Orphan Asylum Society of the City of Brooklyn.

The Orphan Asylum Society of the City of Brooklyn was established as the first organization of its kind by Mrs. Joshua (Ann) Sands and other prominent Brooklynites in 1833. The society was formed in response to a cholera epidemic in the summer of 1832, which left many children as orphans. The Orphan Asylum Society cared for children who were destitute or orphaned, offering shelter, food, and schooling. Throughout the 19th century, the society housed children until adulthood, or arranged indentures to families outside of Brooklyn. The asylum moved several times due to overpopulation, from its original location at the Jackson Mansion on Willow Street and Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights, to its final location at Brookwood Hall in East Islip, N.Y in 1942. In 1952, a new branch of the society named Brookwood Child Care opened on Adelphi Street in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, offering adoptions, foster care, and social services to families in Brooklyn. The society continued operation under the Brookwood name until its closure in 2003.

From the guide to the Orphan Asylum Society of the City of Brooklyn records, 1834-1997, (Brooklyn Historical Society)

The age of social reform and an immigration boom in the mid 19th century brought the plight of ill, impoverished, and disadvantaged citizens to the forefront of concerns in urban cities. New York City was a national leader in addressing the needs of neglected, orphaned, and deliquent children. The earliest charity organizations for children were established during this period; in Brooklyn, they were the Orphan Asylum Society of the City of Brooklyn, founded in 1833, and the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum Society of Brooklyn, founded in 1834.

Many orphaned or destitute children were also institutionalized in almshouses and asylums. As sentiments evolved about the institutionalization of children, the Children's Law of 1875, passed by the New York State Legislature, mandated that children aged three to sixteen be removed from poorhouses. The law led to an increase in the number of child welfare societies, already relatively high in New York City, promoting foster care, adoptions, and group homes. These independent organizations were contracted by the cities of Brooklyn and New York to provide child care services--a trend that continued after the consolidation of New York City and into the 20th century.

From the guide to the Brooklyn charitable organizations for children publications, 1871-1968, (Brooklyn Historical Society)