Kyle Union Poorhouse, Charles Patrick

[dagny]

I have learned that my great grandfather Charles Patrick spent the last 5 years of his life in this place while the rest of his family lived elsewhere.  Does anyone know if folks were institutionalized even if they were not poor?  Such as for illness?  Alcoholism?  Any other reason?  Could they be committed?  And, as I am not in Scotland, I wonder how I may find out why he was there.  Any online options?  A cousin has found that there was a letter to his wife informing her of her husband's death and burial.  No explanations for this situation though.  In the 1911 census, she declared that her husband was deceased - but he was still alive!

[MonicaL]

Hi Dagny

Welcome to RootsChat 

Take it in stages....

Details on Kyle here www.workhouses.org.uk/Kyle/ - you can try to follow up to see what records there may be on Charles.

Have you got him and family in censuses etc. to try and flesh out their family and lives at that time?

Monica

[JMStrachan]

At that time, Poorhouses were used as hospitals as well as places for paupers to live. So it could be that Charles Patrick was ill - either physically or mentally, hence spending so long there. Have you seen his death certificate? Does it give a cause of death? If you haven't, you can pay to download it via the ScotlandsPeople web site.

The Poorhouse records are not online. They'll either be in the National Archives in Edinburgh or a local archive in Ayrshire. You could try contacting the Burns Centre in Kilmarnock and asking them how you could access them.

[dagny]

Thanks for both of your replies.  As a newbie I don't know how to reply to you individually.  But here goes.  I have Charles Patrick in every census record from 1861 to 1901.  In 1901, he was living in Riccarton with the family and was employed as a "jobing flesher" (butcher).  BTW, he was supporting a large household of a wife and 10 children at the time.

I also have his death record and the cause was "cerebral hemorrhage."  I guess this could have been a stroke - but maybe he could have suffered a fall.  There is one story from a cousin of mine suggesting that he had fallen out of a second story window!  But did a fall (and resulting injury) land him at the Poorhouse in 1906 - or did a fall occur while institutionalized at the Poorhouse in 1912 and cause his death?   Plus, I don't know if the story is true!

I appreciate the tips on the National Archives in Edinburgh and the Burns Center in Kilmarnock but I am in the U.S. and that is a wee bit difficult to get there.  On the other hand, I will check the website about workhouses.  Thanks for your replies!

[hendren]

I had an ancestor in Kyle Union Poor House in 1861,  turned out she was only in there for about four months due to suffering from Epileptic Fits. I managed to find some information from Archives@south-ayrshire.gov.uk I emailed them and the archivist searched the Minute book and the Index of Inmates and was able to help me.

Maureen

[dagny]

Many thanks!