POOR FARM RECORDS REVEAL HISTORY

A new book documenting records from Cape Girardeau County's poor farm reveals a piece of local history from early this century.

The "County Home for the Friendless" was situated where the Cape County parks are now. From 1874 through 1956, the farm accepted the poor, indigent and those with nowhere else to turn.

Various farm superintendents over the years kept records of the people committed to the care of the poor farm. But over the years, those records were in danger of being lost.

In 1981, the Cape Girardeau County Genealogy Society transcribed the records from the original, hand-written manuscripts. But, over the years, a number of errors, mostly from poor penmanship on the part of the poor farm superintendents, were found.

Local historians Sharon Sanders and Diana Bryant have updated the original work and added to the resource materials. The revised book is available from the Cape Girardeau County Genealogy Society.

"It's a book within a book," Sanders said.

Bryant and Sanders have written a number of other books on local history, offering research material for genealogists. This book is similar.

In the 1800s, Bryant explained, every county in Missouri established a place to deal with the ill and poor of the county. "Just because someone was at the poor farm doesn't mean they were destitute," Bryant said. "We did not have nursing homes until the mid-1900s."

Often people were sent to the poor farm because they had no family, or family members were unable to care of a person.

"They got free medical care at the poor farm," Bryant said.

The records show people admitted with broken legs or other ailments.

"They stayed a while until they were better and then they left," Bryant said.

The book provides a wealth of information for genealogy researchers, Sanders said.

In the years of the poor farm's existence, 1,888 "inmates" were recorded and cared for. Some stayed a few days; others stayed for decades until they died.

A "Potter's Field," or cemetery for the poor, was established on the poor farm. Sanders said the cemetery was supposed to be near an orchard, but the graves were unmarked, and the exact number of burials isn't documented.

But poor farm records, compiled in an alphabetical list, include dates of births, birthplaces and other information about each person admitted to the poor farm.

The reasons for admittance is also included, which makes for interesting reading. Many were admitted because of poverty or homelessness. Others were admitted because of illness or an assortment of other ailments.

A 30-year-old woman was admitted for "meanness." Another woman was admitted due to "crying spells." A 50-year-old man was "down and out." And a 51-year-old man admitted with malaria was also described as "a rascal."

Some were admitted because of whiskey. There were hoboes and tramps.

"You can see people who came in just for the winter," Bryant said. "They checked in in November and out in May."

The poor farm also served as a home for unwed mothers. Women checked in and stayed until they delivered.

The list includes a number of archaic medical terms like flux and consumption. The authors have included a glossary to help define those old terms.

In doing the research, Sanders and Bryant came across newspaper stories and other anecdotes about the poor farm. These are included in the book. There's a story of Sam, an inmate who believed in voodoo and witchcraft, and was convinced a woman admitted to the poor farm was a witch. After the woman's burial, Sam piled stones on her grave to prevent an untimely resurrection.

Obituaries also tell stories of the times. For example, a 1919 obituary tells of a woman, "one-time belle of Cape County" who died in poverty. Another obituary tells of a woman, "abandoned by a worthless man" who died at the poor farm. Her 12 children were sent to an orphanage.

"It's a wealth of information," Sanders said. "We wanted to make sure it was preserved."