Identified! PA - Philadelphia - 'Boy in the Box' - 4UMPA - Feb'57 - Joseph Augustus Zarelli #4

[steff13]

Aren't dumpsters a more modern invention? I had the feeling until relatively recently, when tip trucks became mechanised with lifting arms and such, it was strictly manual labour - garbage workers lifting trash cans and dumping them into the back of the truck?

Happy to be corrected, I haven't so much as Googled the history of garbage disposal.

<modsnip>

Even if there weren't dumpsters around, there was still public waste collection. A cardboard box, even a large one, wouldn't have been so onerous to dispose of that one would have to drive it across town and leave it in an empty lot, I wouldn't think.

 

[Friday Fan]

1935. By a man named George Dempster.

Even if there weren't dumpsters around, there was still public waste collection. A cardboard box, even a large one, wouldn't have been so onerous to dispose of that one would have to drive it across town and leave it in an empty lot, I wouldn't think.

Any large cardboard boxes were likely saved anyway. We still save ours and don't ditch them unless there is a reason.

 

[iamshadow21]

We used to go to the dump. We also had trash pick up. There was less garbage then. Most unofficial dump sites were smallish. There is a picture of a woman and a cop at her curb in Philly in 1956, showing "acceptable" garbage collection day bags and boxes etc. .

I think people used to burn a lot, too. Even within populated areas.

I'm Australian, not American, but I think there's enough commonality for this to be relevant. The house I lived in as a young child was a 1940s/50s timber frame asbestos sheeting construction, set on a quarter acre block, with an outdoor toilet and laundry room (though by the time I lived there in the '80s, it had indoor plumbing), and individual tiny water heaters mounted over the bathtub and kitchen sink that heated the water directly. Also, at the very back of the yard, was a concrete incinerator for burning garbage, which I think by that time was illegal to use, but I think in the '50s everyone with a yard had one for burning excess garbage and garden waste.

 

[Friday Fan]

I think people used to burn a lot, too. Even within populated areas.

I'm Australian, not American, but I think there's enough commonality for this to be relevant. The house I lived in as a young child was a 1940s/50s timber frame asbestos sheeting construction, set on a quarter acre block, with an outdoor toilet and laundry room (though by the time I lived there in the '80s, it had indoor plumbing), and individual tiny water heaters mounted over the bathtub and kitchen sink that heated the water directly. Also, at the very back of the yard, was a concrete incinerator for burning garbage, which I think by that time was illegal to use, but I think in the '50s everyone with a yard had one for burning excess garbage and garden waste.

We lived in Seattle early 60's. My dad always took our stuff our stuff to the city dump. Never burned anything. We had garbage pick up. I'm sure Philadelphia did too. People like to dump stuff in vacant lots because it's "easy". It's still an issue.

 

[HarmonyE.]

We lived in Seattle early 60's. My dad always took our stuff our stuff to the city dump. Never burned anything. We had garbage pick up. I'm sure Philadelphia did too. People like to dump stuff in vacant lots because it's "easy". It's still an issue.

Back in the day in my neck of the woods, leaves were burned, food garbage was composted in the garden, and trash was brought to the dump on Saturday. Trash pick up probably didn't start until the late 1970s at the earliest.

 

[Friday Fan]

Back in the day in my neck of the woods, leaves were burned, food garbage was composted in the garden, and trash was brought to the dump on Saturday. Trash pick up probably didn't start until the late 1970s at the earliest.

PhillyHistory - Search

The City of Philadelphia's photo archive contains approximately 2 million photographic records that date from the late 1800's. This web site has a subset of those photos. All archive photos may be searched by keyword and date. Archive photos which have been assigned a geographic location are...

www.phillyhistory.org

Philadelphia had trash pick up. Images are from 1956 and 1955

 

[Laughing]

Interesting.
So if a legal marriage outside of PA was annulled, for example, it may not show up in PA records?

I don't know what the laws were then, but jurisdiction requirements vary from state to state-- you either have to apply for the divorce where you were married, or where you are a legal resident (defined by terms laid out by that specific state). If the divorce takes place out of state, those records should then be sent to the state where the marriage took place showing that those two are no longer legally bound to each other and are free to remarry.

The annulment idea is interesting.

Divorce records & annulment records (civil) would be held by the county or circuit and indexed by state. ihmo the press conference doesn't imply that the 2 biological parents were married/attempted marriage prior to JAZ's birth.

In a time when religious practice was more prominent in public life, I do find the annulment idea interesting.

In the 1894, a daughter was all but erased from our Irish Catholic family -- apparently because she married a Methodist. Granted, this was long before the 1950's, but it wasn't until the 19190's that I was able to make contact with her descendants!

There are probably other families able to carry a grudge for 3 generations.

Hope we'll know more one day!

 

[csa29]

So, i’m wondering, if there were records of foster parents, would we even be able to find them?

 

[txsleuth70]

They said the box had white paint on it as it was used when the bassinet was painted and the bassinet that was contained inside is one that was accounted for in the nearby home for unwed mothers. Which JAZ was not part of just coincidence.

Hmm. Wonder what the odds would be of JAZ's mother being at a home for unwed mothers for a second unwed pregnancy? As in, maybe she kept JAZ with her after her first pregnancy, but then turned up pregnant a second time and returned to the home for unwed mothers? Maybe a caretaker in the home abused him and killed him. Then drove him in the box from Upper Darby to the location where he was found outside of Fox Chase. Seems like a long shot, but it would make sense that whoever discarded him with the box would want to do so far from its' place of origin.

I saw someone elsewhere mention they thought his hair was crudely cut due to lice. That would seem plausible based on the pencil sketch of his head and face from 3 sides, but the photo of him in the box shows a full head of hair. Lice would definitely be an issue in any type of residential facility or home for groups of children. Sorry if this topic has previously been brought up.

 

[spacedcurls]

I would also like to add that the Good Shepherd School that was located near the site where Joseph was found was for ”wayward”/troubled girls, not unwed mothers. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about this. However, there apparently was a home for unwed mothers that was much further south than Fox Chase/the Good Shepherd School, and is so far south that it’s almost Delaware County. Now that I look at it, the home for unwed mothers (St. Vincent Home & Maternity Hospital, I believe it was called - certainly St. Vincent, but I’ve seen the rest of the name as different things) is only about 3 miles from Upper Darby and where the JC Penney was…

 

[J. J. in Phila]

So, i’m wondering, if there were records of foster parents, would we even be able to find them?

It would depend. If it was unofficial, no.

How many children today are raised by a relative, for example, because the mother is too young or on drugs? I've seen a lot of that.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Then drove him in the box from Upper Darby to the location where he was found outside of Fox Chase. Seems like a long shot, but it would make sense that whoever discarded him with the box would want to do so far from its' place of origin.

Snipped for emphasis

There are a lot of easier places to do that and the person would have to be familiar with the Fox Chase area. The spot is not visible from the arterial routes or main mass transit.

It is likely to be someone with a connection to the area.

 

[txsleuth70]

I would also like to add that the Good Shepherd School that was located near the site where Joseph was found was for ”wayward”/troubled girls, not unwed mothers. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about this. However, there apparently was a home for unwed mothers that was much further south than Fox Chase/the Good Shepherd School, and is so far south that it’s almost Delaware County. Now that I look at it, the home for unwed mothers (St. Vincent Home & Maternity Hospital, I believe it was called - certainly St. Vincent, but I’ve seen the rest of the name as different things) is only about 3 miles from Upper Darby and where the JC Penney was…

St. Vincent operated until 1965 then changed over to something called Elwyn when the laws began to change. Apparently, there is a historical museum with list of the orphans names by date.

 

[txsleuth70]

Snipped for emphasis

There are a lot of easier places to do that and the person would have to be familiar with the Fox Chase area. The spot is not visible from the arterial routes or main mass transit.

It is likely to be someone with a connection to the area.

Maybe the person previously lived in Fox Chase.

 

[spacedcurls]

St. Vincent operated until 1965 then changed over to something called Elwyn when the laws began to change. Apparently, there is a historical museum with list of the orphans names by date.

Elwyn is a care facility for those with mental disabilities. There might have been a St. Vincent that eventually became an Elwyn facility, but I’m also seeing that there were multiple places called St. Vincent in Philadelphia, such as an orphanage and the maternity hospital & home. I believe the maternity hospital has since been demolished, and the orphanage (located in another totally different part of Philly) appears to be a school now.

ETA: It’s possible that the maternity hospital did become an Elwyn, but I don’t think it is anymore. I’ll have to do more research!

 

[txsleuth70]

Elwyn is a care facility for those with mental disabilities. There might have been a St. Vincent that eventually became an Elwyn facility, but I’m also seeing that there were multiple places called St. Vincent in Philadelphia, such as an orphanage and the maternity hospital & home. I believe the maternity hospital has since been demolished, and the orphanage (located in another totally different part of Philly) appears to be a school now.

ETA: It’s possible that the maternity hospital did become an Elwyn, but I don’t think it is anymore. I’ll have to do more research!

It was St. Vincent's Maternity Home and then later changed to Elwyn's when foster care changed from institutional to more in-home foster care.

Orphanages and Orphans - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Maybe the person previously lived in Fox Chase.

That would be a connection.

So would a relative living in the area.

 

[txsleuth70]

It was St. Vincent's Maternity Home and then later changed to Elwyn's when foster care changed from institutional to more in-home foster care.

Orphanages and Orphans - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia

Correction: it was the Orphan Society that later became Elwyn.

 

[txsleuth70]

"destitute fatherless children of married parents" really stuck out to me!

 

[spacedcurls]

Correction: it was the Orphan Society that later became Elwyn.

That makes much more sense! Very interesting nonetheless.