Montana

Montana History Compass: Subject Guides: Genealogy Guide Montana Orphanages

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Montana Historical Society Research Center Catalog

Annual report of the State Orphans’ Home of the state of Montana

Montana Children’s Center Records, 1894-1984, (Montana Children’s Center in Twin Bridges/The State Orphan’s Homes. Consists of executive board minutes, indexed records of children received, financial records, blueprints, etc.

Montana Children’s Center Records. RS 95, boxes 5 and 7, Montana Historical Society Archives, Helena.

“Memories Of The Orphanage — Two Men Relive Their Days At A Montana Home And Give New Insight Into A National Debate”

“Their toothbrushes hung among 50 others above 50 identical hooks for their washcloths in a cottage set aside for boys of a certain age. Every morning they watched the same ritual: the whipping of the bed-wetters. Every Tuesday night they ate stew, every Wednesday they ate beans, every Thursday hash or chipped beef, every Friday fish…” Quote from News Article

Orphanages and Children’s Homes

Bozeman Nursery, Bozeman, also called Beall Nursery, believed to be a Works Progress Administration Nursery. Financed during war years by the Federal Government, later financed by city or local organizations. Provided supervised care for children whose parents worked.

Florence Crittenton Home, 22 Jefferson, Helena, Lewis and Clark County, MT (1900) (maternity foster home for up to 35 girls and 15 babies)

Inter-Mountain Deaconess Home for Children (1954) was previously known as Montana Deaconess School and Intermountain Children’s Home in 1989.

Montana Children’s Home and Hospital –Helena (1897) name changed from Montana Home Finding Society. In 1938 it was renamed Shodair Crippled Children’s Hospital (homeless, dependent, neglected, and orphaned children) (foster care and adoption)

Montana Deaconess School–Helena (1909) – Methodist Church and Methodist Deaconesses. Name changed to Inter-Mountain Deaconess Home for Children in 1954. Intermountain Children’s Home in 1989.

Montana State Children’s Center, (1894-1975) Also known as Montana State Orphans’ Home and Twin Bridges.

Paul Clark Home, 207 South Excelsior Avenue, Butte (1899) (orphans) (over age 4) (M/F)

Sacred Heart Academy–Missoula (1874) Sisters of Charity of Providence at Missoula (school for orphaned children)

St. Ambrose’s Orphanage–Helena (closed 1893- children transferred to St. Joseph’s Orphanage)

St. Ann’s (Anne’s) Infant Home–Helena (1911-1936) (unwed mothers) (children were adopted by age 2 or 3 or transferred to St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Helena)

St. Joseph’s Hospital–Deer Lodge (late 1890’s) Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas. (hospital with a nursery to care for children on a boarding basis) (unmarried mothers at 5-6 months gestation) (women could stay and work at the hospital after giving birth)

St Joseph’s Orphan Home. Montana Avenue, Helena – Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (1893-1965) (children from broken homes, orphans, destitute, abandoned children) (M/F)

St. Joseph’s Orphans Home, Helena MT.

St. Labre Mission School–Ashland Ursaline Nuns (1883) (boarding school and day school for Tongue River Indian Reservation children, and others) (elementary to higher training and religious education)

St. Mary’s Academy–Deer Lodge – Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (1822) (Catholic boarding school)

St. Thomas Orphan Home–Great Falls – Sisters of Charity of Providence (1910) (broken homes, orphans, children needing at least one year of care)

St. Xavier Mission–St. Xavier (1887) Jesuit Missionaries (boarding school and day school) (Crow Indian Reservations and other children) (provide Catholic training)

Shodair Crippled Children’s Hospital – see Montana Children’s Home and Hospital

State Orphans’ Home, Twin Bridges – State of Montana (1894) (neglected, dependent children) (under age 16)

St. Joseph’s Home, Convent–St. Ignatius (1888) under the supervision of the Ursuline Sisters (kindergarten for young Indian children) (broken homes, orphans, children needing at least one year of care) They also operated a boarding school – Providence Sister’s House.

“Most…..were not true orphans, but rather “orphans of the living,” from homes shattered by devastating poverty, turbulent parental relationships, substance abuse, poor parenting skills, or physical and emotional abuse. In the absence of local, state, or federal social welfare programs, the state orphanage was one of the few options available to these children and the destitute women who could no longer care for them.“

Hang tight! We are working on additional links for this page. We hope to help you discover links to children’s homes, orphanages, asylums, institutions, and other interesting records.

Some orphans were placed in children’s homes in neighboring states. Don’t forget to search the surrounding state orphanages. Try searching in Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Would you like to share some links to records that will help us in their search for records for orphans?