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| St. Joseph Home Complex 1965 |
I find it interesting that whenever I check my blog stats,
consistently the most visited posts are the ones I did on St. Joseph’s Home in
Peekskill, New York. If I still lived
in that area, I would be inclined to do additional research on the home and the
children it housed in order to assist other genealogists.
Our research field trip to Peekskill in 2010 included a
visit to the Field Library. I called ahead to make sure that the Local History Specialist was available
to give us access to the Colin T. Naylor Archives where the files on St.
Joseph’s Home reside. Down in the
archives I was able to browse through the files and copy whatever I needed. I
copied an article written by Radford Curdy from the Peekskill Evening Star dated Friday, December 3, 1965 on the 100th
Anniversary of the Franciscan Sisters arrival in America. The article featured
the above photo.
It was Mr. Curdy who wrote that St. Joseph’s Home was “one
of the oldest childcare centers in the country.” He reports that the Franciscan Sisters order began in 1857
in Gemona, Italy; in 1865 the Franciscan Friars requested teachers for the
German parish of St. Francis of Assisi in New York City. Three sisters of the Franciscan order
answered the call and arrived in New York in December 1865. The need for
teachers and childcare expanded during this time, which prompted the order to
purchase the Townsend Estate in Peekskill. The property had a wonderful
location as it overlooked the Hudson River.
The sisters first opened a boarding school for girls, Our
Lady of Angels Academy. That academy was moved to Highland Falls, later into
Ladycliff College, in order for the facility to house more children, male and
female and become known as St. Joseph’s Home.
When St. Joseph’s Home opened in 1879 it had 25 children; by 1899,
just a year before my grandfather was there, the home housed 1,100 children.
I thank Mr. Curdy for his article and Franciscan Sister M.
Jane Thomas Gorman for her March 1, 1947 Fordham University Dissertation for
the history on St. Joseph’s Home.
Please see Carmen Velez’ comment on my March 10, 2011 blog post
on St. Joseph’s Home if you wish to connect with other St. Joseph’s alumni. There
is a Facebook page and alumni events listed.
