Ancestry UK

Orphelinat des Jeunes Filles des Billetes, Paris, France

The Orphelinat des Jeunes Filles des Billetes was founded in 1830. It took in destitute or abandoned protestant girls and trained them for working as maidservants suitable for sending abroad to speak French to the children of families where they were placed.

The home occupied premises at 22 Rue des Archives, Paris, where up to 34 girls could be accommodated. The girls were admitted from the age of seven and remained until they were between 14 and 15 years of age, after having taken their first communion and having completed their primary education.

The running of the home was in the hands of two deaconesses who were members of the protestant community on the Rue de Reuilly. A committee of twenty ladies assisted in the the management of the home and worked to raise funds for its operation.

In 1896, the usual number of inmates was 34 and almost all of the places were free. The girls attended a municipal school adjacent to the home. The older girls assisted in the making of garments and laundry work. Some of them were apprenticed at a workshop-school on Boulard Street.

The building now houses the Lutheran Cultural Centre.

Records

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  • None identfied at present — any information welcome.

Bibliography

  • None identified at present.