Hebrew Orphan Society
An historic benevolent organization
Incorporated as Abi Yetomin Ubne Ebyonim, or Society for Relief of Orphans and Children of Indigent Parents, Charleston’s Hebrew Orphan Society was founded in 1801 to provide assistance to widows, orphans, and the children of poor parents. In 1833, the corporation bought this building, formerly the Bank of the United States. The Society offered financial assistance to families who would care for orphans in their homes, and subsidized the tuition (for example, in Isaac Harby’s school) of children whose parents could not afford to pay. Other Jewish orphans were sometimes housed in the City Orphan House on Calhoun Street and were sent to Jewish homes on holidays such as Passover.
After the April 1838 Fire destroyed Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim’s synagogue and before its new sanctuary was completed in 1841, the Orphan Society building was used as a place of worship. During the mid-1830s and early 1840s, Frances Phillips Goldsmith (1790–1848), the widow of Isaac M. Goldsmith, occupied the upper floors as her residence. According to sources, some orphans were housed at 88 Broad Street in the 1850s; the building was then equipped for more children in January 1860, but its use as an orphanage was cut short by the start of the Civil War.
Record of tuition payment
Isaac Harby’s academy cash book, recording tuition paid for five children by the Hebrew Orphan Society, 1819–1820.
Hebrew Orphan Society Constitution, 1867
