Daily AncestorHalf orphan
A half orphan was a child who had lost one parent; many children in 1800s orphan asylums were half orphans placed there by a surviving parent.
The term was common in the 1800s, when orphan asylums took in many children whose father or mother was alive but could not keep them. New York's Society for the Relief of Half Orphan and Destitute Children, founded in the 1830s, admitted children aged four to ten if one parent had died, and the living parent paid a weekly fee.
If an ancestor appears in an asylum register, do not assume both parents were dead. Look for a surviving parent, often a widowed mother at work, in the same city.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Half orphan." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/poor-relief/half-orphan. Last checked 2026-10-03.