Genealogy Chat

In the early 1720s, Thomas Coram - a retired shipwright - was horrified by the many children abandoned on the streets. 1,000 babies were being abandoned every year in London alone. He resolved to do something about this drastic situation and spent the next 17 years raising funds and support for the establishment of the Foundling Hospital.

Prior to this, the only establishment dealing with foundlings as well as legitimate orphans was Christ's Hospital. It was founded in 1552 but by 1676 the illegitimate were prohibited.

In 1727 George I died and when George II became king, his wife (Queen Caroline) was sympathetic to the rescue of foundlings. In 1739 (after presenting several petitions) Thomas Coram's dream was realised and the first foundlings were admitted into a tempoprary house located in Hatton Garden on 25th March 1741.

The governors then found a permanent site in the area known as Bloomsbury Fields (the Earl of Salisbury's estate) lying north of Great Ormond Street and west of Grays Inn Lane. It consisted of 56 acres of land amidst green fields. The hospital had the support of William Hogarth and George Frederic Handel, the latter bequeathing a fair copy of "Messiah" in his will.

By 1926, the Hospital was in an unhealthy atmosphere, partly due to the railways but mainly because of the general air pollution and the site was sold to a property speculator. The original hospital building was
demolished and the children were moved to Redhill in Surrey. In 1935, they transferred to a purpose-built building in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire which was later sold to Hertfordshire County Council for use as a school.

About 7 acres of the original site in London was purchased later (largely through the help of Lord Rothermere) and preserved as a playground for children, known as Coram's Fields.

The Foundling Hospital itself bought back 2.5 acres and in 1937 40 Brunswick Square was built as the administrative headquarters and a place to house the collection. It became a children'scentrein 1939 and the hospital then began a new life as the Thomas Coram Foundation for children - known today as the Coram Family.

It isn't quite true to say that foundlings were only found on church steps, etc. According to the Foundling Museum in London (which I visited last year), it was possible for a mother to hand a baby over into the care of the Foundling Hospital provided he/she was under 1 year old. Mothers often left identification tokens which enabled some of them to claim back their baby at a later stage.

Sometimes, mothers were forced to hand over babies out of financial necessity and sometimes because they had borne an illegitimate child. Not all babies were abandoned completely. If a mother's circumstances improved (perhaps she later married), she could then approach the hospital and take her baby back.

In this regard, the identification tokens were important. Often, a mother would leave an item (perhaps a trinket or a piece of clothing) with the baby and this was recorded in a register so that if the mother laid claim to the child later when the baby's features had changed, it would make identification easier. Among some of the more poignant tokens exhibited in the museum are the scraps of paper with handwritten notes or even poems from the mother to the baby. This confirms the fact that not all the mothers were ignorant or uneducated.

www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk
is the website link to the one in Brunswick Square, London

You could have a look here - there's a link to a guide on how to trace a foundling at LMA

http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/collections/research-resources/

Thank you for all your help! I found her in the baptism records where she is stated to be a foundling. I am about to try the LMA, but do not hold out much hope for many more details.
I had read that sometimes a token or a number was given to the one who left her, that's if the person was known. Looks like that avenue is a dead end for research on that family.
:-(

I'm just wondering how Barbara knows this person was a foundling? WOW! 1774? Was he/she named in a will or something??

Maureen

By definition the parents are not known, e.g.
'foundling - a child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown'

A foundling is usually a newborn babe left on the church steps or elsewhere. I don't believe there's any way of finding who the parents might be.

Barbara,
I have a foundling in my family, (my gt gt grandfather) I can go no further back, as there are no records except for his baptism, in 1819.
I wish you lots of luck in your search.
Best Wishes,

ShelleyRose x :-)

who and where was he found?

I have discovered a founding in my family tree, from 1774. Does anyone know how to trace the record? Or if records would have the Mums name?
Any help welcomed.

Thank you