Backstory Blog

Motion to Purchase Wigs Approve

October 22, 2019

This obscure note in the archives of the American Jewish Historical Society hinted at a legacy of medical research on children.

October 15, 2019

When my own great-grandfather deserted his family, he left his sons to be raised as orphans.

October 08, 2019

Though he had two living parents, my grandfather grew up in Manhattan’s Hebrew Orphan Asylum.

October 01, 2019

For pediatricians eager to cure and prevent disease, orphanages provided the perfect conditions for medical research.

September 24, 2019

To live as a closeted lesbian in the 1950s required women to keep secrets from colleagues, friends, and family.