Girard College

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the youngest Keller child who was born in 1889 and named Geo (George) was located in the 1900 census records as being a student at Girard College. When I originally researched the Keller family years ago, I knew that John and Elisabeth Keller's youngest child was a boy named Geo. But I could not find him in any records after his 1889 birth and came to the conclusion that he may have died in infancy or shortly thereafter.

Well, I am happy to tell you that Geo did survive infancy and childhood and like many male children of the time, he was sent to a boarding school known as Girard College.

Girard College is not a college but a boarding school for children from orphaned or poor single parent homes that provides an education from 1st to 12th grades. The school is still opened today but things have changed in the 150 years since its creation by French Immigrant, Stephen Girard.

Stephen Girard was born 1750 in Bordeaux France. At age 21 years old, he captained his own ship and came to America. He settled in Philadelphia and by the end of his life in 1831 was known as the richest man in America. He was also a very generous man and believed that all male children should have a proper education so in his will he left one of the largest private charitable donations to have a school built for the education of poor white orphan boys who lost their fathers.

In 1848, Girard College opened its doors to poor white fatherless boys and educated them for the trades and professions in its time.

Geo Keller was eleven years old in 1900 and had lost his father ten years earlier in 1890. I can only conclude that being the youngest child in a family where the father died and the mother did not have the means to educate him properly is why he was sent to Girard College. His mother Elisabeth would die in 1904.

I was able to locate Geo once again in the 1910 census records where he lived as a boarder. He was no longer at Girard College. I could not find Geo in 1920 census records.

Today, Girard College is still a boarding school for poor children but it now accepts all children regardless of gender or race. The school's focus is on preparing children for college.