Mother D'Arcambal
Dramatic Closing of a Life Well spent
Death Watch was Broken
But the Passing Soul Left Undisturbed
Mrs. Agnes L. d'Arcambal, Founder of the Home of Industry, Borne from Her Death Bed to Escape Fire-Much of Her Life Work Done in Kalamazoo

DETROIT, Mich., Feb. 13.—The passing of one of the Strongest characters among the women of Michigan and one of the best known, was the occasion Saturday night for a scene both dramatic and touching. While "Mother " Agnes d'Arcambal lay hovering on the verge of eternity's peaceful sleep in her home, adjoining the Home of Industry 257 Willis avenue east, Saturday evening, fire broke out in the basement of the bouse.
The dying woman had long been unconscious and the untiring nurse, Miss Harrison of the Battle Greek sanitarium, patiently waited the end without hope for her patient. She was apprised of the danger of the fire almost at its inception by the room beginning to fill with smoke. She called Superintendent Radford of the Home of Industry, and Mrs. d'Arcambal was wrapped up in the bed clothing and carried to a neighboring house. There was no time to secure a stretcher or cot. "Mother " d'Arcambal was carried back to the Home of Industry from the neighboring house after the fire, on a stretcher procured from Harper hospital. She was unconscious all the time, slowly passing into the next world, Dr. Emerson, who attended her, did not expect she would last through the night and his fears proved true, for at 12:45 she breathed her last.
Since 10:30 o'clock Friday night she had lain in an unconscious state, her life slowly ebbing away. Mrs. Giddings Kalamazoo, her eldest daughter, was with her when the end came, as well as Miss Harrison, the nurse, and Miss Pettibone, the treasurer of the home and her companion in the great work which had taken up her later years.
Her Pet Gave Warning. Mother d'Arcambal was unconscious at the time of the fire as she bad bean for twenty-four hours, and the watch being maintained was simply for the end. Mrs. Giddings had urged the other Indies to go to their supper and they had just left when distressing cries from Mother d'Arcambal's pet cat, "Billie, " attracted Mrs. Giddings' attention.
About a week before, during the last days of Mother d'Arcambal's consciousness, the presence of "Billie" in her room had seemed to annoy the patient, and she remarked to her daughter:
"Billie looks at me so sharp—perhaps you'd better keep him out."
Mrs. Giddings, fearing that the cat's mournful cries might possibly arouse and disturb her mother, started down the stairway of the annex to the Home of Industry, which was her mother's home, to find and eject the cat. On reaching the landing she smelled smoke and discovered flames emerging through the floor of the front parlor beside the register which heated the room. Mrs. Giddings at once ran through the corridor which connects the annex with the Home of Industry and gave the alarm. She returned to her mother's room at once, followed by the other ladies, while the men of the house with pails of water made an onslaught on the flames.
The smoke rapidly accumulated and Mrs. Giddings quickly realized that the thickening air threatened to hasten the end so fearfully watched for. An opened window gave no relief and, quickly formulating a plan, she, with Miss Harrison and Miss Pettibone, hastily wrapped comforters about the form of the dying woman and, tenderly lifting her in their arms, they carried her downstairs and through the hall into the sitting room of the home. From there in the frigid atmosphere she was carried to the dwelling house next adjoining the home to the east. Efforts to arouse the occupants were futile and the next house, that of John Gebica, was resorted to for shelter.
Mrs. D'Arcambal's Dream . The barely furnished home of John Gebica afforded an awesome scene before the removal. The neighbors had crowded in, anxious to learn of the dying woman's condition; children elbowed with grown people to get a glimpse of the beloved patient. Sitting beside the bed in the cheerless little room there, Mrs. Giddings recalled and related to the anxious watchers gathered about her, the last conscious words of her mother.
"Yesterday morning mother seemed to recognize us, and she told us of a dream she had had, " said Mrs. Giddings. "She could just make herself audible, and Miss Harrison and I had to bend, down close to her to hear her."
"I dreamt last night,' she told us, 'that I saw Mother d'Arcambal dying. And it was a strange place—there were so many poor people watching her die."
"Mother told us as though she was talking about some other person—she did not say I or me - she did not say anything more. Here," and Mrs. Giddings pointed through the darkened doorway, "are the poor people. It seems as though her dream was to come true "
It was just a few moments later when it was decided to return her to the more comfortable shelter of the home. There the death watch was resumed.
How the "Boys" Fought Fire . "The boys" in the Home of Industry responded with alacrity to the call of fire in their institution on Willlis avenue Saturday night. An alarm was sent in and in the meantime they attacked the flames with what apparatus they had at their command. It seemed apparent that the conflagration had started from the furnace being overheated and the flames crept rapidly up through the flues in all directions, bursting out in several parts of the building, and the fire department had a difficult time extinguishing it in all parts of the house. Fire Chief W. H. Harris, who lives in the vicinity, arrived on the scene of the fire a few moments after fire headquarters had been informed of the fire. All was excitement in the vicinity and the firemen were assailed with shouts of:
"Save the mother, Save the mother! She's in her room. "
This was despite the fact that Mrs. d'Arcambal had already been removed through the passageway to the home proper. Ladders were quickly run up to the second story front windows and despite the thick smoke that was pouring out of them. Fireman John Burke, after putting on a smoke protector, entered the room. He reached the bedside of the dying woman but found that it was empty. For a moment he thought she might have left the bed and fallen on the floor overcome by smoke which was rapidly affecting him. He commenced to grope about in the blinding atmosphere but finally bad to give up his search. His senses were just leaving him and he was about to sink down when companions reached him and managed to carry him to the air where he revived.
The Loss of the Annex. The three-story frame annex in which the fire occurred was completed two years ago at a cost of about $3,COO. The house was provided with all the modern conveniences and was stored with a fine assortment of bric-a-brac and elegant furniture which had been contributed by Mother d'Arcambal's "boys " who had been recipients of her bounty in days gone by, and friends of hers who had lent her aid in her chosen work The annex was constructed for the purpose of providing a separate home for the "mother " and her assistants. Previous to its erection she had lived in the home itself, but owing to age which was creeping rapidly on her it was decided to give her a comfortable place to spend the remainder of her days. The building was badly damaged, and will need overhauling and repairing from cellar to garret. The furniture was mostly damaged by water. Superintendent Radford of the Home of Industry, estimated the damage at about $1,500 or $2,000. George O. Wetherbee, who has the insurance policies on the building, said that be believed the damage to be fully covered. One of the most severe losses to Mrs. d'Arcambal's children is the destruction of an oil portrait of their father, which was hung in the mother's bedroom. Fire has scorched it to such an extent as to make it a total loss.
Her Long Illness. Mrs. d'Arcambal had been in failing health for two years. At her advanced age —she would have been 71 years of age on March 4 —she still kept at the work, but gradually her strength weakened, and last Thanksgiving day she was forced to take to her bed with nervous prostration. Since that time it had been known that the "mother " would never recover, and day after day, as the "boys " gently stole into her room for a few minutes, it could be seen that the end was drawing nearer. During the last few days her death had been expected at almost any hour. It is not probable that the excitement attendant upon the fire early Saturday evening hastened the end, however, as it was only a matter of a few hours in any event.
The funeral will take place Tuesday morning. Services will be held at the Home of Industry at 9 o'clock and at 10 a. m. the body will be taken to the Church of Our Father. From there the remains will be sent to her old home in Kalamazoo, where she lived during her earlier years.
Only those who have known criminals and appreciate how difficult it is for them to find honest employment after once serving a sentence in a penal institution, says the Detroit Free Press, can appreciate the wonderful benefit of Agnes d'Arcambal's life work. It was to offer a means for those who had fallen in life's path, who had merited the distrust of their fellow men and were denied opportunity to regain what they had thrown away—a character, as many poor people who appreciate the necessity, call it, that she took up her labor of love—a life work of humanity, that resulted in the saving of many a one who would otherwise have continued his criminal existence either of necessity or lack of a tender, guiding hand to bring him back to a good life again. She fanned the spark of self pride to life again, she recalled to almost existence the kind mothers at whose knees these criminals had knelt, she taught them over again the lessons of their childhood, and no doubt to many of them she taught those lessons for the first time, for it is mostly of children who have known no mother but the world that criminals are made. To such as these, whether they may be called unfortunates, misfortunates or rascals, she taught the religion of honesty and uprightness, and her efforts were very successful. And "mother"—the title that her "boys " gave her—she has been to many and many reclaimed men and women.
Story of Her Life. Mrs. d'Arcambal's maiden name was Agnes Harrington, and she was born in Burlington, Vt. Her mother. Eliza Tuttle, was a direct descendant of one of the most illustrious founders of Yale college. Thaddeus Tuttle, her grandfather, owned most of the site upon which the city of Burlington was founded. William Harrington, her father, was an influential lawyer, and when Agnes was 3 years old he moved to Buffalo. He died of cholera two years later, leaving a widow and four young children. The widow managed to bring up the four children and give them a good education.
One day, when only 9 years of age, Agnes was taken to Buffalo jail by her mother's cook, who went to carry food to a boy who was imprisoned for debt. The little girl was shown through the jail and it made such an impression upon her that, even at that tender age, she determined to do anything she could for any released convicts whom she might afterward come to know. Mrs. d'Arcambal in later life sometimes spoke of this Incident and always said that even as a child she had no fear of convicts, and through all her humanitarian work had never felt the qualm of fear when surrounded by them.
Mrs. d'Arcambal married early in life Charles S. d'Arcambal, whom she met while visiting relatives at Charlotte, Mich. The young couple began life together in Kalamazoo, where Mr. d'Arcambal was a prominent physician and druggist for forty years. Mrs. d'Arcambal interested herself in the prisoners in the Kalamazoo county jail. Her husband was always in hearty accord with her work. She visited the prisoners and did what she could to change their lives and often secured positions for them when released. Twelve children blessed her and her husband, four of whom are still surviving. Dr. d'Arcambal died about twelve years ago, leaving them comfortably provided for. The eldest daughter is the wife of Hon. Theron P. Giddings of Kalamazoo. The second, Kate, gave her life to religious work as a sister of charity and is known as Sister Immaculate. She worked for ten years among the Indians of Mexico and is now in a Cincinnati hospital. She graduated from St. Mary's hospital in Detroit. The other living children are Mrs. W. T. Caryl of Chicago, and E. R. d'Arcambal, traveling salesman, Detroit.
Her Life Work. In 1872 Mrs. d'Arcambal started a library in Jackson state's prison. She secured permission from the chaplain of the prison to send the prisoners books, and then interested the children of the schools and thereby secured volumes of reading matter. Citizens also contributed and in a month a library of 500 volumes had been established. She collected the books herself with her daughter's handsled and turned the library over to the convicts on Christmas day. The presentation speech was one of her first oratorical efforts.
Mrs. d'Arcambal wrote Henry Ward Beecher what she had done and he sent her seven finely bound volumes of his own works. At this time she began giving parlor talks about criminals, and the need of work to reform them in different cities in Michigan. This work resulted in making up a library for the prison of several thousand volumes. Since that time the then chaplain of the prison, Rev. George H. Hickox, has been her devoted friend and counselor. Easter offerings to this convicts were her next undertaking, and she and her daughters and friends made pin cushions and handkerchiefs for them. This kindness was showing its effect in the more tractableness of convicts, for they appreciated that the world was not all cold to them. Mrs. d'Arcambal presented the prison with three black walnut tablets with the ten commandments and prayers lettered in gold upon them July 4, 1870, and these are now imbedded in the walls. They are seventeen feet six inches high and thirteen feet six Inches wide and embody about 1,800 word
The Home of Indnstry. The inception of the Home of Industry was unique. Mrs. d'Arcambal had erected in the flower garden of her home a little play house for her son. It had two windows and a chimney and was cozy and comfortable. In it she placed cots for the use of convicts who had been released from prison and had no place to secure lodgings. Sometimes as many as six convicts found shelter there at a time and it was seldom that any who rested there did not shower blessings upon the noble woman who had dared to provide them shelter. Shoes and some articles of clothing were also given to them.
It was after fifteen years of such experience as has been related that Mrs. d'Acrambal set to work to establish a home for ex-convicts. Domesticities no longer presented her devoting her life to the work for her children had all left the maternal roof. One Sunday morning found her at the Jackson prison ready to make an address to the men. Over 880 convicts listened to her outline her plans.
She asked each to subscribe from 1 to 50 cents who could, and for those who could not to pray that success would follow her efforts. One penny from a prisoner for life started the subscription, and the warden's 5 year-old daughter emptied her small savings bank into the good woman's lap. Sarah Haviland, the only woman life convict, gave 50 cents. Two hundred dollars was the result of the subscription. At the Ionia house of correction $76 more was added.
Detroit was selected as the place to locate the home, and upon the urgent request of Mrs. J. B. Mulliken, Mrs. d'Arcambal came here to live. In two years Mrs. d'Arcambal had raised enough money to found the home. Michael Dunn, an ex-convict, was brought from Chicago to begin the work. A fourteen-room house was rented with a barn for a shop, but when the first consignment of machinery for making brooms and the first load of broom corn arrived the landlord appeared with a petition against the establishment of an institution for ex-convicts in that highly respectable locality. So Dunn hunted for seven days to find another place and finally the old Detroit medical college building was secured. The occupant, a saloonist, was paid $25 to move his saloon. The home was opened March 4, 1888. Mrs. d'Arcambal went herself soliciting orders for brooms and started placing the institution on a self-sustaining basis. Ex-convicts were given temporary employment making brooms until other work could be secured for them.
The Present Home. Ground was broken tor the present Home of Industry on Willis avenue, between St, Antoine and Hastings, Aug. 1, 1890 The industrial association of Detroit had been incorporated with a board of directors composed of prominent people. The lot on which the building stands was donated by D. J. Campau, Stephen Baldwin, chairman of the building committee, gave $1,000; Newcomb & Endicott a similar amount, and many smaller subscriptions were received. This Home of Industry, consisting of a commodious brick building with its broom factory, rug factory, chair caning department, engine room, offices, large general rooms for reading and devotions, dining rooms, kitchen and so on, not forgetting "mother's room "—devoted exclusively to the use of Mrs. d'Arcambal, composed the dream of this wonderful woman's life. And many an ex-convict it has been the means of reclaiming. Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph February 13, 1899 page 1 and 3

From: http://www.geocities.com/genealogymi/asylum.html:
"The Boy's Home and D'Arcambal Association was another charitable organization. It was developed from the D'Arcambal Home of Industry for discharged prisoners, founded by Mrs. Agnes D'Arcambal in 1890. After her death, the association was incorporated and began the work of caring for young boys. The boys were housed at first in the Old Biddle House, on Jefferson Avenue, and later moved to Lafayette Street near Third. In 1907, the institution was moved to farmland in Farmington Township."

Mrs. Agnes L. Harrington d'Arcambal is a native of Burlington, Vt. She was born March 8, 1832. Her parents were William and Eliza Harrington. Has traveled throughout the United States. She married Charles L. d'Arcambal, a native of France. Her special work has been in the interest of suffering humanity. She has been for twenty-five years a voluntary worker in several lines of charity. In religious faith she is a Christian. Her postoffice address is Detroit, Mich.

FIRE FIEND AT HER DEATHBED
"Mother" Agnes d'Arcambal DRIVEN OUT OF HER HOME.
OVERHEATED FURNACE DID ABOUT $2,000 DAMAGE.
Mrs. d'Arcambul, Unconscious, Was Removed to the Home of Industry.
While "Mother" Agnes d'Arcambal lay hovering on the verge of eternity's peaceful sleep in her home, adjoining the Home of Industry, 257 Willis avenue east, last evening, fire broke out in the basement of the house. The dying woman had long been unconscious and the untiring nurse. Miss Harrison, of the Battle Creek sanitarium, patiently waited the end without hope for the patient. She was apprised of the danger of the fire almost at its inception by the room beginning filled with smoke. She called Supt. Radford, of the Home of Industry, and Mrs. d'Arcambal was wrapped up in the bedclothing and carried to a neighboring house. There was no time to secure a stretcher or cot.
"The boys" in the Home of Industry responded with alacrity to the call of fire. An alarm was turned in and in the meantime they attacked the flames with what apparatus they had at their command. It seemed apparent that the conflagration had started from the furnace being overheated and the flames crept rapidly up through the flues in all directions." Fire burst out in different parts of the building, and the fire department had a difficult time extinguishing it in all parts of the house.
The building was badly damaged, and will need overhauling and repairing from cellar to garret. The furniture was mostly damaged by water. Superintendent Radford, of the Home of Industry, last night estimated the damage at about $1,500 or $2,000. George C. Wetherbee. who has the insurance policies on the building, said last night that he believed the damage to be fully covered.
"Mother" d'Arcambal was carried back to the Home of Industry from the neighboring house after the fire on a stretcher procured from Harper hospital. She was unconscious all the time, slowly passing into the next world. Dr. Emerson, who is attending her, did not expect she would last through the night, although it was not thought that moving her made any difference in her condition. Detroit Free Press Feb 12, 1899 page 6