History and Records of the Charleston Orphan House, 1790-1860. (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780893082925)

By: Susan L. King, Pub. 1984, Reprinted 2019, 198 pages, soft cover, Index, ISBN #0-89308-292-9.

The Charleston Orphan House was the first municipal orphanage in the United States, having been formed by an ordinance ratified in 1790 "for the establishment of an Orphan House in the City of Charleston for the purpose of supporting and educating poor orphan children and those of poor, distressed and disabled parents who are unable to support the maintenance of them". Many of the orphans were children of revolutionary soldiers. The records of the orphan house were not only an extremely important genealogical source, they are a major source for the social history of Charleston. This book contains the records of approximately 1,800 children, orphans, etc. and provides access for the first time to the enormous amount of information in the original documents.