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    Silent Voices from the Past: A Chronicle of the Almshouse of Sullivan County
    Silent Voices from the Past: A Chronicle of the Almshouse of Sullivan County
    Silent Voices from the Past: A Chronicle of the Almshouse of Sullivan County
    Ebook97 pages41 minutes

    Silent Voices from the Past: A Chronicle of the Almshouse of Sullivan County

    By Sara Poisson

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    About this ebook

    I noticed a small cemetary on the grounds at the county jail where I work as a clinician. The reason it caught my eye was because each of the stones in the back half of it wre uniform in size and not buried according to family but by chronology. This became the beginning of a research project that lasted about 18 months. The research was a joint project between the inmates at the jail and myself to find out who these people were and why they were buried here. What we learned was this spot was the location of the almshouse for the county. We discovered who was here, why and how the institution evolved and ended.

    There is a strong parallel between the throw away members of society during the almshouse era and the inmates in the county jail today. The challenges are greater, the stigma more negative and the stakes higher for both populations. My plan was to impart a sense of self-worth for the inmates by seeing that the almshouse population mattered. It matters who is buried here and why. They are entitled to the same dignity as any other member of the society. The same is true for the inmates. If they don't understand that, if they don't respect themselves, they are doomed to repeat their mistakes.

    I have long since been a champion for the underdog. My career has been working with underprivleged children and families, domestic violence survivors and the incarcerated population. My husband and I have a rescue center for abandoned and abused farm animals.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateOct 14, 2010
    ISBN9781450259088
    Silent Voices from the Past: A Chronicle of the Almshouse of Sullivan County
    Author

    Sara Poisson

    I noticed a small cemetary on the grounds at the county jail where I work as a clinician. The reason it caught my eye was because each of the stones in the back half of it wre uniform in size and not buried according to family but by chronology. This became the beginning of a research project that lasted about 18 months. The research was a joint project between the inmates at the jail and myself to find out who these people were and why they were buried here. What we learned was this spot was the location of the almshouse for the county. We discovered who was here, why and how the institution evolved and ended. There is a strong parallel between the throw away members of society during the almshouse era and the inmates in the county jail today. The challenges are greater, the stigma more negative and the stakes higher for both populations. My plan was to impart a sense of self-worth for the inmates by seeing that the almshouse population mattered. It matters who is buried here and why. They are entitled to the same dignity as any other member of the society. The same is true for the inmates. If they don't understand that, if they don't respect themselves, they are doomed to repeat their mistakes. I have long since been a champion for the underdog. My career has been working with underprivleged children and families, domestic violence survivors and the incarcerated population. My husband and I have a rescue center for abandoned and abused farm animals.

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      Book preview

      Silent Voices from the Past - Sara Poisson

      Contents

      Introduction

      Identification of those in the Sullivan County Almshouse Cemetery

      Introduction

      The idea for this book came to me one day as I walked from my office in the old part of the Sullivan County Nursing Home to the jail where I work as a mental health and substance abuse clinician. The walk takes me near a cemetery where one can easily see a stark difference between the front half of the cemetery which is ornate and obviously very old. The back half of the cemetery has very small uniform stones that are in perfect rows, not in family plots as one would expect to see. Upon investigation, I learned that these small nondescript stones each belongs to someone who died here on this land during the time period that this spot was the County Almshouse. The look of the stones, the effective use of space and the lack luster appearance of this half of the cemetery is indicative of how these folks were looked upon. These were the throwaways of society, the ones no one wanted to see or know about. It struck me that there is a strong parallel between these rows of folks and those that I work with. These folks are also the throwaways of society. They also have stigma. They also have a difficult time in the world financially and socially because of the class of people they belong to.

      Part of my job is to help these folks understand that they do have worth and that they can and should make positive contributions to society through successfully living their own lives. Unfortunately, most of these folks are not proud of who the have become. Seeing the worth in oneself is difficult when it is hard for others to do so. It occurred to me that this was an opportunity to teach self-respect, hard work, compassion and respect for others through a research project. This book is the result of that work. Each and every person in this part of the cemetery has been identified. All that could be learned about each of these persons is recorded here. Additionally, the history of the evolving cultural and institutional norms is here as well giving all the information about building and farming improvements that we could find.

      I hope that some of the twenty or so young men that worked on this project have learned that their lives have meaning, that they can and should make a difference and that there should be equal respect for all people regardless of personal history, economic status, age or general misfortune.

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      The purpose of the poorhouse was to provide food and lodging for the indigent of the towns and county. The poor house population generally exploded in the early 1800’s where conditions ranged from poor to horrific. Often times the leadership was won by political favor and as little as possible was done to earn a paycheck. Everything possible was done to keep the cost down and the population low. The first entry in the Poor Farm registry was dated December 16, 1867. The person’s name was Sybil Kindal. She as a single white female from Claremont who was born in Swanzey, New Hampshire. The last entry is for Mr. James Young, a 55 year old white single male from Claremont who was born in Laconia. He was admitted September 23, 1931. Outdoor relief was similar to today’s welfare system. Money was given to the poor to use for their living expenses. Indoor relief refers to the Almshouse system. This work covers the beginning of the Almshouse in 1867 until 1938 when the Almshouse system had become archaic.

      Ending up in the poor house was a shameful and depression situation in life. In 1897 Will Carleton wrote Over the Hill to the Poor-House the lyrics of which follow:

      Over the hill to the poor-house I’m trudgin’ my weary way..

      I, a woman of seventy, and only a trifle gray..

      I, who am smart an’ chipper, for all the years I’ve told,

      As many another woman that’s only half as old.

      Over the hill to the poor-house—I can’t quite make it clear!

      Over the hill to the poor-house—it seems so horrid queer!

      Many a step I’ve taken, a –toilin’ to and fro,

      But this is the sort of journey I never thought to go.

      What is the use of

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