St Michael's Orphanage, Hopewell NJ

I was born in on the SS Saturnia and it docked in New York harbor and then my mother delivered me to St. Michael's Orpanage sometime in May of 1951. I then was adopted 8/20/51 by a wonderful family. I am trying to find out more about St. Michael's

St. Michael's Orphan Asylum and Industrial School Buildings View of the main building seen from Princeton Road. The car allows for a good estimate of the building size. This photo, originally published in the Trenton Evening Times, May 11, 1964, was provided to us by Doreen. The photo below shows the full scope of the buildings and the farm land behind the buildings. This photo, discovered by Doreen as she was cleaning out closets, was from a book. I do not know the title. Is the area behind the buildings called Drake's Farm? When St. Michael opened its doors in 1898, the first children came from St. Mary's in New Brunswick, NJ, to be cared for by the Sisters of St. Francis of Glen Riddle, PA. A nursey was added in 1914, a gymnasium was built in 1922, and the Boy's Building was constructed in 1931. The original Home expanded over time to be a five story, 450 child capacity, stone building on 500 acres of land, a very impressive accomplishment. ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- Photo of the Home around 1970 St. Michael's Orphan Aslym and Industrial Home

St Michaels is no longer there. The building was destroyed many years ago. There are some photos in the Hopewell, NJ museum. I was actually born there, in 1953 to my birth mother. Her aunt who raised her apparently worked there so the story goes.

My mother was placed in st. Michaels orphanage during this time frame. Her name was Ruth Helen Rock. She had a sister by the name of Donna Marie Rock. They were adopted by a family in Whitehouse Nj by the last name of Higgins. Would anyone know of any information related to these two girls? Their birth parents could have been Charles Rock and Irene Rock ne Flannery. Thanks to anyone that could give some info

Hi all! I am trying to find information on my husband's family. His dad was in the orphanage with his brothers sometime around 1945-1959. My father in law left there around 1955 but his brother were still there. I am looking for any information anyone can give me. Their names were James (Jim), Robert, & Donald Walker. James would have been around 5 in 1945. If you can help please contact me. Thanks Cindy Walker

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][/FONT] Hello my name is Diane Bruckmann Jordan we have two sites on Facebook.. st michaels orphanage hopewell one is listed under groups and one is listed under people we are also starting a web site and looking for people to join Come Join us...You will never know who you will find Diane [url=http://www.saintmichaelsorphanage.com/]Saint Michaels Orphange Hopewell, New Jersey[/url]

My husband has many siblings and they were taken from his Mom and put in Saint Michaels when his mother couldn't take care of them. They were in there for under two years. It's funny to listen to them talk about it. My husband loved it there and cried at the thought of going home. Due to the fact he had an older brother he was bumped to the older group and favored by the nuns. The hard work expected of him there (kitchen duty ) was nothing compared to the work he had at home. A family had come in and brought him to their home for Christmas. They offered him anything he wanted and he just wanted rock em sock em robots. He never forgot the kidness of that family and how they made a little boys day. Bill, Joseph, Steaven, Thomas, Danny, Gerard, Charmayne, Maryann, Geraldine,

Good day to you all, This is st. michaels orphanage home for orphans and physical challenge people and we deal with so many activities like medications,education and lot more.We have helped so many over here in Africa and also some part of Europe.many have testified of our good works and we are pleading to you all to please extend your hands of support to us here in Africa as we cant do this on our own only.We need sponsors and we are pleading to you all that wants to help just like you were been helped as well.To our colleague abroad please do acknowlege our email as well as this task isnt that easy to carry alone as we need your help and support to succeed.As we have alot of issues right now that demands surport and please do contact us as soon as possible and we look forward to hear from you all. Together we shall help the society in general and only God can see us through. Please email or contact us on : st-michaels_home@hotmail.com Yours faithfully, St. Michael's Orphanage home. Tel: +23480 518 594 32

Dear brothers and sisters, We have a sick child who needs an urgent surgery to survive and we have been told by the Doctor that the sum of $150,000.00 will be needed to make that happen and as you all know,that is a huge amount of money and we have been receiving donations from people all over the world and was also directed to contact you all as well through this site and medium.Please anything you can assist to make this child survive will be accepted from you and the good Lord will pay you back in million fold. Is not a force but we are pleading to you good child of God to please help this child as this surgery needs to be carried out as soon as possible.May the good lord bless you as you save a life today and for more enquiry please you can call us with the phone number below or email us as well so we can send to you more details(photo of the child) as we have tried alot to help people and we just need help from the public at this point in time. Yours faithfully, St. Michael's Orphanage home. Tel: +23480 518 594 32 email: st-michaels_home@hotmail.com

My name is kayla. I know that my grandfather and his brother were raised at St. Michael's. He was born on May 24th, 1927. His name was James J. Anthony. His brother was named David Anthony, and he was born in April of 1924. No one in my family knows the name of their birth mother or are even sure why they were placed in St. Michael. I am currently trying to find any information on them that I can. The only thing that we know is that she was most likely From Sicily. If you could tell me any information, It would be greatly appreciated. I would be greatful to be even led in the right direction. Thank-you

Hello, My name is Kayla Siple. I am trying to find any information available on my grandfathers childhood and if at all possibel the name of his birth mother and the reason he was placed in the St. Michael's. We know is that his birth mother was most likely Sicilian or southern italian because my grandfather had very dark coloring. My grandfather's name was James (middle: Joesph) Anthony and he was born on May 5th 1927, most likely in New Jersey. His brother was David Anthony and was born April, 1924. I believe they were both raised at St. Michael's until adulthood. If you could give me any information as to why they were placed there or the birth name of the mother, I would be so greatful.

I don't have any information about you personally, but you asked about St Michael's. My Mom was in St Michael's, long before you were. It was in Somerville NJ, not Hopewell. It does not exist any longer, I'm sorry to tell you. I wish I could help further, but that's all the information I have. I hope your experience was a lot better than my Mom's there. Everything that I've read on this site states that St Michael's was in Hopewell. My Mother always said it was in Somerville and so did my Aunt. I know that at the time she was there, they did have the boys and girls in separate areas. She originally went in in 1939 (Late January, early February). I hate to say it but the nuns that were there at that time were severely abusive. And from what others have said it was a nicer place than when my Mother was there.

Oh God. Please don't remind me of St. Michael's. Everytime I think of that place, it makes me sad and sometimes it makes me sick. Nothing ever bad happened to me when I stayed there but oh just seeing others post about their stays there. I remember the big room where a bunch of us girls each had our own bed and that every night we said a bedtime prayer and we did another one when we first got up in the morning. I remember the cabinet that we had for our uniforms and our good clothes and that on Sundays, family came to visit us. I remember those days, as that was when my grandparents would come and visit me. This was in the 60's about the time I was 7 or 8 years old. I remember the Nuns and that some of them were very strict but others were so kind and nice. I remember the fathers as well, and going to class and that on certain days we had to wear beanies that matched our uniforms. I may have been a little girl back then but I'm 61 now and I can still remember it. I'm sorry that they tore it down. I really loved that place as a child. I was never put up for adoption, I was just a foster child when I lived there.:relieved::relieved:

Hi Cindy - My name is Deborah (Klucsarits) Brown. My family was in St. Michael's Orphanage from about 1958 to 1962. My brothers were on the boy's side. Their names are Richard Klucsarits and Robert Klucsarits (now deceased). My brother Rich is still very much alive and he is on Facebook, both in the St. Michael's Orphanage FB page and his own page in his name. If you are on Facebook, please look me up by email address, deborahjbrown@live.com and you can find my brothers, as well as many other people who were in St. Michael's around this time. I hope this helps. Hi all! I am trying to find information on my husband's family. His dad was in the orphanage with his brothers sometime around 1945-1959. My father in law left there around 1955 but his brother were still there. I am looking for any information anyone can give me. Their names were James (Jim), Robert, & Donald Walker. James would have been around 5 in 1945. If you can help please contact me.ThanksCindy Walker[/quote]

Hi, I lived in St. Michael's Orphanage and I remember exactly where the orphanage was. It was on Princeton Ave. in Hopewell Borough. Today it is a land preserve, you can find information on it at the following website: or by looking up St. Michael's Farm Preserve, Hopewell, NJ. The building was torn down in 1970. You can also find a great deal of information about it by searching "St. Michael's Orphanage in Hopewell, NJ" Former orphans have a Facebook page called "St. Michael's Orphanage" and you'd be surprised at the number of people who belong to this page that lived at St. Michael's Orphanage at varying times. I was there from about 1958 until 1962 or thereabouts. I was just 3-4 years-old when I came to live there. Later in life I worked for the Hopewell Valley Regional School District. One of the schools in the district, Hopewell Elementary is practically across the road from where St. Michael's was. The Hopewell Firehouse is also across the street from the former site of St. Michael's Orphanage. There are many, many resources available to you about this orphanage including the book of Hopewell Borough. I hope this helps you find any information that you are seeking. I don't have any information about you personally, but you asked about St Michael's. My Mom was in St Michael's, long before you were. It was in Somerville NJ, not Hopewell. It does not exist any longer, I'm sorry to tell you. I wish I could help further, but that's all the information I have. I hope your experience was a lot better than my Mom's there. Everything that I've read on this site states that St Michael's was in Hopewell. My Mother always said it was in Somerville and so did my Aunt. I know that at the time she was there, they did have the boys and girls in separate areas. She originally went in in 1939 (Late January, early February). I hate to say it but the nuns that were there at that time were severely abusive. And from what others have said it was a nicer place than when my Mother was there.[/quote]