932-1933