Census of New York Poorhouses, 1830-1920

I stumbled upon this New York state record for John A. Bernardy, who may be connected to my family tree. I need to investigate him further, but I wanted to share it because these images on Ancestry.com provide a lot of great information.

John A. Bernardy, 1906
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Here's what this record from the New York County Almshouse told me about John:

• Date of Admission:  February 13, 1906
• Age:  42
• Marital Status:  Single
• Last Residence:  315 E. 26 St., NYC
• Birthplace:  Germany
• Length of Time in United States:  22 years
• Length of Time in New York:  22 years
• Naturalization Details:  N.Y. Sup. Court, December 21, 1886
• Occupation:  Peddler
• Religion:  Catholic
• Habits:  Temperate
• Physical Condition:  Loss of Left Leg
• Cause of Dependence:  Destitute
• Father's Name, Birthplace, Occupation:  Alexander, Germany, Grocer
• Mother's Name:  Elizabeth Echement
• Able to perform any labor:  No
• Ever received public relief:  Yes
• Inmate of an Almshouse or other Institution:  In Bellevue, 10 months

The record for 17-year-old Edward Gribben shows that he had been in the state of New York for only one week in 1919 when he was admitted to the New York County Home, Manhattan Division, due to lack of employment. His parents were living in Baltimore, Maryland, so we can assume that's where young Edward was before his arrival in New York.

Edward Gribben, 1919
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Many of the records don't list parent names, but they do provide a snapshot of each person during a difficult time in his or her life.