Orphanages Reconsidered

Countering the Dickensian stereotypes, Orphanages Reconsidered portrays how three private orphanages in Baltimore responded to the need of poor, single parents for boarding schools for their children. These innovative institutions also served as pivotal community forces, rebuilding families by providing vocational training, keeping siblings together, and encouraging orphans to maintain close ties with relatives.

Fastidious research shows how the institutionsJewish, non-denominational Protestant, and Catholicdiffered in their ethnic and religious priorities, their financial support, their staffing, and their relations with the community. Nurith Zmora embellishes her portraits with institutional records, letters from the children, and published autobiographies. Author note:

Nurith Zmora is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Delaware.