The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-02-14
The orphans, Home.


1t was opened last July in large thre
story brick building, erected sfor hotel
and which is capable of accommodating
comfortably at least $50 children, II prop
erly furnished, and is now sheltering o
orphans while some 25 or 80 more ar
applying for admission.
The qualifications for admission are tha
the orphan shall be under 10 years o.
age, whose father has fallen either from
wounds or disease contracted in the ser.
vice, or whose father is still living and 10
the service, but whose mother is dead
Application for admission must be through
the Executive Committee, namely: Mrs.
G. B. Darwin, of Burlington; Mrs. Geo.
G. Wright, Of Keosauqua, or Mr. Geo.
Schramm, of Pennington. We make this
statement that the public may be advise .
of a matter concerning which there has
been much inquiry.
The institution is governed BY well
conceived set of rules and bylaws, which
define with great clearness the duties q
the respective officers aud employees.
Both a day and Sabbath school are
opened at the Home, conducted BY the
Matron and competent assistant. Rel
ligious services are performed morning
and evening. Out of school hours the
larger girls are under the instruction Of
the Seamstress, learning to sew, or they
are making beds, cleaning rooms and do
ing other house work. The larger boys
that are able to work, haul and chop
wood, make fires, help take care of the
stock, and in the summer season assist irI
cultivating some l9 acres of ground
which is rented and attached to the Home
= The quantity of land for cultivation
should be increased, in our opinion, a.
there will be boys enough to work it. for
in this way it can be made at least par
TALLY self-sustainiDg institution; besides,
we much like this feature of the Home
which proposes to learn the boys and girls
habits OF industry, whilst it will contrib
ute to lessen the expense of maintaining
the institution. Those who have recently
visited there, speak favorsbly of the gen.
Il IF he Y
that the children have the appearance Of
being contented and happy.
Such an Establishment is novel in its
character and something of an experiment,
and will require time to perfec. the tr.
rangements, so that all the machinery will
run smoothly. To this end the Board Ct
Trustees, and especially the above named
Executive Committee, have labored most
seduously and deserve not only great
praise for what they have done, but they
should have the sympathy and support OF
the public, in their efforts to found this
noble institution.
The building in which the Home is es.
tablshed was originally erected for ho
tel, and consists of many rooms and is
very well adopted for the purposes and
objects of the institution. 1t has been
the policy of the Committee to have these
rooms furnished by towns as far as posi-.
BILE, so aa not to interfere with the endow.
ment fund, which is not understood to be
very large yet, or at least not much of il
in an available condition. Accordingly
the ladies Of a number Of towns have very
generously taken this matter in hand ane
furnished number of rooms which art
now occupied and used By the children
The towns which have led off in this mat
ter arc Burlington, Muscatine, Davenport
Iowa City, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Keosau
qua and Keokuk. There may be oths RI
1t is proper to say in this connection, tha
the Supervisors of Lee county on thei
own motion, appropriated sl00 for tbi
purpose. The city of Keokuk in her COZ
pora,e capacity gave sl25 more. and th
citizens added to this sum Sl75 more, al
Of which was placed in the hands of Mrs.
R. P. Lowe, and with which she has fur
nished three rooms of the Home in . yer
substantial Nh comfortable manner.
As large portion of the Home is "
to be furnished so as to accommodate nes
hundred more children, it is suggeste
that if the Supervisors of the surroundin
counties would place three or four hun
dred dollars each in the hands of the Ex,
cutive Committee, it would greatly facil
tate their efforts, in putting the Homti
q condition to receive all the orphan
which it is capable of accommodating
The suggestion is . good one and we hol
it may be speedily acted upon. The $lt
voluntarily given by the Supervisors
this county is compliment to their inte
ligence, their patriotism and their b
manity, and they need not have the sligf