Comments on: The Town Farm – A Victorian-Era Solution to Poverty http://forgottennewengland.com/2011/10/11/youre-going-to-send-us-to-the-poor-fahm/ Exploring New England As It Was Sun, 28 Apr 2013 02:50:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: forgottennewengland http://forgottennewengland.com/2011/10/11/youre-going-to-send-us-to-the-poor-fahm/#comment-13 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:18:23 +0000 http://forgottennewengland.com/?p=123#comment-13 When I was researching this post, I came across the story of “Old Alexander the Wandering Jew”. When Old Alexander, born Francis William Alexander, died at the Middlebury, Vermont, town farm in 1881 at the age of 87 years, he was known as a mysterious old man who had wandered New England for over 50 years. He was famous for his keen memory, “fine scholarship”, and was said to have come from a wealthy Scottish family and graduated from Dublin University. The secret around whatever had caused him to begin his life on the road died with him, but even his obituary pointed out that he was “very coarse” with his language and was especially mean to children.

Some of the most interesting stories emerge from a detailed review of the records. That’s one of the most rewarding aspects of genealogy (and researching history, in general) to me.

]]> By: Heather Wilkinson Rojo http://forgottennewengland.com/2011/10/11/youre-going-to-send-us-to-the-poor-fahm/#comment-12 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 03:24:37 +0000 http://forgottennewengland.com/?p=123#comment-12 As a genealogist, town poor farm records or pauper lists are invaluable, and so are the lists of “warnings out”. If you ancestor disappears from one town, he was probably warned out and will show up in another county. I have several queries in to the historical societies of Stoughton, Wayland, Topsfield, and Salem, Massachusetts- all tracing my 4x great grandmother as she moved from place to place (and married someone new each time!).

]]>