Boston Female Asylum: Records of Benevolence

December is the time of year that resonates with giving and helping out our fellow neighbor.  The history of benevolence runs deep in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the State Library has the records to show the power of what a small group of women can do to help improve the lives of others.  This blog post highlights the Boston Female Asylum records.  The story of the Boston Female Asylum is about how the act of community organization built an enduring charitable institution.

The Boston Female Asylum (BFA) was officially established in 1800 and incorporated in 1803. The BFA was the first public charity planned and established by women in the town of Boston.

Photo: Tom Nichols

In early December of 1799, a letter by Mrs. Hannah Stillman printed anonymously in J. Russell’s
Gazette suggested that the ladies of Boston organize a society similar to one recently established in Baltimore for the care of the “fair fragile form.”

Mrs. Stillman was the wife of Reverend Dr. Samuel Stillman, of the First Baptist Church of Boston.  The Stillmans had fourteen children and at 60 years of age, Hannah decided to form the Boston Female Asylum Society to help orphaned and destitute girls in Boston.  Although other women joined Mrs. Stillman, it was difficult to a get them to give their names for a published record because it was the first time that women had assembled for any public purpose. 

The first meeting for the purpose of forming the society was conducted at Mrs. Jonathan  Mason’s (Senator) house.  Mrs. Stillman asked for donations and helped establish a subscriber system where prominent women in the community became members by paying an annual $3.00 subscription fee.  Further donations would be accepted from women and men- “although gentlemen could not be members of this society, their names will be entered with peculiar pleasure on the list of its benefactors.”  The society took off quickly and at the second meeting, the first child, Betsy D. was admitted.

Seeing so much need in Boston, the BFA developed swiftly and unanimously voted in Hannah Stillman to serve as its first director until her death in 1821.  Rev. Stillman noted at the first anniversary of the founding of the Asylum that girls “are to be placed under the care of a discreet, capable and virtuous Governess.”  When the children reached the age of ten, managers of the Asylum would place the children under the care of “good and virtuous families, till they shall be eighteen.”  During its first year, the BFA took in 13 girls and helped hundreds over the decades.

The State Library of Massachusetts received the records of the Boston Female Asylum in 1926. The State Librarian, Edward H. Redstone, announced in the Boston Daily Globe how fruitful this collection would be for researchers of all disciplines. This fascinating collection has the register of orphans admitted to the BFA, sermons and other publications, an expense ledger, register of subscribers, donation account and the board of managers meeting records.

Subscribers and donors over the years included, First Lady Abigail Adams, Mrs. John Quincy Adams, Mrs. Elizabeth Adams wife Governor Sam Adams, and several other well known families of Boston.

Another very interesting piece of history from this collection is the ledger of monthly expenses.  The ledger shows what food and other necessities were purchased to care for the orphans over the span of several decades.  This documentation was very detailed and helps researchers see what particular items were used during this time and how much it cost to care for all the girls.

The BFA was a very active organization that changed with the times. From 1800 to 1811, the children were lodged in houses contracted by managers.  The BFA was first established in a house on Pleasant Street in Boston.  From Pleasant Street, the Asylum moved to Summer Street, then to South Street, and then to Lincoln Street.  In 1811, the Society purchased the estate of Daniel Sargent on or near Lincoln Street for $12,000.  In 1844, the Society purchased a lot in the south part of the city and built its own building.  The cornerstone was laid for this building at 1008 Washington Street on June 25, 1844.

The volunteer nature of the Asylum gave way to the hiring of professional social workers.  In 1902, all girls were placed in private homes, and the building on Washington Street was closed.  In 1910, the name of the Asylum was changed to the Boston Society for the Care of Girls.  This Society joined with Children’s Aid Society in 1922.  Soon it would form the Children’s Aid Association, later to become Boston Children’s Service Association.  In the 2000s Boston Children’s Services, New England Home for Little Wanders, Parents’ and Children’s Services, and Charles River Health Management merged into The Home for Little Wanders, which provides a variety of services in Massachusetts.


                                                              For further reading:

 BFA. (1844). Reminiscences of the boston female asylum. Unpublished manuscript.

Boston Female Asylum. (1989). Boston female asylum: Historical account, by-laws, rules and regulations. Boston: Beacon Press.

Boston female asylum records (1800- 1866) located at the State Library of Massachusetts

Mock, E. (1979). Survey, inventory and guide to the records of the Boston Female Asylum and the Boston Society for the Care of Girls. Boston: University of Massachusetts at Boston.



Dava Davainis
Head of Reference