PERHAPS THIS CAN BE OF SOME HELP?


The Christian Orphan Home was chartered in 1889 as a home for destitute and homeless children by the Benevolent Association of the Christian Church. The house at 1234 Bayard St. was opened with a treasury containing only $50. The first child accepted was a baby from St. Joseph, Mo. The next four children were Swedish orphans from Houston, Tex. Thus, from the beginning, the home was a national refuge. Orphans, half-orphans and destitute children were accepted free of charge, if permission was given to place them with good families. Others were taken on a temporary basis at a low rate of board until their parents were again able to care for them. In 1954, the name of the institution was changed to the St. Louis Christian Home and in 1978 changed once more to ECHO (Emergency Children’s Home). Today, ECHO deals with victimized, angry, dysfunctional children rather than “the sweet little orphan of yesteryear.” There are some early records and inquiries from family historians are accepted. Send inquiries to: ECHO, Mr. Martin Pratt, Executive Director, 3033 N. Euclid, St. Louis MO 63115. (Comments from Dave Lossos, 2/2/2007 - Thanks to the efforts of Sharon, here is an update to the information provided above. From the current administration at ECHO Emergency Children's Home, The Olive Branch, 314-381-3100 comes the following: "As you can imagine the files and papers ECHO Emergency Children’s Home had for the late 1890’s and early 1900’s were quite fragile. In order to preserve the integrity of the information and paper, we made a decision that our historical files from the 1900s to about 1940s would be sent to the Disciples of Christ Historical Society so that they may be preserved in a more suitable environment. The following is contact information for the Disciples of Christ Historical Society: Ms. Sara Harwell, Disciples of Christ Historical Society, 1101 Nineteenth Ave., S., Nashville, TN 37212-2196. Phone: 615-327-1444, E-Mail: harwellsj@dishistsoc.org". Their website is located at www.discipleshistory.org)