Residents of the Wayne County Poor House in 1860

The census of the residents of the Wayne County Poor House in Lyons, New York, was filed September 26, 1860. The census reader was P. Tucker.

In addition to keeper James T. Wisner and his family, 101 other persons resided on the premises when the census was taken. Of the "inmates", 59, or approximately 60% of the residents, were males age 16 and older, most being well over 25 years old and day laborers. 46 of these 59 adult males, comprising approximately 47% of the total poorhouse population, were of foreign birth. Most were single. These are too many men to be mere "drifters" into a rural county in the heart of the state. According to French's Gazetteer of 1860, "The N.Y. Central R.R., built through the co. in 1852-53, greatly benefited the co., and enhanced the value of lands." (p. 690) Could some of the residents have been former railroad workers who remained in the area after the boom construction days, or contract workers who'd been employed in later projects along the Erie Canal?

There were 7 adult women with dependent children, no fathers present, with 6 of these being Irish-born women whose children were all born in N.Y. State. There were a total of 20 children, making up 21% of the total population and all born in N.Y. State. Only 4 children did not accompany adults. Only 1 person was said to be physically handicapped, a 3-year-old boy blind from birth who had a 35-year-old Irish-born mother. At the time this census was taken, older relatives of entrenched Wayne county residents were not warehoused at the poorhouse. Only 12 persons were aged 60 years or over, 11 of these being men. 7 of these men were born in Ireland or Germany, in addition to the 1 Irish-born woman. That they were of foreign birth is not remarkable, as these persons might not have been recent immigrants. What is noteworthy is the almost total absence of elderly women. 3 persons were described as having fits, all said to be lunatics or insane.

In 1860 the Wayne County Poorhouse housed what appears to be a preponderance of men for whom there was no local employment and who could not or did not want to move on, mothers with dependent children, the mentally ill, the mentally handicapped, children probably orphaned or placed by poor parents, some elderly men and women, and persons with "fits" (epilepsy or seizures). As the census taker kept track of literacy, there was a seemingly high degree of literacy among all residents, including the Irish immigrants. Few of the adults were born in New York State and it is unlikely that among these were many who came from entrenched Wayne County families. Reading between the lines it appears that in 1860 Wayne County residents took care of "their own" elderly, widowed, handicapped and orphans at home in a family setting.

Source: This interpretation was made by and digital text was transcribed from original microfilm of the 1860 US census. Due to the difficulties in transcribing old and stylized handwriting, the original census should be referred to.

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