Research

Scope and Content Note

The series lists information on cases of children of widows in New York and Bronx counties who were committed to institutions by children's court justices. The information was extracted from the records of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, apparently at the request of the commission as part of its investigation into providing relief for widowed mothers and their children. There are extracts for approximately 700 cases covering the period from January 1, 1910 to December 1, 1913. The extracts include information on children from 9 months to 21 years of age (most of those represented are teenagers) who were committed for theft, assault, truancy, immorality, parental neglect, or other reasons. Comments on reasons for which they were committed generally include an assessment of the "respectability" of mothers and/or children, typically framed as mention of past (problem) behavior, pattern of employment, the family situation, and/or remarks on character.

Information for each case is given under the following column headings: case number; sex; age; color; religion; nationality of parent; nationality of child; committed for [offense for which committed]; source [of facts/complaint]; and reasons [justifying complaint].