Today in 1890, San Francisco's "charitable" organizations were determining what to do with Emma Kelly, whose "ungovernable temper" and assault on a nun got her moved from the Magdalen Asylum to the Almshouse and, potentially, another asylum. pic.twitter.com/w1Btbp9MO8
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) June 20, 2022
Today in 1891, 17-year-old Gracie McCue was arrested and sent to SF's Magdalen Asylum -- by her mother -- because she planned to marry J.J. Jones, 38. "It is only the Garden of Eden affair re-enacted," Jones protested. I do like the sketch portraits of them both here. pic.twitter.com/GtKAetDGgu
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) June 19, 2022
Tomorrow in 1890, 17-year-old Arabella Allen was facing time in SF's Magdalen Asylum because she'd fallen in love with Paddy Shea, allegedly a leader of a criminal gang in the north Mission. Her parents felt that locking her up was better than letting her marry Shea. pic.twitter.com/kcWmEwTz2Z
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) June 18, 2022
Today in 1890, San Francisco teens May Hurley and Maggie Harrington were arrested and sent to the Magdalen Asylum for what appears to be .... living on their own, with friends. Police in this era spent quite a lot of time trying to "save" girls from independence. pic.twitter.com/OI6ttSjBQS
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) June 14, 2022
A slightly happier Mag story: Today in 1882, Mary Ellen Tracy entertained her friends in the Magdalen Asylum by going up the hill behind the building and performing a "circus routine" as they prayed in the back garden. She was arrested for "disturbing a religious meeting." pic.twitter.com/8VnQ9AONmo
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) June 13, 2022
Today in 1891, San Francisco teenager Mamie Quegan was (probably) returned to the Magdalen Asylum for the third time, after police found her in a brothel and arrested her. Newspapers at the time used these items to fill space, and made sure to use girls' names when they could. pic.twitter.com/jMAeFO0KaQ
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) June 9, 2022
Today in 1890, 16-year-old Jessie Dixon was sent to SF's Magdalen Asylum for ... spending time with women and Black people? Not sure if "resort" = brothel, here. And this after her mom sent her away from San Diego to SF to be "reformed." @sfexaminer's descriptions were awful. pic.twitter.com/oKTBZbLTiS
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) June 8, 2022
Today in 1891, the SF Call reported Adelaide Martin, 16, was sent back to the Magdalen Asylum for stealing clothing and jewelry from a Mrs. Gates. She was likely working as a "domestic," a live-in servant, for Mrs. Gates. "Troublesome." "Failed to keep her promise to reform." pic.twitter.com/mgdsIFQ4g8
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) June 5, 2022
Today in 1889, teenager Ella Myers, a veteran of San Francisco's Magdalen Asylum, was sent back to the girls' prison -- apparently for being intimate with a Black man she hoped to marry. I'm only guessing at Ella's race, but white/Black marriage was illegal in CA 1850-1948. pic.twitter.com/iJzs4jCDXZ
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) May 29, 2022
The previous November, Katie, already a veteran of The Mag, left home and got married, and wound up in a brothel. This was common; adult men sometimes married teens and then sold them into sex work. Other times girls went into it on their own. Note the "naughty" headline. pic.twitter.com/JcmLopN8rd
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) May 27, 2022
On this day in 1889, San Francisco teen Alice Glenn was so "obstreperous" at the Boys & Girls Club that she was sentenced to the city's Magdalen Asylum, a prison for teen girls run by the Sisters of Mercy. She was one of hundreds of girls sent to The Mag between 1866 and 1903. pic.twitter.com/b2DuvFe5Gj
— Beth Winegarner (@bethwinegarner) May 26, 2022