Would I be right to assume that on the records you have seen there is a next of kin recorded & in the event of death that person would have been informed?
Nic - There is no next of kin shown on either set of records I have received, however, I'm not altogether sure I have been sent the full set of either ancestor.
I always knew my g.uncle, (a single man) had been in the asylum as my mum told me that she had visited him, when a child, with her mother (g.uncle's sister) and that she had been very worried about going but when she got there, he seemed perfectly normal to her and was doing the gardening. As he didn't die until the 1980s, I have no idea whether anyone visited him. I would guess that my gran might have done, but she died in 1949. Whether any of his other siblings visited him, I don't know, but I do know that he outlived them all. I don't know who would be classed as his next of kin, my mum and some of her siblings (i.e. his nephews and nieces) were still alive at the time of his death. I'm not sure about any of her cousins. Mum did talk about them, but I don't remember ever meeting any of them.
His death was registered by a member of the asylum staff. By the 1980s, the asylum was called a hospital, so without prior knowledge you might think from the death certificate that he just died in a hospital from a heart complaint.
My g.g.uncle is a different matter. It was only when I got the set of records for my g.uncle and found under family history, a line stating that "his uncle died here", that I did some research to whittle down which of about a dozen uncles it could be. Again there is no next of kin, but his home address is given. Also his death was registered by a member of the asylum staff. His 3rd wife and children were still alive at the time, so I presume someone notified them. On this death certificate, it gives the place of death as X asylum. He was only in the asylum from 17 May 1902 until his death on 18 August 1902. His illness was related to syphilis, so I supposed today he would be treated with antibiotics and carried on living a normal life. I do know where this g.g.uncle is buried and hopefully next time I'm in the area, I will be able to visit the grave and see if it mentions his family.
What the records did provide was a photograph of both men which was very interesting as they looked very like each other, and unlike any other members of the family. Looking at their eyes, I would guess they both also suffered from over-active thyroid, which if left untreated can cause mental illness.
Lizzie