Adam and Anna Schroeder began working and living in the House of Industry and Refuge in 1870. Adam was born in Ontario in 1849 and Anna was born in Germany in 1851. They married in August 1871 and had their first baby, Mary Ann/Esther, in November of that same year. The family is listed on the 1871 Canadian Census living in the Poorhouse together. The married couple is listed as servants along with four other people who were working in the House at the same time.
1871 Census of Canada; Source: ancestry.ca
In the House, Anna was doing mostly household chores, such as cleaning and laundry, and getting paid between $0.75-$0.90 a week for her work.
Anna Schroeder in Keeper’s Cash Accounts; Source: Region of Waterloo Archives
Anna Schroeder in Keeper’s Cash Accounts; Source: Region of Waterloo Archives
It is not clear what Adam’s main role was at the House, however, he was paid for “sundries” in November, 1871, the same month that his daughter was born.
The Schroeder’s left the House shortly after their daughter was born as they stopped appearing in the Keeper’s Cashbooks. They immigrated to the United States in 1878, originally living in Kansas in 1880, then to Colorado in 1900 where they remained until their deaths.
This family was one of a few families to live at the Poorhouse together with a child.
