Mississippi--Confederate Orphan's Home of Mississippi (Lauderdale, Miss.)

Established in Lauderdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Baptist State Convention in late 1865, the Confederate Orphans’ Home of Mississippi was a living and educational facility designed to house children whose parents died during the Civil War. The institution was complete by 1867 and opened its doors to two hundred children. Funding came from donations, solicited by traveling agents as well as mail-in funds from across Mississippi. The children received religious instruction along with academic studies, and conducted most of the daily tasks to run the facilities. The last orphans left the home around 1878, having grown to adulthood, and the home closed. (Mary J. Welsh, “Confederate Orphans’ Home of Mississippi”; “A Daughter Lost and Found,” August, 13, 2012, Mississippians in the Confederate Army)