State Resources and Books
Apprentices, Poor Children and Bastards, Loudoun County, Virginia, 1757-1850 (Book available at Amazon) Contains information about indentures of children.
Children and Youth in History/ Orphans and Colonialism (children sent from the streets of London to Virginia
Orphan Trains – Social Welfare History Project – Virginia (1854-1929)
Orphans’ Court in Colonial Virginia
Virginia Heritage Guides to Manuscript and Archival Collections in Virginia
Virginia Records Timeline – includes orphans sent from London
Orphanages and Homes
Assembly’s Home and School, Prince Edward and Charlotte Streets, Fredericksburg (1893) Presbyterian Church in the United States (Ministers’ orphans and missionaries’ children) (M/F)
Baptist Orphanage of Virginia. Salem (1892) Baptist (orphans)
Bethany Home Orphanage, South Richmond R. D. 3., Bon Air (1894) (orphans)(ages 2 to 8) (M/F)
Bethany Home, Boydton – Colored Orphan Relief Society (1903) (colored orphan children)
Bonney Home for Girls, 13 Boissevain Avenue. Norfolk (1910) (indigent) (ages over 5)
Catholic College
Children’s Home, 408 Duke Street, Alexandria – Allison Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (1902) (helpless, destitute) (ages 4 to 12) (M/F)
City Orphan Asylum article mentions Yellow Fever in Fall 1855, Portsmouth and Norfolk
Children’s Home Society of Virginia (early 1900s) photos,
Danville Orphanage, 1015 North Main Street, Danville (1898) Also known as Hughes Memorial Home (homeless) (M/F)
Day Nursery and Children’s Home, 511 Chapel Street, Norfolk (1909) (orphans, dependent) (M/F)
Ebenezer Home, 9th Ave. and 7th St., Roanoke (1910) (orphans, needy) (M/F)
Female Charity School, 12th and Main Streets, Fredericksburg (Episcopal) (1802) (orphans, dependent) (F)
Female Orphan Society of Norfolk
- Records
- Female Orphan Society of Norfolk, Virginia Receives a Generous Donation 1816-1817 history included
Female Orphans’ Home, 703 East Leigh Street, Richmond (1805) (neglected, dependent) (ages 3 to 12) (F)
Foundling Hospital, 425 North 32nd Street. Richmond (1894) (foundlings) (M/F)
Friends’ Orphan Asylum, 112 West Charity Street, Richmond (1872) Also called Friends’ Asylum for Colored Orphans (orphans, abandoned) (M/F)
Holt Street Orphan Asylum, 203 Holt Street Norfolk – Female Orphan Society of Norfolk (orphans, homeless) (F)
Holy Innocent Foundling Asylum, 709 North First Street Richmond – St Joseph’s Society for Colored Missions (1895) (abandoned infants) (colored)
Jactzcei Orphan Asylum, 112 Charlotte Street, Norfolk (1856) (Episcopal (orphans, destitute) (F)
Lutheran Orphan Home. Salem (1888: United Synod in the South: (orphans, needy) (ages 5 to 12) (M)
Lynchburg Female Orphan Asylum, Hampton (orphans) (ages 3 to 8) (F)
Masonic Home. Richmond – Masonic Grand Lodge of Virginia (1890) (Masons’ dependent orphans) (M/F)
Methodist Orphanage. Station A. Richmond – Methodist Episcopal Church South (1900) (orphans, destitute) (M/F)
Odd Fellows’ Home, Lynchburg – Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Virginia (1849) (Odd Fellows’ orphans) (M/F)
Petersburg Female Orphan Asylum, 237 South Sycamore St., Petersburg (1848) Methodist Episcopal Church -South (orphans) (ages 3 to 13) (F)
Portsmouth Orphan Asylum, 603 North Street. Portsmouth (1856) (destitute, orphans) (M/F)
Presbyterian Orphans’ Home, R. D. 4, Lynchburg Presbyterian Church in the United States (1902) (orphans) (M/F)
Richmond Male Orphan Asylum, Amelia Street, Richmond (1844) (orphans, dependent) (M)
St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum, Fourth and Marshall Streets. Richmond – Sisters of Charity (1893 (indigent, neglected) (F)
St. Paul’s Church Home, 606 East Leigh Street, Richmond – St Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church (1859) (dependent, neglected) (F)
St. Vincent’s Male Orphanage, Roanoke – Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (1893 (orphans) (age 4 to 12) (M)
St. Mary’s Academy and Orphan Asylum, Norfolk, VA
- Image Sargeant Memorial Collection Digital Collection Norfolk Public Library,
St. Mary’s Orphan Asylum, 172 Chapel St., Norfolk – Sisters of Charity (1834) (orphans) (ages 3-13) (F)
Tumey Home for Boys, 288 Bank Street, Norfolk (1886) (homeless)
Virginia Conference Orphanage of the Methodist Church 3900 West Broad Street (1900)
Virginia Home for Infants, 100 West Clay Street. Richmond (1908) (indigent, abandoned infants, boarders) (M/F)
Virginia Home for Boys and Girls, Richmond
Weaver Orphan Home, Fredericksburg -Tidewater Orphan Association (1904) (orphans, dependent, neglected) (M/F)
Some orphans were placed in children’s homes in neighboring states. Don’t forget to search the surrounding state orphanages. Try searching in Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.