German Protestant Orphanage Home Records, 1851-1966
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: German Protestant Orphanage Home
Title: Records, 1851-1966
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department.
Size of Collection: 8 cubic feet
Location Number: Mss. BJ G373
Scope and Content Note
This collection focuses mostly on the financial records of the home with many of the early records from the 1800’s largely written in German. The collection turns almost exclusively to English around World War I. The main use of this collection is genealogy due to the information available on a number of orphans within the collection. This information focuses mainly on the orphan’s arrival at the home, departure from the home, and personal information like date of birth. The collection also includes narratives of the life in the home on a monthly basis as reported by the superintendent of the home to the Board of Trustees. In addition to this there are numerous loose items in the collection that relate to the volumes they are found in, to events held for the home, or to the German community in Louisville.
Historical Note
The German Protestant orphanage opened in 1851 with the goal of helping children in Louisville and the surrounding area find a good place to live and provide those who could not with a place to stay. The orphanage served the public in this capacity by providing the children with basic needs such as clothes, shoes, food, medical service, and shelter. The home provided the children with jobs as indentured servants during the early 1900’s. The funding for the home derived from several sources with some examples being donations from the public, the work of organizations within the home like the Ladies Aid Society, and events that were held for the home like Summer Night Fest and a picnic in Phoenix Hill Park. The main source of revenue for the home was investment in Louisville area real estate. The home held a large number of mortgages around the area from which they collected interest and payments on a monthly basis; this provided the backbone for the finances of the home. The home continued to serve the Louisville area until the 1960′ s when the name changed to the Brooklawn Home for boys. After the name change, the home also took on the task of providing education to boys from abused homes and with violent backgrounds.
Folder List
Box 1
Volume 1: Minutes of Trustees Meetings 1851-1869 German
Volume 5: Minutes of Trustees Meetings 1927-1935 English
Volume 6: Minutes of Trustees Meetings 1936-1942 English
Volume 7: Minutes of Trustees Meetings 1942-1949 English
Volume 8: Minutes of Trustees Meetings 1949-1955 English
Volume 9: Registers 1852-1882 German
Volume 10: Registers 1883-1910 German
Volume 11: Registers 1911-1922 English/German
Volume 12: Alphabetical Cross Index (incomplete) 1852-1964 English
Box 2
Volume 16: Ladies Aid Society Minutes 1873-1902 German
Volume 18: Ladies Aid Society Minutes 1948-1966 English
Volume 19: Annual Reports 1880-1957 German/English
Volume 20: Superintendents Reports to the Trustees 1875-1884 German
Volume 21: Superintendents Reports to the Trustees 1894-1900 German
Volume 22: Superintendents Reports to the Trustees 1901-1909 German
Volume 23: Superintendents Reports to the Trustees 1910-1921 German/English
Volume 24: Superintendents Reports to the Trustees 1938-1948 English
Volume 25: Superintendents Reports to the Trustees 1949-1955 English
Volume 26: Trustees Attendance Book 1897-1926 English
Box 3
Volume 27: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1891-1901 English
Volume 28: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1895-1903 English
Volume 29: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1903-1914 English
Volume 31: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1915-1921 English
Volume 33: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1923-1950 English
Volume 36: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1945-1947 English
Volume 37: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1948-1950 English
Volume 38: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1949-1957 English
Volume 39: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1954-1956 English
Volume 40: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1954-1958 English
Box 4
Volume 41: Endowment Board Minutes 1892-1924 English
Volume 42: Endowment Board Minutes 1924-1939 English
Volume 43: Expenses 1905-1921 English
Volume 44: Expenses 1921-1926 English
Volume 45: Expenses 1922-1926 English
Volume 46: Expenses 1922-1931 English
Volume 47: Expenses 1935-1942 English
Volume 48: Expenses 1937-1953 English
Box 5
Volume 49: Expenses 1949-1953 English
Volume 50: Expenses 1949-1955 English
Volume 51: Expenses 1952-1958 English
Volume 52: Expenses 1955-1958 English
Oversized Volumes
Volume 2: Minutes of Trustees Meetings 1869-1892 German Oversized
Volume 3: Minutes of Trustees Meetings 1893-1918 German Oversized
Volume 4: Minutes of Trustees Meetings 1918-1926 English Oversized
Volume 13: Applications for Admission 1886-1927 English Oversized
Volume 14: Applications for Admission 1927-1950 English Oversized
Volume 15: Contracts of Indentures 1896-1929 English Oversized
Volume 17: Ladies Aid Society Minutes 1902-1925 German/English Oversized
Volume 30: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1904-1909 English Oversized
Volume 32: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1921-1933 English Oversized
Volume 34: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1933-1940 English Oversized
Volume 35: Accounts Receivable/Investments 1941-1945 English Oversized
Folders
Folder 53: Oversized Folder Charter of Home, Photograph of the Board of Trustees before 1902, Photograph of Ladies Aid Society after 1902
