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DePelchin Children's Center Records

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0656
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center and requires 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Scope and Contents

The materials in the DePelchin Children's Center records include the written and visual record of the Center ranging from 1887 to 2000. Highlights include correspondence from and photographs of the founder, Kezia Payne DePelchin. The collection does not contain records of adoptions.

Dates

  • 1887 - 2000

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research with restrictions as noted. The collection does not contain records of adoptions. Requests for adoption applictions should be forwarded to DePelchin Children's Center administration.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center and requires 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish from the DePelchin Children's Center Records must be obtained from Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Historical Note

DePelchin Children's Center, founded in 1892 in Houston, TX by Kezia Payne DePelchin as DePelchin Faith Home, was chartered on March 24, 1893. The home began with three young boys in the home of Agnes Perry at 2500 Washington Ave. It moved to the corner of Chenevert & Pierce Streets in 1899 to accommodate a growing number of children, followed in 1913 to 2700 Albany Street @ Tuam. The institute's charter was renewed in 1928 with a name change to DePelchin Faith Home and Children's Bureau to extend to the general care of children including foster home service, adoption, and child protective services. The name was changed again to DePelchin Children's Center in 1983 to include counseling, post-adoption services, maternity care, parent-preparation, and special education. The center outgrew its Albany Street location in 1938 and relocated to Shepherd & Memorial Drive, with new facilities at the same location in 2002.

Biographical Note

Kezia Payne DePelchin, founder of the institution, was born on July 23, 1828 to Catherine and Abraham Payne in the Madeira Islands of Portugal. Her mother died in 1833 and her father moved the family to America in 1836, with Galveston, Texas as the destination in 1837. A yellow fever outbreak saw several sisters return to Madeira, but several siblings and her father did not survive. Kezia and her governess moved to Houston in 1841 where Kezia taught music in Houston's first public schools. She married Adolf DePelchin in 1862, but within a year they separated and never divorced. Kezia acquired immunity to yellow fever and nursed its victims in Houston and then in Memphis, TN and Senatobia, MS between 1878 and 1879. She returned to Houston and became the first matron of Bayland Orphan's Home for Boys between ages 6 and 12. In 1892 she was approached with three orphan boys too young to be accepted by Bayland, and asked friend Agnes Perry to supply a room for the boys' care. The DePelchin Faith Home was established, but Kezia died soon after on Jan. 13, 1893.

Extent

7.0 Linear Feet (18 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

The materials in the DePelchin Children's Center records include the written and visual record of the Center ranging from 1887 to 2000. Highlights include correspondence from and photographs of the founder, Kezia Payne DePelchin. The collection does not contain records of adoptions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The records were gifted by the DePelchin Children's Center on June 14, 2016, with addendum on April 11, 2018.

Related Materials

See also Kezia Payne DePelchin diary, 1878-1879, MS201; "From Houston to Memphis: the Kezia Payne DePelchin Letters and the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878" by Adrian S. Melissinos; "Candle by Night: the Story of the Life and Times of Kezia Payne DePelchin" by Harold Jackson Matthews.

Subjects

Record Groups

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the DePelchin Children's Center records, 1887-2000
Status
Completed
Author
Lee Pecht
Date
2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892