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The children lived in cottages, with between forty to fifty children in each building. In later years, the home housed only fifteen children in each cottage. Children at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home received a traditional education, as well as training in various occupations. The boys also received some military training, and upon attaining adulthood, several of the boys joined the armed forces. In 1901, the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home was the largest institution of its kind in the world.
In May 1871, the board of managers authorized the construction of additional cottages to meet the demand. Any child under sixteen years of age of “deceased, indigent and permanently disabled soldiers and sailors who served during the rebellion,” were eligible for admittance to the created homes. The legislation directed that the first home be constructed at White Sulphur Springs in Delaware County, Ohio, unless the area proved to be unsuitable per the board of managers. This location was also home to Ohio’s Industrial School for Girls. Per the bill, any site selected for the initial home should be able to provide housing and care for 250 children. Finally, the legislation authorized thirteen thousand dollars for the home’s construction.
Early history
At a public meeting held that day, Howard E. Gilkey, an orphaned child from Cleveland, Ohio, gave an impassioned speech, asking the State of Ohio to assume control of and to increase financing for the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home. Following the Civil War, the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for Union veterans, sought to create an orphans’ home for the children of Ohio’s veterans. In many cases, the children were truly orphans, most commonly having lost their fathers during the Civil War and their mothers either during or soon after the conflict. In other cases, mothers sought to turn their children over to this institution due to the mothers’ inability to financially care for all or some of their children. In 1998, the State of Ohio sold the Ohio Veterans' Children's Home's buildings to Legacy Ministries International, which leases the site to different businesses and organizations.
Eventually, the home housed only fifteen children in each cottage. In 1869, the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization of Union soldiers who fought in the American Civil War, established the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home in Xenia, Ohio. The Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home was originally located in a rented building in Xenia, Ohio. In 1869, Xenia residents provided the GAR with one hundred acres of land to build a permanent facility. In 1869, the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans’ organization consisting of Union soldiers who fought in the American Civil War, established the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home in Xenia, Ohio.
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The "Home" was commissioned by Abraham Lincoln, and was a self-contained community with a farm, dairy barn, hospital, power/heating plant, gymnasium, banquet hall, chapel, and residence halls. Lincoln challenged the states to bind up the wounds of the Civil War by meeting the needs of widows and orphans created by the conflict. Ohio members of the Grand Army of the Republic took up that challenge, and, through a donation of 100 acres by a Xenia farmer, created the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home. This institution was the predecessor of the Ohio Veterans' Children's Home.
In 1869, Xenia residents provided the GAR with 150 acres of land to build a permanent facility. It is a matter of course that the requirements for admission should be changed with changing conditions. In 1870 no children were entitled to admission but those whose fathers were killed in action, or had since died from the wounds or disabilities of war. During the twentieth century, the State of Ohio opened the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home to orphaned children of any Ohio soldier from any military conflict. Student records include date of birth, date of admission, county of origin, and notations regarding whether records on file contain social service records, medical records, education records, and/or admission card only.
Ohio Soldiers' & Sailors' Orphans' Home, Ohio Veterans' Children's Home, Student Records, 1869-1995
It was renovated and is now in use as an office and conference center for Athletes in Action. Fold3 provided the free index for this collection on FamilySearch. For more information regarding the history and preservation of the Ohio Veterans' Children's Home visit their website and Facebook page. Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found.
Although Ohio did not exist as a state during the time of the Revolutionary War, a man born between 1730 and 1765 who lived in Ohio later may have been granted Ohio land for his service for another state or for the Continental Army. A temporary location was established in town, and 100 acres of farmland south/southeast of town were purchased for the permanent location. Children began arriving at the home in December 1869, and in August of 1870, they moved to the farm. Responsibility eventually passed from the GAR to the State of Ohio, and the state officially adopted the children. Children who once lived at the OSSO/OVCH formed an Association of Ex-Pupils , established a museum, and hold an annual reunion. Main BuildingBuilt around 1870, was the main administration building for the home.
Every year, the Association of Ex-Pupils, an organization consisting of former wards of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home or of the Ohio Veterans’ Children’s Home, holds reunions on July 4, at the home’s former grounds. Military service records are also found in the office of each county auditor and county recorder. The FamilySearch Library has microfilms of discharge papers, dating from the Civil War to 1920 , for about half the counties in Ohio. Opened the institution to orphans of all military conflicts and the children of all veterans.
Behind Collier Chapel lies a nearly 100-year-old cemetery which is the resting place for many of the home's victims of a 1918 diphtheria outbreak. Athletic teams at Woodrow Wilson High School competed as the "Cadets". State Championships and athletic records were transferred to Xenia High School upon the home's closure. Ohio Memory includes a number of items documenting the history of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home. Greene County Records Center and Archives has contributed several photographs that were part of a time capsule placed in the cornerstone of the Greene County Courthouse in 1901 and opened in 2001.
edit source]Service cards for Navy , Marine Corps , out-of-state , and regular service are on films at the FamilySearch Library. World War I was a global war fought on multiple continents with several nations involved. Ohio Civil War Medals - Extensive list of Veterans, their units and dates of service. The Mexican War was caused by the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845.
Between 1870 and 1901, the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home could not accept all of the children seeking assistance. Additionally, Chaplain George W. Collier is credited with being the first to suggest the idea of a home to the GAR. Originally, the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home provided Ohio children who lost their father in the American Civil War with a place to live. Due to financial difficulties, a veteran and/or his spouse might leave their children at the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home in the care of the State of Ohio. Between 1870 and 1901, the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home could not accept all of the children seeking assistance. In the Home was thus established far in advance of similar public institutions, a Manual Training School supported by public funds for public uses.
The children also enjoyed such extra-curricular activities as choir, orchestra, concert band, military band, drum corps, and athletics. Beginning in April of 1876, the home put out their own paper, titled the Home Weekly. There were a number of cottages on the campus, which served as dormitories for the home residents and students. In the last days of use these buildings were not well maintained and during the period of time when the campus was unused the buildings began to deteriorate. Due to the state of disrepair these were not used when Legacy Ministries International took control of the property in 1999. A few of the cottages were renovated for use as residence halls for Athletes in Action.
The State Library of Ohio has also digitized a portion of its collection of annual reports from this institution–documents which include photos and rosters of students and employees. The student rosters contain a wealth of information of interest to genealogical researchers, including student names, counties of origin, parents’ names, the father’s military unit, and vital statistics for parents. Because children also learned a trade at the home, some report years include rosters that list the trade in which the student was engaged. For some researchers, these documents provide a well-rounded picture of one generation of their ancestors, sometimes more. The dining hall building served as a cafeteria as well as the main classroom building.
In some cases, the children had not lost their parents, but the veteran was physically, emotionally or financially unable to care for his family. By 1874, approximately six hundred children resided at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home. The large number of children caused several health outbreaks to occur during this time period, including “watery eyes” , measles, and scarlet fever.
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