RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Staffordshire => Topic started by: helxx on Thursday 30 March 17 00:11 BST (UK)
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Hello,
I don't have a current subscription, only to find my past. I am wondering if the above records on ancestry give much information or not?
I'm researching a Harriet Bostock born 1841 in Tean, Staffs.
In 1881, she is with her father Joseph and sister Catherine Warren. I've possibly found her in 1891, in Stafford County Lunatic asylum. It's a long shot though as it only gives her initials, HB. Her occupation is listed as tape weaver though which fits.
I can see on Ancestry that there are 2 possible entries in the asylum, for a Harriet Bostock, one which gives date of death of 1895, which again fits with an age of 54yrs. I can't find a burial record though.
I was just wondering if the info these records show is worth another subscription or not, especially if she turns out to be the wrong lady?
Many Thanks
Helen x
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These records give very little information, only admission & discharge / death dates.
There may be some more detailed information at the records office, although the catalogue doesn't indicate that any individual files are held.
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Hi Jamot,
I had a feeling the records would give very little information. Thanks very much for your help though. Much appreciated!
Helen :)
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It depends on how important Harriet is for your genealogy research.
One of my direct ancestors was admitted to and died in an asylum. ANYTHING I can find out about her is very helpful to me. But I started from a different angle, and had purchased her details from the GRO of a death that could be her and until then I had not been aware that she'd been admitted to an asylum.
Currently I access Ancestry through my local library. Can you do the same?
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Hi Hurworth,
Thanks for the reply. Harriet isn't a direct ancestor but if she was, like your situation, I'd want to find out as much as possible.
When I next go to the records office I shall see if I can find out anything from there. I just didn't want to take out an ancestry sub unnecessarily.
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I have found an admission to Stafford Asylum 3rd August 1870, date of discharge 3rd November 1870 and it states she has recovered. So she does have a record for being admitted to Stafford Asylum, so the other admission you found could very well be her. Had her father died around the time of the 1891 Census and perhaps the family couldn't cope?
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Just to say I recently found an ancestor in Burntwood Asylum. Stafford records office were very helpful. I found his name on the lunacy register and emailed the office asking about documentation. They were happy to email me with date of admission and (in my case) his death. They gave me the index to the records and when I booked an appointment they found out what I wanted and had it ready when I turned up :)
There was an admission book which gave basic info of name, age, address, why admitted and next of kin or person of contact. The patient book was my ancestor's case note-very interesting and worth a visit.
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I have been researching a very distant relative of mine and he was in 3 Lunatic Asylums, he was released from the first one, only to be Admitted into the second one, then released from the second one to only to get admitted into a third one.(2/11/1905 to 17/11/1921) due to only records going up to 1912 i'm not sure if he ended up in a fourth one, i do know he died in 1931 (that's why i have ordered his death certificate to hopefully end the mystery).
So in all this research i know how frustrating it can be to only have certain records on certain sites, luckily i have an account on both Findmypast and Ancestry, so i did a quick search for you and found out all i could see on Ancestry from the "UK, Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, 1846-1912" and just Edited the Documents to ONLY show the parts that would be of interest to you, so hopefully i haven't broken any Copyright Laws or Forum Rules by doing it this way.
Hope this Information is of some help Helen.
NOTE: I don't research by request, it was only that i was doing this particular research at this time and in researching things, this Forum Post came up in a search.
for those that might be interested HOW i came to here, i typed
"lunacy patient records can i find out more information"
in Google and it was the 3rd on the list :D
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My husbands great grandmother died in Stafford asylum.She was buried where she used to live.The books are at Stafford archives with the details of the condition of the patients and whether they were tied down or restrained.They will look them up for you ,but will charge a fee.We also got a copy that the asylum wrote down of the cause of death,we had to pay a couple of pounds for that.It was fascinating,but sad.The asylum is now being turned into luxury apartments!!!Glen
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A couple of years ago I proved who the father of my illegitimate great grandmother Eliza Hales was. Eliza's siblings and my great great grandmother Harriet were lodging with a James Harrison in the 1891 census. My family has been told since the late 19th century it was Harriet's husband George Hales. DNA cousin matches have helped me to prove James was Eliza's biological father!!
I noticed James was in Burntwood Lunatic asylum in a couple of the censuses. I saw the patient indexes on Ancestry. The patient record information on Ancestry only gives the dates of admission and discharge and the outcome of their stay when discharged. In my case it stated my ancestor was "not cured".
I contacted Stafford Record Office and they were great. I was able to get a copy of James' patient records and there were two photographs of him! I was able to learn more about his life and it was very sad reading!
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Wow --- I know sometimes these Lunacy records are heartbreaking...
My GG William Hellyar died in a Lunatic Asylum and I managed to get his records.. very sad reading..
terrible bless him xxx
xin
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Hi Xinia,
I thought he was admitted for depression before I got his records. His girlfriend (my great great grandmother Harriet) was buried in 1892 and her illegitimate son John (who I believe was James' son too) was buried in 1891. His daughter Eliza (my great grandmother) went to live with her maternal aunt.
When I got his patient records I was extremely sad to find out why he was admitted. He was a carter on a farm and in the 1890s he got kicked in the head by a horse and became brain damaged. He was sent to the asylum as he had attempted to murder the workhouse master! He became deaf because of the accident and struggled to communicate. He had no hobbies or interests. The only positive comments throughout his records was that he was a useful carter on the asylum farm.
Kindest regards,
ALewis
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Yes logical - no comprehension of where was the right place for him.. Sad
my gg seemingly these days would be classed as having Alzheimers... and at the time it was his daughter that had him put away...
it makes me angry - but that still happens today ----
this is from an online record of the actual place he was kept.
On visiting the workhouse at Bodmin, in Cornwall, which I found in a very dirty state, I was shown down stairs into a room where a poor lunatic was confined. He lay stretched on a little short and dirty straw, with a few rags on him. His fixed, intent eyes, his shaggy hair, long beard, dirty and livid face gave him the appearance of a monster rather than a man. He took no notice, either on opening the door, or during the time I was in his room, till I came close up to him; he then took his eyes off his book, and looked at me with a more forcible appeal to humanity than I had ever felt. The floor of this room was earth, and literally a puddle of water and dirt more than one inch deep. It was with difficulty I could step into it without treading in his excrement, which laid every where about on the floor; and, from the appearance of what was in the fire-place, must have been there a fortnight or more. The keeper had most unmercifully beat the poor fellow, and given him two black eyes. I endeavoured to investigate the matter, but the mistress kept such an incessant clack that I could not put in a word edgewise.
xin
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Xin that is extremely sad reading indeed! They just didn't understand mental health back then. Anything that couldn't be explained. You could be put away for all sorts of reasons in those days!
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Yes
I agree with you - locked away and forgotten. Even the best of families locked away someone that wasnt 100% accepted as normal...
::)
the worst thing is they were sometimes not mentioned again in the family -
I grew up in a warm loving family well most of the time.. (ha ha ) but discovered that one of my G. Aunts had two children that were never mentioned -- One I later discovered to be handicapped and living in a nearby 'home' thank goodness I found her and now she is included in my TREE where she belongs.
Her sibling... i am still looking for..? the discoveries were made by 1911 census comments.....
I have made a few discoveries.. with that particular census.
xin
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Hello,
I don't have a current subscription, only to find my past. I am wondering if the above records on ancestry give much information or not?
I'm researching a Harriet Bostock born 1841 in Tean, Staffs.
In 1881, she is with her father Joseph and sister Catherine Warren. I've possibly found her in 1891, in Stafford County Lunatic asylum. It's a long shot though as it only gives her initials, HB. Her occupation is listed as tape weaver though which fits.
I can see on Ancestry that there are 2 possible entries in the asylum, for a Harriet Bostock, one which gives date of death of 1895, which again fits with an age of 54yrs. I can't find a burial record though.
I was just wondering if the info these records show is worth another subscription or not, especially if she turns out to be the wrong lady?
Many Thanks
Helen x
Records don;t say much
1st admission Aug - Nov 1970. Recovered
2nd admission July 1889 - Nov 1895. Died
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xin - it's wonderful you were able to discover your relatives and include them on your tree! That's exactly how I feel about my great great grandfather James Harrison! I agree with you - names are forgotten.
When I was a young child I met my great grandmother Eliza Hales' cousin. He had grown up with her. He was told that Eliza's father was George Hales. George mysteriously disappeared after the 1881 census. He is listed as the father on Eliza's marriage certificate. It was only when I got her birth certificate, I realised she was illegitimate as there is no father listed. It was only a couple of years ago and thanks to DNA we were able to prove her real father.
Her mother Harriet died in 1892 and she was sent to live with her maternal aunt. Her aunt must have told her George was the father. She might have lied to protect Eliza from the fact that she was illegitimate and her real father was locked away in a lunatic asylum. She may have thought that George was the father or she simply didn't know.
James is now listed proudly on my tree and he is where he belongs in the family! :)
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Excellent
;D
xin