Constellation Similarity Assertions

The Riverdale Children's Association was founded by a group of Quakers in 1836 as the Colored Orphan Asylum in New York City, the first institution in the United States dedicated to the care of African American children. The Asylum organized its own school, as there were no public school facilities for orphans, and at age 12, the children were indentured to learn a trade. Members of the Board of Trustees were Protestant. The Asylum's facilities moved several times, and its second home at 42 Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan was burned to the ground during the New York City Draft Riots in 1863. In 1918 children began to be placed in foster homes, and in 1944 the name was changed to Riverdale Children's Association when the majority of the children were not orphans but were neglected and dependent children. White children were also admitted at this time. The home is presently closed and the association now serves as a foster home placement agency.

From the guide to the Riverdale Children's Association Records, 1889-1957, (The New York Public Library. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.)

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