New York Asylum for Lying-In Women Records

Collection

Identifier: US-NNCORMA-RG08-SG001-001

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Scope and Contents

This collection includes administrative records of the New York Asylum for Lying-In Women including minutes of the Board of Managers and of the Visiting Committee, annual reports, a history (1893), and miscellaneous legal and financial papers. See the series descriptions for more information.

Dates

1823-1900

Conditions Governing Access

Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), internal policies requiring protection and confidential handling of PHI (protected health information), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), or other institutional polices regarding internal or confidential records, and may require additional permissions prior to access. Visiting Committee minutes in this collection are restricted and require additional permissions prior to access. View the container inventory for more information and visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding access to historical materials containing restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright holder of this collection is NewYork-Presbyterian. Materials from this collection cannot be reproduced outside the guidelines of United States Fair Use (17 U.S.C., Section 107) without the advance permission of the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine or the copyright holder. In the event that anything from the collection become a source for publication, a credit line indicating the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine is required.

Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and internal policies which require protection and confidential handling of all protected health information (PHI). Materials containing PHI, personally identifiable information (PII), and/or student information (protected under FERPA) have been restricted and require additional permissions prior to reproduction and use.

Please visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding reproduction and use.

Biographical / Historical

The New York Asylum for Lying-In Women was founded in 1823 to provide care for “destitute respectable women in confinement.” It shared a ward at New York Hospital until its move in 1825 to separate facilities on Greene Street. In 1830, the institution moved to 85 Marion Street, then known as Orange Street, where it remained until its move to 139 Second Avenue in 1885.

Patients were referred to the asylum by district physicians across all of New York City and were screened for admission by the Board of Managers based on proof of marriage and character references. Those whose character was not “perfectly unexceptionable” were rejected.

In 1894, the asylum changed its name to Old Marion Street Maternity Hospital. It continued operating until it merged in 1899 with the New York Infant Asylum, taking the latter’s name. The New York Infant Asylum joined with the Nursery and Child’s Hospital in 1910 to form the New York Nursery and Child’s Hospital, which became a part of the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in 1934.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (5 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The New York Asylum for Lying-In Women was founded in 1823 to provide care for “destitute respectable women in confinement,” and it merged with the New York Infant Asylum in 1899. Records included are minutes of the Board of Managers and of the Visiting Committee, annual reports, a history (1893), and miscellaneous legal and financial papers.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into three series: 1. Committee Minutes, 2. Miscellaneous Records, and 3. Annual Reports.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated to the Medical Center Archives at an unknown date from an unknown source.

Existence and Location of Copies

Annual reports were digitized in 2013-2014 with funding from the Metropolitan New York Library Council and are available online through the Medical Center Archives website.

Related Materials

RG08-SG002-001, New York Asylum for Lying-In Women Medical Patient Records, 1854-1899 (Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY).

Processing Information

These records were processed by Stephen Novak in 2025. The finding aid was written by Stephen Novak in 2025 with assistance of Chiyong (Tali) Han. No materials were discarded during the processing of these records.