The General Operation Records form the heart of this collection and pertain to the movement of children though the asylum system. Many of these records contain unique case numbers that were assigned to each child.
The Registers of Children list the age and important characteristics of new arrivals at the House of Reception, such as race, religion, language spoken, and name and address of parents. These records reveal that NYJA housed Catholic and Jewish, as well as Protestant children, and admitted African-American and immigrant youth. Most of these registers contain case numbers and information about the eventual fate of the child: if she was sent to the Asylum, home to family, or out West as an apprentice. Some unusual cases are marked with additional notes.
Social workers created Home Visit Records when they visited the families of children living in the Asylum to determine whether those families could provide a fit home for children. These visits were conducted for children living in the Asylum who had families with a known address. These ledgers do not all follow the same format. Some contain an Admission form and Discharge form on facing pages. A social worker filled out the first of these forms when a child was removed from his home. The facing, Discharge, form was filled out when a child returned home, sometimes years later. Where noted, some ledgers contain only Admission or only Discharge forms. In these cases, each individual page was dedicated to a single child and only contains information about the condition of that child's home, either when she was admitted to NJYA, or when she was released to her family. The ledgers provide a wealth of detail about home life and living arrangements among poor and immigrant New Yorkers in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Parent Surrender Forms were used when parents or family members relinquished control of their children to the institution. These are brief forms and contain little more than children's names and the names and signatures (or marks) of the parents.
Apprentice Records kept track of older children indentured to homes in the West. The records contain information about the lives and experiences of these children and the families who took them in. Indentured children and the families who housed them reported their progress and satisfaction with placement regularly. The NYJA maintained contact with these children until they reached adulthood, and sometimes afterward, if formerly indentured children remained in contact. The Apprentice Records therefore give an excellent overview of the experience of "orphan train" children.
Transfer Slips record where children were sent (usually to the NYJA) after arriving at the House of Reception.
Applications for Discharge were required of all parents and guardians wishing to retrieve their children from the asylum. The forms record how fit the applicants are to care for a child and whether discharge was granted or denied. Most of the children applied for were discharged to their guardians.
Register of Children (Alphabetical Index with Case Numbers)
Box 39
"Children's Village Index and Register"--Case Numbers 44827-51300, 1926-1950
Box 22
Case Records, 1853- 1854
Box 24
Case Numbers 28576-37035, 1891-1902
Box 20
Case Registers--House of Reception
Box 20 Folder 2
Case Numbers 5705-6567, 1860
Box 20 Folder 3
Case Numbers 6568-7367, 1861 January-December
Box 20 Folder 4
Case Numbers 7368-8323, 1862
Box 23 Folder 1
Case Numbers 8234-9658, 1863- 1864
Box 23 Folder 2
Case Numbers 9485-10508, 1864-1865
Box 23 Folder 3
Case Numbers 10371-12025, 1866
Box 130 Folder 1
Case Numbers 12021-12947, 1867
Box 130 Folder 2
Case Numbers 12943-13838, 1868
Box 130 Folder 3
Case Numbers 13797-15336, 1869-1870
Box 130 Folder 4
Case Numbers 15337-17035, 1871-1873
Box 131 Folder 1
Case Numbers 17036-18354, 1874-1875
Box 131 Folder 2
Case Numbers 18355-19744, 1876-1877
Box 131 Folder 3
Case Numbers 19745-21467, 1878-1880
Box 132 Folder 1
Case Numbers 21468-23520, 1881-1883
Box 132 Folder 2
Case Numbers 23521-25462, 1884-1886
Box 132 Folder 3
Case Numbers 25463-27543, 1887-1890
Box 99
Case Numbers 27486-28131, 1890
Box 82
Case Numbers 28132-28745, 1891
Box 100
Case Numbers 28746-29369, 1892
Box 101
Case Numbers 29370-29938, 1893
Box 102
Case Numbers 29938-30528, 1894
Box 103
Case Numbers 30538-37078, 1895
Box 104
Case Numbers 31079-31741, 1896
Box 105
Case Numbers 31771-32478, 1897 January-September
Box 106
Case Numbers 32479-32686, 1897 September-December
Box 107
Case Numbers 32687-33390, 1898 February-September
Box 108
Case Numbers 33391-33669, 1898 September-December
Box 109
Case Numbers 33670-34574, 1899
Box 110
Case Numbers 34575-35578, 1900
Box 111
Case Numbers 35579-35647, 1900 December
Box 112
Case Numbers 35648-36233, 1901 January-July
Box 113
Case Numbers 36234-36667, 1901 August-December
Box 114
Case Numbers 36668-37264, 1902 January-July
Box 115
Case Numbers 37265-37528, 1902 August-December
Box 116
Case Numbers 37529-37938, 1903 January-July
Box 117
Case Numbers 37939-38172, 1903 August-December
Box 118
Case Numbers 38173-38677, 1904 January-August
Box 119
Case Numbers 39242-39844, 1906-1909
Box 120
Case Numbers 39845-40448, 1909-1911
Box 121
Case Numbers 40449-41050, 1911-1914
Box 122
Case Numbers 41051-41652, 1914-1916
Box 123
Case Numbers 41653-42259, 1916-1918
Box 124
Case Numbers 42260-42863, 1918-1919
Box 125
Case Numbers 42864-43467, 1919-1921
Box 126
Case Numbers 43468-44063, 1921-1923
Box 127
Case Numbers 44064-44337, 1923
Box 25
"Register of Children Sent to the Asylum" (Chronological)
Box 25 Folder 1
Case Numbers 11700s-18100s, 1867- 1875
Box 25 Folder 2
Case Numbers 18100s-26100s, 1875-1887 (Index without Discharges), 1875-1887
Box 25 Folder 3
Case Numbers 26130-31734, 1888-1896 (Index without Discharges), 1888-1896
Box 25 Folder 4
Case Numbers 31715-40691--"Transfers from House of Refuge to Cottages,", 1897-1912
Box 25 Folder 5
"Girl's Admissions and Discharge Register," 1881-1897 (Alphabetical), 1881-1897
Asylum Current Register (Alphabetical Index with Case Numbers)
Home Visit Records
Box 38 Folder 2
1898- 1901 (Admissions), 1898- 1901
Box 40
April-June 1898 (Discharges), April-June 1898
Box 41
1898-1901 (Discharges), 1898-1901
Box 42
1898-1899 (Admissions), 1898-1899
Box 43
1901-1902 (Admissions and Discharges), 1901-1902
Box 44
1901-1903 (Discharges), 1901-1903
Box 45
1902-1903 (Admissions and Discharges), 1902-1903
Box 46
1903-1904 (Admissions and Discharges), 1903-1904
Box 47
1904 (Admissions), 1904
Box 48
1903-1905 (Discharges), 1903-1905
Box 49
1904-1905 (Admissions and Discharges), 1904-1905
Box 50
1905-1907 (Admissions and Discharges), 1905-1907
Box 51
1910-1911 (Admissions and Discharges), 1910-1911
Box 52
1910-1912 (Admissions and Discharges), 1910-1912
Box 53
1912-1914 (Admissions and Discharges), 1912-1914
Box 54
1913-1915 (Admissions and discharges), 1913-1915
Box 55
1915-1917 (Admissions), 1915-1917
Box 56
1917-1918 (Admissions and Discharges), 1917-1918
Box 57
1918-1919 (Admissions), 1918-1919
Parent Surrender Forms
Apprenticeship Records
Box 65
Index to Apprentice Register--Alphabetical
Box 65 Folder 1
1862- 1878
Box 65 Folder 2
1879-1901
Box 65 Folder 3
1902-1906
Box 136 Folder 1
circa 1900s
Box 136 Folder 2 to 3
Undated, (2 volumes)
Box 61
Indentures/Case Notes, 1854-1888 (with Case Numbers), 1854-1888
Box 62
Indentures/Case Notes, 1888-1906 (with Case Numbers), 1888-1906
Box 60 Folder 2
Indentures/Case Notes, 1868-1879
Box 63
Indentures/Case Notes, 1871-1876 (Arranged by Date and Group), 1871-1876
Box 64
Indentures/Case Notes, 1876-1880 (Arranged by Date and Group), 1876-1880
Box 98
"N. Y. Juvenile Asylum Agents Record," 1862-1868 (with Case Numbers), 1862-1868
Box 60 Folder 3
Record of Employer and Apprentice, 1869- 1870
Box 65
Transfer Slips--House of Reception
Box 67
Discharges
Box 67
Applications for Discharge, 1862-1863
Box 68
Applications for Discharge, 1864-1865
Box 69
Applications for Discharge, 1865-1867
Box 70
Applications for Discharge, 1867-1869
Box 71
Applications for Discharge, 1869-1870
Box 72
Applications for Discharge, 1871-1873
Box 73
Applications for Discharge, 1873-1875
Box 74
Applications for Discharge, 1875-1877
Box 75
Applications for Discharge, 1877-1879
Box 76
Applications for Discharge, 1879-1881
Box 77
Applications for Discharge, 1881-1883
Box 78
Applications for Discharge, 1883-1885
Box 79
Applications for Discharge, 1885-1887
Box 80
Applications for Discharge, 1887-1889
Box 81
Applications for Discharge, 1889-1894
Box 66 Folder 2
House of Reception Discharges, 1885- 1898
Box 133
House of Reception Discharges, 1899-1905
Box 66 Folder 3
Discharges, 1928-1938
Box 83 Folder 1
Discharges, 1939-1946