This index contains the names of over 17,700 children who entered the six major orphan asylums located in Hamilton County, Ohio between October 1829, and December 1919. Of those children who entered, only a small portion were total orphans (i.e. both parents were dead). Most were subsequently returned to their families, or upon reaching the age of 14 years old, were placed in an apprenticeship to learn a trade or skill. Valuable family information was recorded when the children entered the asylums, which makes this an excellent resource for family history researchers, as well as those researching social conditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The information recorded for the children entering the asylums varies by institution and period. This index records the name of the child, date of admission, birth date or age at admission, names of parents (if listed), date of dismissal, and where they went after dismissal. There is usually more information available for the child and their family in the original records. The references in the index will lead researchers to these original documents and the repositories where the records are located.
The six orphan asylums covered in this index are: Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, St. Peter Female Orphan Asylum, St. Aloysius Orphan Asylum, German General Protestant Orphan Asylum, St. Joseph Orphan Asylum, and New Orphan Asylum for Colored Children.

Hamilton County, Ohio Children's Records: Six Orphan Asylums, 1829 - 1919