The House of Refuge Records collection on the Digital Resource Commons (DRC) consist of 5 volumes and includes the Record of Commitments (1869-1882, 1891-1902), an index, financial records and payroll records. The Record of Commitments includes the names of individuals committed to the House of Refuge, their nationality, a description of their offenses or the reason for admittance, information on their parents, and their age.
The House of Refuge was officially established in 1850. A state act authorized the city of Cincinnati to establish a "House of Correction" and a "House of Refuge" (sometimes referred to as a House of Reformation). The main difference between the two was that the former was for the "confinement and punishment" of boys over 16, and girls over 14, while the latter was for "confinement and reform" of boys under 16 and girls under 14 (House of Refuge, The charter, rules and regulations for the government of the House of refuge and its inmates, and the by-laws of the Board of directors, 1850, p. 6). Children came into the House due to homelessness, petty larceny, and "incorrigibility."
During their time in the House, children were expected to work, go to school, and attend religious services. White and African-American children were segregated, particularly while sick, during certain activities, and among some residential arrangements (Annual Report of the City Departments of the City of Cincinnati, 1913, p. 348, plan inserts). Over time, some children left the House via placement with foster families, returning to their parents, or aging/marrying out of the system.
By 1912, there was widespread recognition of the decrepit conditions of the original House of Refuge. In the 1912 City of Cincinnati Annual Reports, the House of Refuge Superintendent's Report noted that "...the old House of Refuge is one of the worst examples in the country of the congregate institution for children," and also noted the reduction of harsh disciplinary methods (Annual Report of the City Departments of the City of Cincinnati, 1912, p. 277, 283). Among the problems included the House's challenge in dealing with "dependent children" (e.g. orphaned children, children with parents unable to care for them) and "delinquent children." Caring for delinquent children had been its original chartered purpose, and by 1912 the House started to find other agencies and methods to provide care for the dependents. The 1912 report noted that due to the obsolescence of the building, plans were in effect to abandon the old building and establish separate farms for the boys and girls classified as delinquents (p. 278). The farms had been established with partial residency by 1914 (Annual Report of the City Departments of the City of Cincinnati, 1914, p. 497). The old buildings were vacated by 1916 and torn down in the next decade (Giglierano, The Bicentennial Guide to Greater Cincinnati, p. 259)
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This volume contains 162 pages of children's names and their history number. The children's names are sorted by surname, but not in perfect alphabetical order. It is not clear when it was created, nor does it have additional information on the individuals. Users may access searchable PDFs of the scanned page images (either as a single file displaying the entire volume, or individual pages). In addition, the names have been transcribed and are available in PDF document text format, and in spreadsheets (Excel for both the entire volume and individual pages, CSV format for individual pages). These transcriptions are available for the entire volume, and for individual pages.
This ledger contains January 1892-January 1895 expenses. Expense categories include salaries, food, building supplies, and other materials required for the operations of the House. The scanned pages display the names of employees and pay amounts, and also quantities of supplies and food purchased, and total amounts. The searchable scans are available as one volume, or broken up into smaller segments. Researchers are advised that the transcribed information (available in PDF and Excel formats) simply shows the date, names, and occupations of employees receiving pay. It does not display their pay amounts, nor the supplies purchased for the House.
This ledger contains January 1892-January 1895 expenses. Expense categories include salaries, food, building supplies, and other materials required for the operations of the House. The scanned pages display the names of employees and pay amounts, and also quantities of supplies and food purchased, and total amounts. The searchable scans are available as one volume, or broken up into smaller segments. Researchers are advised that the transcribed information (available in PDF and Excel formats) simply shows the date, names, and occupations of employees receiving pay. It does not display their pay amounts, nor the supplies purchased for the House
This register lists children who were committed to the House between October 1869 and September 1882. The register lists the child's name, case number, date of commitment, reason for commitment, by whom they were committed, age, times arrested, birthplace, nationality/ethnicity, further family and character information (such as living parents, tobacco/alcohol use, educational levels), and recommendations for placement. The searchable scans are available as one volume, broken up into smaller segments, or as individual pages. Researchers are advised that the transcribed information (available as a PDF and in Excel, including CSV files for individual pages) does not reflect all of the information contained in the ledgers for each child (for example, tobacco use, living parents, etc).
This register lists children who were committed to the House between January 1891 and July 1902. The register lists the child's name, case number, date of commitment, reason for commitment, by whom they were committed, age, times arrested, birthplace, nationality/ethnicity, further family and character information (such as living parents, tobacco/alcohol use, educational levels), and recommendations for placement. The searchable scans are available as one volume, broken up into smaller segments, or as individual pages. Researchers are advised that the transcribed information (available as a PDF and in Excel, including CSV files for individual pages) does not reflect all of the information contained in the ledgers for each child (for example, tobacco use, living parents, etc).