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.

RESIDENTS OF THE WAYNE COUNTY POOR HOUSE - 1860
NameAgeOccupationPlace of BirthStatus
WISNER, James
55
Farmer
N.Y.

WISNER, Elizabeth B.
51

Conn.

WISNER, Temperance
28

N.Y.

WISNER, Harrison
20

N.Y.
attended school
WISNER, Ralph
16

N.Y.
attended school
WISNER, Florence
12

N.Y.
attended school
GILLOU, William
71
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
LANAIR, Sarah
34

Ger.
lunatic - fits
JENKS, William
17

Eng.
pauper; idiotic
WHITMAN, Hiram
49
day laborer
N.Y.
pauper; cannot read or write
MILLER, Marcus
50
day laborer
Ger.
insane; cannot read or write
GUESS, Aden
27

N.Y.
pauper; idiotic
ABBOTT, Daniel
73
day laborer
N.Y.
pauper
ABBOTT, Catherine
39

Ger.
lunatic
ABBOTT, Jane Clara
21

N.Y.
pauper; cannot read or write
ABBOTT, Catherine
1

N.Y.
pauper
BULLIA, Milly
44

N.Y.
pauper
BULLIA, Harriet
21

N.Y.
idiotic - pauper; cannot read or write
QUINN, Barney
39
day laborer
Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
BURNETT, Simon
64
farmer
N.Y.
pauper
NICHOLAS, Clara
48
day laborer
Ger.
lunatic - pauper; said to be male
GOODBREAD, Christiana
39

Ger.
lunatic - pauper
JACKSON, Mary
63

Ireland
pauper
LOVELOCK, William
52
day laborer
Eng.
lunatic - fits
WYANT, Frank
5

N.Y.
pauper
DIVER, Luther
16

N.Y.
idiot - pauper
BLYNN, George
36
day laborer
Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
WILDER, David
37
day laborer
N.Y.
lunatic - pauper; cannot read or write
RICE, Patrick
31
tailor
Ireland
pauper
RITTER, Gustavus
24
farm laborer
Ger.
pauper
McLEAN, Neal
45
day laborer
Scotand
pauper
McCARTY, Dan
42
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
CHRISTY, Henry
47
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
MOONEY, Mary
32

Ireland
pauper
MOONEY, Anna
5

N.Y.
pauper
MOONEY, Mary
1

N.Y.
pauper
BARTON, Joseph
45

New York

CROST, Simon
36

Ger.
lunatic - pauper
"Crazy Jo"
47
day laborer
Switzerland
lunatic - pauper; stated to be male
QUINLIN, Jerry
57
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
SCOTT, James
66
Tailor
Mass.
pauper
"Dutch Woman"
41

Ger.
lunatic - pauper
FLYN, Matt
60
day laborer
Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
KENNEY, Lackey
43
day laborer
Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write; male
HARRIS, Paulina
41
day laborer
N.Y.
lunatic - pauper
CUNNINGHAM, Mary
27

Ireland
pauper
CUNNINGHAM, Mary A.
6

N.Y.
pauper
CUNNINGHAM, Martha
5

N.Y.
pauper
CUNNINGHAM, Michael
3

N.Y.
pauper
REED, Luke
55
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
ASKEN, James
41
day laborer
Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
McGUIRE, Thomas
46
day laborer
Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
LARRY, Daniel
41
day laborer
Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
MURRAY, John
35
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
BRADY, Catherine
35

Ireland
pauper
BRADY, Frank
3

N.Y.
blind from birth
HAGGERTY, John
41
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
PATRICK, Clara
49
teamster
Ireland
pauper; stated to be male
BARCLAY, Jesse
45
day laborer
N.Y.
insane - fits
RESUG, Bonefard
43
day laborer
Ger.
pauper
ROACH, Peter
46
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
ROACH, Michael
7

N.Y.
pauper
LAWRENCE, Esther
50

Eng.
lunatic - pauper
FITZGERALD, Edward
35
day laborer
Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
FITZGERALD, John
12

N.Y.
pauper
SOPER, Amos
79
farmer
N.Y.
pauper
SNYDER, Sarah
25
domestic
N.Y.
pauper
SNYDER, Phebe A.
1

N.Y.
pauper
SCOTT, John
78
farmer
Ireland
pauper
KNEELAND, Elizabeth
38

Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
KNEELAND, Elizabeth
6

N.Y.
pauper
McALLISTER, Hannah
38
domestic
"U.S."
pauper
WILMAR, A.C.
46

Ger.
pauper; cannot read or write; stated to be female
MADIGAN, Simon
59
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
O'NEIL, Jerry
60
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
CONWAY, Edward
83
day laborer
Ireland
pauper
FITZGERALD, Richard
7

N.Y.
pauper
GAGE, George B.
12

N.Y.
pauper
FAGAN, Patrick
30
day laborerIreland
pauper
FAGAN, Margaret
26

Ireland
pauper; cannot read or write
FAGAN, Margaret
3

N.Y.
pauper
SLAVER, Patrick
32
day laborerIreland
pauper
SLAVER, Ellen
28

Ireland
pauper
SLAVER, Thomas
1

N.Y.
pauper
WARD, Mary
38

Ireland
pauper
WARD, Margaret
9

N.Y.
pauper
WARD, Thomas
6

N.Y.
pauper
McCORMICK, James M.
35
day laborerIreland
pauper
RICE, Curry
25
day laborerIreland
pauper
FOWLER, Jacob
31
day laborerIreland
pauper
SNEER, John
67
day laborerUnknown
pauper
SWEET, Charles
1

N.Y.
pauper
CONNELLY, Michael
29
day laborerIreland
pauper
RYAN, Patrick
50
day laborerIreland
pauper
BROOKE, Mary
30

Ireland
pauper
BROOKE, Andrew
11

N.Y.
pauper
MONROE, John
27
day laborerUnknown
pauper
FLOYD, William
40
day laborerIreland
pauper
MACKEY, Richard
37
day laborerScotland
pauper
SIMPSON, Joseph
61
day laborerIreland
pauper
CATHEN, John
30
day laborerIreland
pauper
FLOYD, Isaac
43
day laborerMass.
pauper
MULLONY, William
57
day laborerN.Y.
pauper
HICKEY, Dan
42
day laborerIreland
pauper
HORNBECK, Edward
50
day laborerUnknown
pauper
GALLAGHAN, John
30
day laborerIreland
pauper
SHULTZ, Fred
69

Ger.
pauper
KINGSLEY, Henry
42

Ireland
pauper
The following were neighboring families on the same page of the census sheet
WEBER, Sebastian
33
day laborerGer.

WEBER, Elizabeth
35

Ger.

WEBER, Michael
9

N.Y.
attended school
WEBER, Sebastian
8

N.Y.
attended school
WEBER, Catherine
5

N.Y.

WEBER, Elizabeth
2

N.Y.


BRADLEY, Benjamin J.
48
farmer
N.Y.

BRADLEY, Nancy E.
34

N.Y.

BRADLEY, Sarah
12

N.Y.
attended school
BRADLEY, Judd
8

N.Y.
attended school



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.

Individual copies of this material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this full paragraph remains on all copied material. This digital version, with commentary and underlying source code, cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation, nor may this copyrighted original digital version be used on any other site or offered for sale on any commercial digital storage medium. Permission may be given for distribution upon written request to the author.




Back to Wayne County NYGenWeb Historical Articles Section.




Last Updated: 5/9/99
Copyright © 1999 - 2011 M. Magill
Wayne County NYGenWeb
A County Site of the USGenWeb Project
All Rights Reserved.