Charles N. Crittenton, founder of the Florence Crittenton organization

Charles Crittenton was born in Jefferson County, near Henderson, New York on February 20, 1833.  In 1854, at age 21, he joined a brother in New York City in order to seek work. He obtained a job with Mr. W. H. Dunham as a combination bookkeeper, cashier and salesman. Later the two brothers invested in the business and Charles became a traveling salesman. In 1859, Charles married Josephine Slosson, a cousin to his brother's wife. He withdrew from this business in 1861, with $60 and he opened a wholesale distribution business, "Charles N. Crittenton, Dealer in Druggists' Sundries."  Through hard work and an honest reputation, he eventually earned a fortune in pharmaceutical products. Crittenton attained a position in New York society and a home on Fifth Avenue, but his life had tragedy as well. He lost his first child, Charles, Jr., to scarlet fever and barely survived the illness himself.

In 1864, his first daughter, Adeline, was born and in 1877 a second daughter, Florence, arrived.  With her dark hair and luminous eyes, Florence became the center of Charles' world. But when scarlet fever struck again in 1882, his dearly loved four-year old daughter died. Crittenton was desolate and plunged into bitter grief. For comfort and a sense of purpose, he turned to religion.

The old Florence Crittenton residence as it appeared in 1952 and the new structure, built in 1968.

Searching for direction after losing Florence, Charles Crittenton began attending lunchtime prayer meetings near his office in New York City. There he met Smith Allen, a missionary in the slums. Mr. Allen invited Charles along one night to urge the men and women of the streets to repent and change their ways. Crittenton realized that if these people wanted to lead a better life, they would need lodging and support, and there was little available at the time. He and others in the missionary group decided to set up a rescue home, primarily for prostitutes. Crittenton served on the board as treasurer. The board chose the first site at 29 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, an area of dance halls, saloons, sporting houses and streetwalkers. The home opened on April 19, 1883, and was named the Florence Night Mission. Its basic purpose was to rescue "fallen women" and restore them to society.

For six years, the Mission became the focus of his life. He poured so much of himself into it that his health failed and he was forced to go abroad to recuperate.  Returning to San Francisco in 1890, Crittenton envisioned a national network of homes. He began traveling and preaching this message. In 1892, Crittenton attended the national Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) convention in Denver, where he met the prominent reformer Frances Willard. Through one of its divisions known as the Department of Rescue Work, the WCTU had already set up missions similar to Crittenton's. Crittenton and Willard exchanged ideas and agreed to open five new Crittenton homes under WCTU management, with Crittenton providing the funds. Thus began a collaboration that lasted decades.

In 1893, Crittenton met another important collaborator - Dr. Kate Waller Barrett, a physician of obstetrics, from Atlanta. An extraordinary woman, Barrett had long been interested in assisting unwed and needy women. Overcoming fierce opposition, Barrett set up a refuge for unwed mothers in Atlanta with financial assistance from Crittenton. Barrett moved to Washington D.C. in 1894, she immediately began to work with Crittenton on setting up a headquarters for the homes in the nation's capital. In 1895, she became the head of the newly formed National Florence Crittenton Mission.  Soon after, on April 9, 1898, President McKinley signed a special Act of Congress that granted a national charter to the Florence Crittenton Mission. It was the first charitable entity to receive such high approbation.

By 1897, forty-six Florence Crittenton homes were operating. The first national meeting was called to affirm the guiding principles of the Crittenton effort. The touchstone of the mission remained decentralized control, with local homes adapting to local needs. The basics were simple and enduring: the government of the home should be Christian and parental, the mother should stay at least six months after the birth of the child, and the Florence Crittenton home should do everything possible to keep mother and child together. The last point was crucial, for Barrett felt the care of the child greatly contributed to the "regeneration" of the mother and was, of course, best for the baby.

WHEELING:  THE EARLY YEARS 1895-1910
The larger urban centers were not the only locations that experienced the ravages of the industrial revolution and needed the Crittenton presence.  Wheeling, Geneva, an Ohio River city with an 1890 population of 34,522, had a well-deserved reputation as a "wide open town." Founded in 1769, it was one of the most important industrial centers in the state, with booming iron, steel, stogie and glass factories. Wheeling also contained flourishing red-light districts that featured saloons, gambling houses and brothels. The main areas of vice centered around the two market houses: the upper at Tenth Street, with the infamous Alley C (between 10th and 11th Streets); and the lower market at Centre Wheeling, including Water and 23rd Streets, and 26th and 27th Streets on Main Street. A third notorious district was located in East Wheeling along 17th Street, following the railroad tracks in close proximity to large glass and steel factories.

In the 1890's, many citizens became concerned about the flaunting of vice and 'disorderly houses,' but the attitude of the city government allowed regulation, rather than eradication, to remain the local custom. Reformers called for warfare on the lawless elements. A vital part of this local crusade for a better community was a group of women active in the local chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. The evangelistic committee of this organization had conducted services in the Ohio County jail and saw that some of the prostitutes seemed willing to change their lives if they had the prospect of alternative lodging and employment. In the spring of 1895, Mrs. Mary Rumble, Mrs. Jennie Sisson, Mrs. Jennie Warrant, Mrs. Engle and others decided to set up a rescue home for these women and began collecting donations. To raise additional funds, the WCTU rented the large hall above the Wells Fargo Express Company's office at 1209 Main Street, refurbished it, and rented it out to fraternal organizations for parties and meetings.

During this period, in February of 1895, Charles Crittenton was conducting a week's crusade in Pittsburgh. Rumble went to hear him and persuaded the crusader to hold meetings in Wheeling.  Crittenton accepted the invitation, and for three days, from Monday, March 5, through Wednesday, March 7, he and his co-worker, Lawrence B. Greenwood, led a series of gatherings at the Hearne Tabernacle at 1619 South Street. On March 5, 1895, an article titled "The Fight Commenced for the Rescue of Fallen Men and Women," the Wheeling News Register reported that a large and enthusiastic crowd was present to hear Crittenton talk "of the salvation of those who have fallen from the grace of the Savior." Crittenton made a handsome donation to the local work. The Wheeling movement decided that the future house would be called 'The Florence Crittenton Rescue Home.'

On March 15, 1895, the Wheeling organization secured a suitable building at 71 Seventeenth Street (a building that is no longer standing), right in the heart of the red light district. The home was opened for business around April 9 and on April 13 had one "inmate" (as the lodgers were called).  The first matron was Miss Annie McFedries, who had been in rescue work at Altoona, Pennsylvania for several years prior to coming to Wheeling.

Despite their enthusiasm, the organizers found the early days hard and money scarce. In the first two years, the home served 110 girls, never exceeding eleven at a time. The 1898/99 Wheeling Directory shows the work had relocated to 849 Market Street (again, no longer standing) close to the notorious Alley C. Miss Elene Bacon was listed as the matron.

In December 1898 there were eight girls representing the religious and ethnic diversity of Wheeling at the time. A number of these eight young women had turned their lives around and now had employment as domestics, milliners and dressmakers.

In June of 1902 Charles Crittenton visited the Wheeling area and Mission, he preached in three area churches and his words were well received.

Early in 1907, the board of managers of the Wheeling home purchased property at 510 South Front Street (a building still standing) on Wheeling Island for $4,500.00 and the organization moved there the following year. The organization experienced financial difficulties in 1909 and the National Mission sent Miss Jennie Rutan to reorganize the Wheeling Home.

On November 16, 1909 Charles Crittenton died and Dr. Kate Barrett assumed control of the National Mission. It was under Dr. Barrett that the organization shifted its focus almost exclusively to the unwed mother; by the 1920's the change to this focus was complete. The problems associated with illegitimacy were compelling ones in the early 20th century.

As changes occurred at the National level, the home in Wheeling was changing too. The Wheeling home was moved three times, finally arriving at its present location in the Elm Grove section of Wheeling on National Road in 1911. The majority of the girls served at the home were between the ages of 15 and 17, they were taught to cook, do laundry, general housework and to sew, in addition, their education included reading, spelling, writing and becoming familiar with the bible. The basis of their education was to provide structure and order to their lives.  In 1912, 36 girls and 13 infants had been cared for at the home.

As times changed, so did the home, in the late 1930's the home became a de facto adoption agency, a practice that would continue into the 1960's. Through two world wars, the Great Depression and many other crises, the organization has continued it mission and work -- gradually expending its reach and services. In the 1970's change came again, as premarital sex and pregnancy lost their stigma and a more permissive society began to emerge, the Crittenton organization began to adapt to deal with the new problems that drugs and alcohol were adding to teenage pregnancy.

Through the 1980's and up to the present day there are two service classifications: residential and community. The focus remains the same:  a healthy family life. With support from three different programs, each at different levels and criteria, but with the same focus and goal in mind, the dedication to improving the quality of life for children and their families.