Where can I find the hospital my ancestor stayed at?
In addition, the hospital that your ancestor stayed at may not even exist anymore. This is especially true for old asylums and sanatoriums, as these facilities were phased out in the 1970s or earlier. These records are now held by state and local historical societies, libraries, archives, and other organizations.
What if my ancestor does not show up on the site?
If your ancestor does not show up on the site you will need to contact the National Archives field site that holds the records for the state where your ancestor lived You will need to provide a legal land description (township and range) to the archival staff.
How can I find out what kind of farm my ancestor had?
Look on the U.S. Federal Census for the poor farm in the county where your ancestor lived. Most counties had a poor farm or poor house. They were listed under several different terms, including county farm, county home, and county asylum.
What kind of claim could my ancestor have made upon the land?
Your ancestor could have made a claim upon the land under a mining claim, cash entry, military bounty, forest reserve, or script. All of these types of claims were recorded separately than a homestead entry.
What to do if your ancestor died in an asylum?
Death Records. If your ancestor died in the asylum/hospital, look at death records in that county. Institutions didn’t always record patient deaths with the local health department, but it is worth a look.
When did my ancestor die in Illinois?
You get to try to obtain a court order from an Illinois circuit court. My ancestor died in 1899 in what was then called the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane (later called Kankakee State Hospital).
How old was Grace Braddock in 1880?
That is what I did when researching Grace Braddock, who was listed in the 1880 census as an inmate at the Athens Insane Asylum in Athens, Ohio. She was 59 years old, widowed, a native of Ireland, and listed as “insane.”.
What was Grace Braddock's cause of death?
The Athens County, Ohio death records include the death of Grace Braddock in the “Athens Asylum” on 11 June 1892; her cause of death was an aneurysm.
Which states require researchers to sign a paper that they were the closest relative to the patient?
Some states are slightly more open. Ohio, for example, use to require researchers to sign a paper that they were the “closest relative” to the patient. Now that’s only required if the patient’s death occurred within the past 50 years.
Does Ancestry digitize from microfilm?
The person doing the microfilming placed blank cards over the entries that had to deal with insanity cases. Ancestry digitized from the microfilm, not the original records. When this happens, look for other court records. Just because the docket is redacted doesn’t mean that the court journal is.
What records can be used to find out if an ancestor died?
Old death records may list the cause of death. Veterans pension records, court records , old newspaper articles, and census records may also provide information related to health status.
When did my grandfather's aunt immigrate to North Dakota?
My grandfather had an aunt who immigrated from Norway to North Dakota in 1915 . She was married in 1917 and our records show that her husband died around 1920. We cannot find records of her after her marriage in 1917, but oral family history says that she may have spent some time in an asylum.
What is asylum project?
Asylum Projects is a wiki page dedicated to the history of asylums of all types. The project includes historical information on mental hospitals, sanatoriums, state training schools, reform schools, poor houses, poor farms, and orphanages.
What happens to a person's medical records after death?
Upon the individual’s death, the record was sealed permanently and anyone without legal permission from that person’s estate could not be granted access. This created a huge problem for many people, including those with hereditary medical conditions, medical researchers, and genealogists.
Where was the aunt of the Insane in Oshkosh?
Census record, which shows the aunt listed as a patient in the Northern Hospital for the Insane in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the 1930 U.S. Census which lists her as a patient in the Marathon County Asylum in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Who is Janet Meydam?
Janet Meydam is a freelance writer who has over 40 years of experience in genealogy as a hobby. Her knowledge includes researching many different records from the United States, Germany and Poland. She is also a co-author of her parents’ family history book “I Come from a Long Line of Dilleys.”.
Can you view old hospital records online?
Many old hospital records are now available online, and many more can be viewed in person. Hospitals themselves are not good places to contact regarding old records. Modern hospitals only hold their medical records for a certain period. In addition, the hospital that your ancestor stayed at may not even exist anymore.
Why can't the public access hospital records?
The public can’t access these records because patients named in them may have passed medical conditions to their descendants, who may be living.
When was the Cleveland State Hospital demolished?
The hospital was once called the Newburgh Asylum and was demolished in 1977.
Introduction
Homestead Entry Number 1, Brownsfield, Nebraska Land Office, for Daniel Freeman, January 20, 1868. This document is held at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
What are Federal public lands?
Federal public land refers to territories and later states that were not part of the original 13 colonies, or were at some point, their own country, such as Texas.
What states are public lands states?
There were 30 public land states.
How do I find records for non Federal public lands states?
For the 20 states that were never public land states you should start your research with the State Archives or Historical Society.
Related Land Records
There are also tract books available relating to the land entry case files. These are arranged by the legal description of the land: by township, range, and section. Tract books are divided into two geographical areas, Eastern States and Western States.
How Land Records Can Help You
These records can be useful for historical, legal, and genealogical research, but are most basically transaction records: they form the foundation of the title chain of land ownership. Additional research is needed to identify subsequent title owners and should be conducted in city, county, and state repositories.
Other Select Topics in Land Records
Name Index to Cancelled, Rejected, and Relinquished Land Entry Files, Alliance, NE ca. 1869-1950
How to find out if your ancestor lived on a poor farm?
1. Look on the U.S. Federal Census for the poor farm in the county where your ancestor lived.
Where did the name "poor houses" come from?
Other names for poor houses include almshouse and workhouse. Poor houses and poor farms originated in England , where a law passed in 1601 mandated that local towns and villages were responsible for caring for their own poor. This practice was continued in the United States.
Why were poor farms derogatory?
These derogatory terms were used on purpose, as the prevalent view was that people who went to poor farms were morally corrupt. While some poor farm inmates ended up there due to their own actions, the majority of poor house residents were elderly or disabled.
What is a poor house?
A poor house was a home where a municipality housed everyone in an area who had no means of financial support. Counties in the United States often used self-sustaining farms used for this purpose, hence the name poor farm. Other names for poor houses include almshouse and workhouse.
Who is Janet Meydam?
Janet Meydam is a freelance writer who has over 40 years of experience in genealogy as a hobby. Her knowledge includes researching many different records from the United States, Germany and Poland. She is also a co-author of her parents’ family history book “I Come from a Long Line of Dilleys.”.
Why was the poor farm the preferred model of supporting the poor in the United States?
The preferred model of supporting the poor in the United States became the poor farm because it was more cost effective. Poor farms also provided work for the people who lived there, as well as means for convicts to work off fines and settlements. People who were sent to live at poor houses and poor farms were called inmates or paupers.
What does it mean to research the hospital where your ancestor was committed?
Researching the hospital where your ancestor was committed might give you some idea of what their lives were like in an insane asylum. As an official of a government agency, the Superintendent of a state hospital was likely to be required to publish annual reports.
What to say to a mentally ill ancestor?
It takes courage to face the facts about their tormented lives. Doing so can be a path to empathy and understanding. Researching their lives and sharing what you have learned is not only empowering for you. It can also be a way of honoring their experience and ensuring that they are not forgotten.
Why is it so hard to find an ancestor who was committed to an asylum?
Researching your ancestor who was committed to an asylum can be difficult due to the lack of sources, as well as privacy law restrictions. This is where social history sources can help your family history research.
Who is Gena Philibert-Ortega?
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post Gena writes about how difficult it can be finding information about an ancestor who was committed to an asylum (i.e., state hospital)—and how using old newspapers can help.