http://www.poorhousestory.com/new_york_poorhouses.htm
All counties seem to have been required to have almshouses, though Hamilton County might not have had one. A quick check of a couple websites, and a quick Internet and fultonhistory.com search turned up info on a number of them, though more searching still is required for a number of counties. If anyone has info, please feel free to contact me off-list if you like.
Albany County
http://www.poorhousestory.com/ALBANY.htm
http://www.timesunion.com/albanyrural/almshouse/
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Albany-County-Almshouse-Cemetery-1896-1926-4993097.php
“Albany has a case of body snatching. […] Graveyard ghouls have been rifling the graves in the Almshouse cemetery at Albany.”
“New York State News.” Evening Telegram [NY]. October 24, 1878: 1 col 2.
"The cemetery is an ill-kept spot, which has been once filled with bodies and is now being dug up the second time. There are no suitable markers. The city of Albany needs a better morgue and the almshouse should provide more decent burial.”
Annual Report of the State Board of Charities for the Year 1909. Vol 1. Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon Co., 1910. 477. http://books.google.com/books?id=W8IlAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA477.
Allegany County
http://www.poorhousestory.com/ALLEGANY.htm
Bronx County
Possibly: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=65710
Broome County
“flooding of the Chenango River throughout this century is reported to have washed away hundreds of burials from the Broome County poorhouse cemetery in Binghamton, New York" http://archlab.uindy.edu/documents/CemeteryTaph.pdf
"On February 5, 2010, over a period of four hours this historic structure, having stood testament for 140 years to a community's humanitarian spirit, was reduced to land-fill." http://nyslandmarks.com/alms/
Cattaraugus County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2334157
Cayuga County
“The cemetery is located behind the County Sheriff's office and the County Jail. It was rediscovered in 1988 when a prisoner escaped and searchers tripped over the headstones as they were searching for him."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2310627
Chautauqua County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2353683
http://www.poorhousestory.com/CHAUTAUQUA.htm
Chemung County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2405962
Chenango County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2507258
Clinton County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2290469
Columbia County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2225285
Cortland County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=636188
Delaware County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2496168
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2423021
http://www.poorhousestory.com/DELAWARE.htm
Dutchess County
http://www.poorhousestory.com/DUTCHESS.htm
Erie County
“Major infrastructure improvements necessitated the salvage excavation of human skeletal remains associated with the Erie County Poorhouse Cemetery Site (A02940.02949, UB 2756) in the City of Buffalo, New York, on what is now the Main Street or South Campus of the University at Buffalo (UB)." http://meeting.physanth.org/program/2014/session25/perrelli-2014-erie-county-poorhouse-cemetery-site-ub-2756-excavation-methods-and-results.html
Essex County?
Franklin County
“the cemetery has been put in order"
Annual Report of the State Board of Charities for the Year 1909. Vol 1. Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon Co., 1910. 578. http://books.google.com/books?id=W8IlAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA485
Fulton County
http://www.fulton.nygenweb.net/cemeteries/Smalljohns.html#cem
“The cemetery was graded, fenced, a monument erected and markers provided for the graves."
Annual Report of the State Board of Charities for the Year 1909. Vol 1. Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon Co., 1910. 485. http://books.google.com/books?id=W8IlAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA485
Genesee County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2271081
Greene County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2393447
Hamilton County
(possibly none; see http://www.poorhousestory.com/HAMILTON.htm )
Herkimer County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2392897
http://www.poorhousestory.com/HERKIMER.htm
Jefferson County
“The Jefferson County Home was located in Pamelia, and its cemetery is now on the grounds of SUNY Jefferson (Jefferson Community College)."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2508509
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2414385
Kings County
“Kings County Farm Cemetery is no longer in existence. The whereabouts of those interred are unknown at this time."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2142497
Lewis County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2402121
Livingston County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2214424
Madison County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2334487
Monroe County
http://www.poorhousestory.com/MONROE.htm
"On July 25th 1984, the cemetery was rediscovered while doing excavation in the park. It is thought that the cemetery was used from 1826 to 1863 by the Monroe County Poorhouse. No names of the persons buried herein are known." http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nymonroe/cem/index.htm
Montgomery County?
Nassau County?
New York County?
Niagara County
“Burials from 1915 to June 1960. Wooden markers were removed from graves, new metal markers were made and replaced in approximate position in 1990 and vandalized soon after.” http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2446621
"Rediscovering a nearly forgotten cemetery in Lockport" http://buffalo.twcnews.com/content/news/587803/rediscovering-a-nearly-forgotten-cemetery-in-lockport/?ap=1&MP4
"volunteers shifted focus to Niagara County and the site of the former Niagara County Almshouse. Virtually undisturbed for ninety-six years, this cemetery had just a few stones which appeared to be marking graves. Nature had literally taken over the site with thick overgrowth of grape vines, wild roses, Hawthorne trees, and poison ivy. Initially, it was very difficult to determine the boundaries of the cemetery" http://inmatesofwillard.com/2013/06/05/cemetery-restoration-people-inc-the-museum-of-disability-history/
Oneida County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=65557
“the Oneida Burial Site, a late 19th century poorhouse cemetery in Oneida County near Rome, New York, was discovered in 1988 only after construction workers with backhoes and other heavy machinery had already destroyed up to 100 burials"
http://archlab.uindy.edu/documents/CemeteryTaph.pdf
Onondaga County
“Eighty bodies from Onondaga County Poorhouse reburied as part of OCC renovation […] The bodies were removed during the winter of 2010-11 as the poorhouse transformed into H-1 Hall, now known as the John H. Mulroy Hall at OCC. […] Seib said the burials at that part of the poorhouse grounds ended in 1840, when the plot was full and they moved gravesites to another location on the grounds."
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/09/remains_of_80_bodies_from_onon.html
“It was some time in 1883 that the late Henry W. Duguid, then one of the Members of Assembly from Onondaga county, secured enactment of a law which gave to the medical colleges of the State rights to the bodies of criminals and paupers under certain clearly defined conditions. This law was a boon to the medical institutions, and it put a stop forever to the robbery of graves, a practice which up to that time had proved a lucrative occupation for certain adventurous spirits, who laughed the the haunting horrors of a midnight graveyard and skillfully eluded the vigilance of the officers of the law, willing to run the risk of death from a revolver bullet in consideration of the sure returns from their ghoulish pursuit. […]
“Syracuse, partly because it was the home of the Syracuse Medical college, and partly because of the presence here of a band of unusually reckless and devil-may-care young men, had in the early eighties an unenviable reputation in the matter of grave robbing. Not only were bodies supplied for the local medical college, but they were shipped from here to various other cities where medical colleges were located, and a flourishing business in the furnishing of cadavers grew up that was only brought to an end by the tragic death of Dr. Hervey W. Kendall, which resulted, first, in the passage of the so-called ‘anatomy’ law, and, secondly, in an arousing of sentiment which made the occupation of grave robbing even more dangerous than it was before.”
“Secret of Dr. Kendall’s Murder Told After 20 Years; Story of Grave Robbing in Onondaga Co.” Sunday Herald [Syracuse, NY]. March 27, 1904: 9-10. [includes illustrations]
Ontario County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=64282
http://www.poorhousestory.com/ONTARIO.htm
Orange County
“If you thought people who lived in poorhouses died young here is a surprise!”
http://www.poorhousestory.com/ORANGE.htm
Orleans County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2353686
http://www.poorhousestory.com/ORLEANS.htm
Oswego County
“This cemetery is no longer visible, according to the records of the Town of Mexico historian it is now buried under the bus garage parking lot."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2194363
Otsego County
"'The Poor House cemetery records are sparse and scattered.' [...] The Poor House was demolished in the 1960s and today the site is a working farm. The remains of the overgrown cemetery are all that is left.” http://www.clubrunner.ca/Data/7170/3556/html/88334/No%2038%20April%2013,%202010.pdf
Putnam County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2155723
“I am probably the first relative to visit his gravesite (in 2005), 80 years after his sad and lonely death.”
Augustus Cole (1830-1915), Putnam County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2155723&GRid=12068371&
http://www.poorhousestory.com/PUTNAM.htm
Queens County?
Rensselaer County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2538887
“A human skull was found yesterday by youngsters playing near Griswold Heights.
“Investigation by police revealed that the skeleton had probably been unearthed from the old burial ground once located near the south side of Griswold Heights and east of the rear entrance to St. Joseph’s Cemetery. A resident of Griswold Heights notified police of the discovery and Patrolmen Thomas O’Brien and Paul Spenard of the radio patrol went to the scene.
“The skull was later turned over to Coroner Anthony E. Matera.”
“Children Find Skull At Griswold Heights.” Times Record [Troy, NY]. September 23, 1954: 7 col 2.
Evidently in the woods north of the Wynants Kill, east of St. Joseph’s Cemetery, and south of (and/or under?) Griswold Heights housing project. I don’t know if anything remains of it, or what was done with the skeleton found in 1954.
[log in to unmask],-73.679062,527m/" target="_blank">https:[log in to unmask],-73.679062,527m/
Griswold Heights has arguably been treated on par with the County Farm: not sufficiently patrolled or cared-for.
“This morning when the men had reported for work, a laborers’ foreman, Albert Iannone, went looking for Sunkes and found him dead on the floor of the building. Authorities said he had been dead since yesterday.”
“Workman Found Dead on Job at Griswold Heights; Fred Sunkes, 63, Died Suddenly Yesterday While Working At Housing Project.” Times Record [Troy, NY]. May 23, 1950: 11 col 2.
“The Troy [Housing] Authority has become increasingly concerned with the rapid rise in crime and vandalism, particularly in its row-type projects: Griswold Heights and Corliss Park.”
“Housing Authority Studies Hiring Special Police Forces.” Times Record [Troy, NY]. September 4, 1963: 21 cols 1-2.
Crowe II, Kenneth C. “An exchange of words, a bullet in the head; Neighbors say Troy shooting victim asked partygoers to quiet down.” Albany Times Union. September 15, 2009. http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/An-exchange-of-words-a-bullet-in-the-head-549993.php
Richmond County
“Abandoned, located West side of Brielle Avenue and North of Rockland Avenue."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2395802
Rockland County?
St. Lawrence County
“The list of those buried at the County Home are indexed in Liber 33 Pages 416-440 in the Miscellaneous Files at the County Court House in Canton. “ http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NYSTLAWR/2004-01/1073049750
Saratoga County?
Schenectady County?
Schoharie County?
Schuyler County?
Seneca County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2306190
Steuben County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=214938
Suffolk County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=64281
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2329148
“We have to report the donation made last fall by Prince H. Foster, Esq., of Babylon, of a large number of ornamental trees and shrubs for the Alms House cemetery. They were set out and cared for, and, with the exception of a few that were winter killed, are growing well. This gift is an indication of Mr. Foster’s thoughtful care, liberality, and deep interest in all things that relate to the poor, and is deserving of this public acknowledgement.” Sag Harbor Express. November 1, 1877.
Sullivan County?
Tioga County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2261080
Tompkins County?
Ulster County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2199390
http://www.poorhousestory.com/ULSTER.htm
Warren County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2147737
Washington County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2282274
http://www.poorhousestory.com/WASHINGTON.htm
Wayne County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2498260
“In an investigation of the robbing of the grave of George Wilbur, at the Wayne county alms house cemetery, in Lyons, it has been ascertained beyond a doubt that during the past few years at least ten bodies have been stolen from that cemetery. Two of these were dissected in the unused room above the old Forfar lumber office on Geneva street, in Lyons. Another was dissected in a barn in the northern part of that village, and several bodies have been shipped to medical colleges in Buffalo, Albany and New York.”
“Wayne.” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. April 20, 1886: 3 col 2.
Westchester County
“In 1935, the land where the County Alms House Cemetery was located was given over to make way for the construction of the Saw Mill River Parkway. Instead of disturbing any of the existing graves, the cemetery in Eastview was covered over with 20 feet of dirt and the Parkway was then built over it. This old cemetery would've been located somewhere around the present-day vicinity of Exit 23 off of the Saw Mill River Parkway."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2381268
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2175243
Wyoming County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2374798
Yates County
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2525049
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