Joseph Weinberg & Harold Beale, Cook County & Madison County

Joseph Weisberg came to Illinois in June 1904. At that time the immigration process was being handled by the Children's Aid Society, rather than an agent directly employed by the NYJA. A plan was in place to drastically downsize the asylum, so that a cottage plan could be adopted. Children who did not fit in the protestant mission of the NYJA were transferred to other orphanages (Catholic children, Jewish children and colored children) and girls were not going to be residents of the new "Children's Village." Some of the companies sent at this time were also much smaller. In June only nine children were sent West. These children would not be sent to Illinois alone. By this time the State of Illinois was trying to slow down the influx of orphans. Children were more often sent to Iowa or Kansas.

In 1907 one of the Asylum visitors was reporting on Joseph's progress. Josephine's job was to check up on the children and make sure they were behaving. She was also expected to put a positive spin on all her reports. Joseph had a good job at a photography business and had been boarding in the same place for two years. In 1910 Joseph and nine other young men were boarding at Ida Turner's boarding house at 606 33rd Street. No further information could be developed about Joseph.

Another boy sent to Illinois in June of 1904 was Howard Beale. Howard was sent to Bethalto, Madison County, Illinois to live with Charles Gould. He was later reported to be living in Earlville, Iowa (not Illinois as misprinted in the report) with the same family. Howard was just 8 years old when the company left New York and he enjoyed his life on the Gould farm. He was also attending school on a regular basis, except during the corn harvesting season, when he reported making $15 working for neighbors. This was quite the haul for a boy just 10 years old. A later letter to the asylum reported that Harold Beale was doing very well in school in Iowa and that another orphan was living with the family -- Frances Gramko.