Saturday October 27 from 2:00 to 3:00
Eliada Orphanage with Oral Historian Clifford Davids
Pack Memorial Library, Lord Auditorium, lower level.
All events are free and open to the public
Refreshments will be served.
Clifford Davids has spent almost two decades gathering stories of extraordinary human endurance.
Between 1996 and 1998 he traveled regularly from the Catskills in southeastern New York State down to the Connecticut shore conducting interviews with Holocaust survivors for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. After moving to the mountains of North Carolina in 1998, on the occasion of Eliada’s upcoming centennial, Director Stewart Humphrey hired Davids to gather the stories of the children who had grown up at the orphanage. After having served as CEO for over twenty years, he wanted to provide a permanent and lasting record, a testament of sorts, for the children whose only home had been at Eliada. Davids spent a decade tracking down and interviewing people who had grown up at the former Eliada Orphanage in Asheville, N.C. Some of these stories are published on his website entitled “Confessions of an Oral Historian.”
Mr. Davids donated to the North Carolina Room the 23 sound interviews that he had taken as well as several albums of photographs and Eliada newsletters. The interviews are in the process of being transcribed (MS368).
Rev. Lucius B. Compton was the president and founder of Eliada Orphanage, as well as Faith Cottage for unwed mothers. The home was established in 1906. When Compton died in 1948 the orphanage was home to 68 children with more than 1,000 children who had grown up there. Eliada continues today providing “a cradle to career continuum of services for over 700 children and youth annually.”
Mr. Davids will highlight several personal stories from finding and meeting with the families of some people who grew up at Eliada.
The stories–each one full of sadness, courage and happiness–reveals much about love, hope, family ties and social mores.
One story is about the life of Furman “Curly” Williams, Jr. who came to Eliada in 1939 at the age of 7 after the death of both of his parents. Curly was mischievous and larger-than-life to his fellow orphans at Eliada.
Earlier this year, Eliada Homes discovered the existence of 13 unknown bodies buried in the old orphanage cemetery located on their campus in Asheville, N.C.
Cliff Davids will discuss the steps Eliada has taken to mark those unknown sites.
He will also reveal the names and stories of the first two bodies that have been identified, and talk about his plans to uncover the names of the other unknown children/adults who are buried there.
Post by Zoe Rhine North Carolina Room librarian
Thank you … not having grown up in Asheville, I enjoyed reading this & hope to read more 🎶
My Grandmother was in the Linden Home, and I am having great difficulty finding the records for her stay there. I am glad to see someone is taking an interest in the children who stayed in the Eliada Home.
My grandfather and his 2 brothers (they were triplets) were put there as infants. I believe one died as an infant. My grandfather ran away and when he went back to get his brother he was told there was a fire and records were lost. My grandfather died in 1993 always wondering what happened to his brother. My aunt had been trying to find info for the past 15 yrs, is there any other way to find info?
Hi, Steve! It might be a long shot, but you’d be welcome to come look through the collection referenced in this post (MS368) for information. It is a fairly small collection (4 boxes total) containing photo albums, oral history interviews on tape, and other research items collected as part of Cliff Davids’ research.
-Carissa, Special Collections Librarian
My Grandmother Ethel Roberts and her sister Juanita Roberts was there maybe around 1936 “she was born in 1934 “for most of her childhood from what I know. I wish I could find pictures or anything that shows how long her and her sister stayed there.
HI, Leana! A lot of the material in this collection is not identified or indexed by names, but there’s a chance your family members are represented. If you can come take a look at the collection or if you’d like us to send you some scans, please get in touch. We’re available over the phone 828-250-4740 or via email at packnc@buncombecounty.org. Thanks for reading! -Carissa, Librarian
Would love to see pictures from 1958-1964 .
I am Helen Mace. There were 6 of the Mace family at Eliada Home during that period. Thanks so much.
Hi, Helen! This collection (MS368) includes 3 photo albums and some loose photographs. Unfortunately, most of the photos are undated and unidentified. There is one photo album that includes photos from the 1950s. If you’d like to check it out in person or have us send you scans, give us a call at 828-250-4740 or email us at packnc@buncombecounty.org. I hope we can help! -Carissa, Librarian