This is a searchable transcription of the full original text of the Records of the Disposition of Destitute Orphans by volunteers. These records originate from the Office of the Mayor and cover the period from December 18, 1852 through November 21, 1893. No records were recorded for 1871. The records can be isolated by year by entering the year desired into the “Search” bar below.

The original record books are manuscript volumes recording the date, the names of children and their ages, the names and residences of persons making affidavits before the mayor, and where the children were sent and/or their situation before arrival. Adults in indigent dispositions were also sometimes recorded. In the earlier (1852-1875) entries, the last column often records only the name of the asylum in which the children were placed by the Mayor; the later records provide more detail about both the disposition and origin of the children. Learn more about the establishing ordinance and history of the records here.

The Records of the Disposition of Destitute Orphans, 1852-1893, have been transcribed by members of NOVA (the New Orleans Volunteer Association). Thanks are extended to: Colleen Fitzpatrick, Jan Strickland, Merle Farrington, Shelly Bache, Audrey Hopper, H. McCarthy, Yvonne James, Emily Wise, Grace Smith, and Jean Sauls.