Leake and Watts Services, Inc. is a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

social services agency in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

that provides services for children and families in the areas of

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

, Head Start and other related subjects."Who We Are: Overview"
on the Leake and Watts Services website It has facilities in

Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

, and in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and

upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, 110th Street (the northern boundary of Central Park), 1 ...

. The agency began as the Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum in Manhattan."History"
on the Leake and Watts Services website In 2018, Leake and Watts Services was rebranded as Rising Ground. A description of the organization today is available at

Rising Ground Rising Ground is a large human services organization in New York City, with approximately 1,600 employees supporting more than 25,000 children, adults, and family members annually. Founded in 1831 as the Leake and Watts Orphan House, Rising Ground ...

History

John George Leake (1752–1827) was a New York lawyer who had no children or siblings. He died on June 2, 1827, at his home on Park Row in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. His estate, which included personal property valued at about $300,000 and real estate worth an additional $86,000, he left to Robert Watts, the son of his best friend John Watts, with the stipulation that Robert Watts change his name to "Robert Leake". Watts made the change, but died a few months later, leaving no will. The Leake fortune would then have passed to his father, John Watts, but considering the circumstances Watts was uncomfortable with receiving the money. In the legal papers of John Leake was an unsigned and undated draft of a will in his handwriting, in which he left money to create a home for orphaned children, and assigned his friend, John Watts, to administer the home. Watts petitioned the court to put the money to this use. The Public Administrator of New York took charge of the estate, ruling that Leake had died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without a legally valid will, resulting in the distribution of their estate under statutory intestacy laws rather than by their expressed wishes. Alternatively this may also apply ...

. After a court decision the cash was released to the orphanage but his real estate was kept by

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. Originally located at Trinity Church, a new building for the orphanage at West 112th Street in

Morningside Heights, Manhattan Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningsid ...

, was completed in 1843, designed by

Ithiel Town Ithiel Town (October 3, 1784 – June 13, 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the f ...

and constructed by Samuel Thomson in the

Greek revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style. The site of the orphanage was purchased in 1891 by Bishop

Henry Codman Potter Henry Codman Potter (May 25, 1834 – July 21, 1908) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States. He was the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Potter was "more praised and appreciated, perhaps, than any public man ...

for the

Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhoo ...

, and the building was to be torn down. However, the building was preserved as part of the cathedral close, renovated in 2006, and is the oldest building still standing in Morningside Heights. The Leake & Watts Board of Trustees purchased a 40-acre in Yonkers, New York, in 1888. In 1890 the orphanage opened in Yonkers. In 2012, a 16-year-old student named Corey Foster died at Leake and Watts while being restrained by the institution's staff after refusing to leave the basketball court. The institute's practices, which include

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

and punitive restraints, have been criticized. However, the Westchester County District Attorney led a three-month investigation into the incidence and concluded that no criminal charges were warranted. In 2018, Leake & Watts changed its name to Rising Ground.

Timeline

*1827 – Death of Leake *1831 – Leake & Watts Orphan House is founded in New York City for "the maintenance and education of helpless orphan children" by John Watts, according to the terms of a bequest by his brother-in-law, John George Leake. *1838 – Cornerstone for new building laid *1843 – The Leake & Watts Orphan House moves to the current site of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Upper Manhattan. *1850 – Leake & Watts Orphan House opens its doors to girls. *1890 – The Home is moved outside the city to the farm of

Edwin Forrest Edwin Forrest (March 9, 1806December 12, 1872) was a nineteenth-century American Shakespearean actor. His feud with the British actor William Macready was the cause of the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849. Early life Forrest was born in Phila ...

, the grounds were designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

. *1921 – The "cottage system" is implemented at Leake & Watts. First implemented for girls, the system featured six cottages with cottage parents, housing 10-30 girls each on the Yonkers campus. *1937 – A Social Services Department with trained social work staff is established. *1944 – The Foster Home Department is established. *1947 – Leake & Watts merges with the Orphan Home and Asylum of the Episcopal Church and the Sevilla-Hopewell Society of Brooklyn. *General source:

References

Notes

External links

*
The Leake and Watts Children's Home 1802-1983 at the New York Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leake And Watts Services Buildings and structures in Manhattan Charities based in New York City Social welfare charities based in the United States Orphanages in New York (state) 1831 establishments in New York (state)