Wake County, NC - Raleigh's Old Soldiers' Home, 1890-1938 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Source: State Auditors Papers, Au-Com North Carolina Archives Soldier's Home Association Accession Information: Received prior to 1958; Additions in 1964, 1986 Schedule Reference: None (1958), see PARs for additions Finding Aid Revised: Mary Hollis Barnes Date: July 1, 1987 The Soldiers' Home Association was preceded by an organization known as the Confederate Veterans' Association (formed in Raleigh, January 23, 1889; incorporated, March 6, 1889.) The purpose of this first association was to provide a home for indigent and infirm veterans or their widows or orphans. Each county was responsible for paying the cost of housing its veterans in the home at the equilavent cost of maintaining them in its poorhouse. The first Soldiers' Home was a rented house at the corner of Polk and Bloodworth streets in Raleigh. It opened October 15, 1890, housing five veterans. W.C. Stronach, under the direction of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, acted as superintendent. In 1891, the General Assembly established the Soldiers' Home Association with 88 veteran incorporators who chose three directors to serve with the four directors appointed by the governor. The "inmates" from the Home at Polk and Bloodworth streets were moved to Camp Russell (formerly Pettigrew Hospital) at the corner of New Bern Avenue and Tarboro Road. The legislature appropriated $3,000 for the Home's support. The 1891 legislation also suggested that a museum for Confederate relics and records should be established at the Home. Miss Mary Williams was appointed matron. In February, 1893, Capt. J.H. Fuller became the resident superintendant. Upon Fuller's resignation in 1898 (because of poor health), Capt. R.H. Brooks became the next superintendent. A new dormitory was built in 1901 to provide better housing for the 70 inmates, and the appropriation was increased to $13,000. By 1905, the enrollment had risen to 170 veterans and another dormitory was constructed to supplement the main dormitory and several cottages. The basic appropriation increased to $20,000 in 1909, with an additional yearly appropriation of $1,000 for purchasing uniforms. The legislature also began making yearly appropriations to the Wake County Memorial Association (also known as the Ladies Memorial Association of Wake County) for the care and upkeep of the Confederate veterans' section of Oakwood Cemetery, as well as appropriating money for the maintenance of a North Carolina room in the Confederate Museum in Richmond, Virginia. These appropriations continued into the 1930s. After the death of Brooks in 1910, Capt. W.S. Lineberry was selected superintendent of the Home. The General Assembly increased the Home's appropriation in 1911 to $30,000 with an additional $4,500 for construction of a ten-room cottage to better house the 135 veterans. A wing was added to the hospital in 1914, and a hot water-heating plant was built the next year. By this time there were over 15 structures on the six-acre complex. The appropriation for 1915 was $35,000. Lindberry was replaced in 1916 by Col. D.H. Milton. During his four- year term, the Home reached its greatest yearly enrollments: 209 inmates in 1917, and 188 inmates in 1919. When Milton resigned in 1920, J.A. Wiggs was selected as his successor. The largest yearly appropriations for the Home, $60,000 a year, came during Wigg's four years as superintendent. In contrast, the enrollment dropped to 93 inmates by 1926. The last superintendent of the Home was W.T. Mangum, who served from 1924 to 1938. The appropriations began to decrease in proportion to the declining enrollment at the Home. In 1930, there were 40 veterans with $42,000 allotted for their support. By 1934, the enrollment was down to 20 veterans with less than $15,000 needed for their care. The total dropped to five inmates in 1937, and the General Assembly passed an act authorizing the Soldiers' Home directors to care for the veterans in other, smaller quarters and close the Home when necessary. The last resident went to live with friends in 1938, and was placed on the pension roll with the other 180 veterans who were receiving a pension. The Home closed in August, 1938. The buildings were used by the National Youth Administration and the Raleigh Recreation Commission until 1940 when most of the buildings were torn down. References: NC Manual, 1913, 1929 News & Observer, Raleigh, 1938-1940 State Auditor's Annual Reports Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Raleigh Private Laws: 1889, 1891 Public Laws: 1899, 1901, 1903, 1905, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1917, 1919, 1923, 1937, 1939 See also: Dept. of Human Resources, Health Services Div., Administrative Services Section, Central Files, Sanitary Engineering File (for State Board of Health's Inspections of State Institutions.) The inspections of the Soldiers' Home are dated 1920, 1924-1926, 1928, 1930-1932, and 1934. These records are located at the Old Records Center, Row 18-H. MINUTES, REGISTERS, LEDGERS, ETC., 1891-1936 Vol./Bx. No. Contents 7.1 Minutes, Incorporators, March 24, 1891 Directors, March, May, October, 1891 Directors, January, September, 1898 Directors, October, 1899 7.2 Minutes, Incorporators, 1901, 1903-1905 Directors, May, 1901, February, 1902 Executive Committee, May, 1901 7.3 Inmates, Roll Book, 1890-1911 (admission dates) Contains alphabetical listings of 803 inmates, giving age, company and regiment, county, admittance date, and remarks (death, discharged, etc.) 7.4 Inmates, Register, 1890-1917 (admission dates) Part I: Alphabetical listing (fragmentary), company and regiment, county, post office, n.d. Inmates, Register, 1890-1917 (admission dates) Part II: Alphabetical listing (duplicate of Vol. 7.3) Occasional additional information under remarks. Admissions, 1890-1911, 1912-1914; deaths, 1892-1911, 1914, 1916, 1918 Part III: Alphabetical listings (updated) of 544 names with age, company and regiment, state, date of admission, and remarks. Deaths, 1911-1917, 1919 7.5 Inmates, Record, 1896-1924 (admission dates) One-page questionaires listing name, residence, date of birth, marital status, parent's names and birthplaces, occupation, next of kin and address, date of admittance, service information, date of death, etc. Remarks may include last requests and burial instructions. Indexed. 7.6 Inmates, Record, 1925-1936 (admission dates, 1911-1936) Information and arrangement same as above Note: Admission dates refer to when the veteran entered the Home, not the dates the record was kept. For example, Vol. 7.6 was kept 1925-1936. At that time there were a few patients who had entered before 1911; most entered 1911+. If a veteran entered in 1915 and left or died in 1919, he would not be recorded in this book because he was not in the Home in 1925 See also: Box 7.28, Miscellaneous, Superintendent's Log, Inmate Behavior, 1923-24 7.7 Inmates, Record of Clothing Issued, 1926-1934, Indexed 7.8 Hospital, Record of Patients, 1908-1916 (admission dates) Contains name, county, age, next of kin and address, diagnosis, discharge or death date, religion, personal effects. Indexed. Back of volume includes chronological listing of deaths in the hospital, 1910-1916 7.9 Hospital, Register, 1911-1919 Daily statistics on number of patients in hospital, admissions, discharges, deaths, out-on-leave, and total on roll. Remarks on various patients included 7.10 Hospital, Register, 1925-1930 Information same as above 7.11 Hospital, Night Orders, November, 1918-March, 1919 Information on patient care 7.12 Hospital, Night Orders, March, 1919-October, 1919 Information on patient care 7.13 Hospital, Night Orders, August, 1924-October, 1924 Information on patient care 7.14 Hospital, Night Orders, September, 1928-May, 1929 Information on patient care 7.15 Ledger, Accounts Paid, 1908-1913 7.16 Ledger, Accounts Paid, 1913-1915 7.17 Ledger, Accounts Paid, 1914-1922 7.18 Ledger, Accounts Paid, 1920-1925 7.19 Ledger, Weekly Payroll, 1922-1931 (broken series) 7.20 Warrants, Inmates Expenses, 1900-1929 Expenses of specified inmates for clothing, merchandise, burials 7.21 Warrants, Medication and Hospital Supplies, 1900-1929 7.22 Warrants, Weekly Payroll, 1900-1911 7.23 Warrants, Weekly Payroll, 1912-1918 7.24 Warrants, Weekly Payroll, 1919-1922 7.25 Warrants, Weekly Payroll, 1926-June, 1928 7.26 Warrants, Weekly Payroll, July, 1928-1929 Building and Maintenance Expenses, 1900-1927 Includes construction supplies and payrolls 7.27 Warrants, Samples of Destroyed Warrants, January-September, 1916 Miscellaneous, 1900-1927 State Hospital, Goldsboro, NC; NC Patriotic Society; Wake Cemetery Memorial Association 7.28 Miscellaneous 1903, ca. Report on Soldiers' Home 1912 Drug and whiskey account, 1 pg. typescript 1919 Minutes, Confederate Womens' Home Association 1922 Letter, October 24, Inmates and Pension 1922 Letter, December 12, from UDC, Minneapolis, MN 1923-1924 Superintendent's Log, Inmate Behavior 1929 Form letters and applications to US Government for headstones, Confederate graves, etc. n.d. Hospital birthday list See also: Treasurer's and Comptroller's Papers, Military Papers, Soldiers' Home Accounts, 1891-1930 State Auditor, Pension Bureau, Vol. 6.51-6.52, Inmate's Pensions, Soldiers' Home, 1912-1913, Warrant stubs. Inmates were not eligible for pensions until 1909 when quartertly pensions of $1.50 were granted; the amount increased to $3.00 per quarter in 1913 State Auditor, Pension Applications, 1901+. Includes applications for admission to "Home for Disabled Ex- Confederate Soldiers at Raleigh." Many of these applications are dated prior to 1901. See accompanying compiled listing of these pension applications at the main desk in the Search Room. Note: these applications provide more personal information than the regular pension applications (such as occupation, name and address of nearest relative, etc) Organization Records, Ladies' Memorial Association of Wake County. Contains lists of Confederate dead, many of whom are buried in the Confederate veterans' section of Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh. Some of the lists are specifically related to the Soldiers' Home. Box 1, folders 9-11 Adjutant General, NC Soldiers' Home Visitor Register, 1902-1907, AG. 63 ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ___________________________________________________________________