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Archiver > MIJACKSO > 2001-01 > 0978610011


From: "Poor House Lady" <>
Subject: POORHOUSE Question
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 06:06:51 -0600


I would like to invite you to visit The POORHOUSE STORY (a clearinghouse for
information about 19th century American poorhouses) at
http://www.poorhousestory.com

I need some help! On the Michigan page
http://www.poorhousestory.com/poorhouses_in_michigan.htm I have just posted
a postcard photo of what is called The Jackson County Infirmary. (Note: If
you have visited the site recently, you may need to click REFRESH on your
browser to see the new material.)

The major problem with poorhouse research involves the fact that they were
referred to by so many different terms. Many poorhouses eventually evolved
into facilities which were no longer actually poorhouses. But in some
locations ... even during the period of time in which they were definitely
functioning as poorhouses ... the term changed several times. This was
usually because the political correctness of the time required that a less
stigmatizing term be used. Infirmary was one of those terms. That one is
particularly troublesome because there were also many only medical
facilities which were called infirmaries. (However, for example, in OHIO the
term poorhouse was legally changed to infirmary at one point in time; and we
know that during a certain time frame no other institution would have used
that term.)

So....Is the facility we have now pictured on our website (Jackson County
Infirmary)a poorhouse??? (Or was it at one time?)
We would really appreciate some feedback on this. If it WAS a
poorhouse...then we might assume that other poorhouses in the state were
referred to as infirmaries, and we could probably locate a lot more of them.

"What's in a name?" Everything! Sigh

Thanks for any assistance.

Linda Crannell
(aka=The Poorhouse Lady)

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