Hi all,
I'm new here, and not sure if this type of post is allowed! Fingers crossed.
My great-great-grandmother, Rose LATTIN (sometimes recorded as LATTEN), was an "inmate" at the Adelaide Destitute Asylum's Lying-In Home in 1887 and 1890. She had a son Leslie/Cecil LATTIN born and died December 1887, and another son John Victor RYAN b. 1890 and d. 1974. The latter's father was John Joseph RYAN, who was in gaol when his son was born. I can find almost no information about this John - his parents both had the surname Ryan, and both their fathers were called Michael Ryan - makes it almost impossible to find them in Irish Parish records! I also haven't been able to find a marriage certificate for Rose and John Sr., but they had eight more children together.
I'm hoping there might be other people here whose ancestors were inmates at the Asylum. I'd love to hear other stories, would be thrilled to record some oral histories before they are lost, and overjoyed to find any letters or diaries from inmates (whether while they were in the Asylum or later). I'm a writer, and looking to write about the experiences especially of the women of the Lying-In Home. I have a relative who has a living memory of my ancestor Rose, but unfortunately any documents that existed have been lost.
Thank you!
