Why This Board Was Created
I requested this Board as a dedicated place for people to post queries and find their Ancestors who were committed to mental institutions. Through no fault of their own, many of them spent decades hidden away from society. My hope is that by finding these unfortunate souls we can finally give them a place in our families.
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Re: Why This Board Was Created
Now that the mental health stigma has been reduced (IMHO) Is there a way to find a deceased persons mental health records from an institution that may no longer exist? My great-grandfather passed away in an "insane asylum" in NY in 1968. Family lore has it he was an alcoholic who was admitted because of his alcholism. I'd like to know more about him and his troubled life.
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Re: Why This Board Was Created
You should be able to obtain his death certificate which may state the cause of death, but generally speaking, psychiatric patient records are considered private. I've been trying to get copies of my 2nd great grandmother's records but, so far, I haven't been successful.
For example, New York State Archives state:
Access to all records of patients of state psychiatric centers (in several cases these facilities were formerly known as asylums or state hospitals) is indefinitely restricted. ... MHL sect. 33.13 does authorize disclosure of information from patient records for specified legal and administrative purposes, and also to “qualified researchers.” Disclosure of information from patient records is also authorized by MHL sect. 33.16 to patients themselves and to other “qualified persons.”
Good luck and please let me know if you succeed.
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Re: Why This Board Was Created
Bless you for this vision. Not only is it impossible to get the family to talk about it, most records are sealed! Maybe together we can find these folks. My GGGrandmother Malinda Melvina Parish Hensley (m. to Richard Hensley April 23, 1866 in Morgan Co, IN) vanishes after 1891 in KY. Family lore has it she went to Lexington or Louisville to the State Hospital... Thank you and the rest for your continued service. Happy New Year!
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Re: Why This Board Was Created
You are very welcome. I wish you the best in locating your ancestor. I believe it's time we brought this subject out of the closet.
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Re: Why This Board Was Created
That is exactly what has happened to my great-uncle, Edward Denice. All we knew was that he was kicked by a horse or mule in the head and institutionalized when he was a child. Thanks to the ancestry.com sending me hint I know he was in the colony for feeble-minded males in Burlington NJ, and at some point was transferred to Marlboro State Hospital in Marlboro NJ where I assume he died. He did apply for an ssn while there and I was able to get his ss-5, and from the ssdi that he died in Jan 1986. I really just want to find out where he is buried so I can honor him. Do you know where patients with no relatives were buried when they died while institutionalized? The potters field was full by the time he died, so I have no idea where he would have been buried. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks. And thanks for this board that will help us find lost souls.
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Re: Why This Board Was Created
Patients were often buried in the institutions cemetery located on or near the institution grounds. Try to find out where that is located. You might also ask if the decedent was buried by name or a number that was assigned to him by the institution.
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Re: Why This Board Was Created
Thanks. I had gone that route and the Marlboro State Hospital Cemetery was not in use when Edward died. I am looking into indigent/unclaimed burial requirements in NJ to see if I can find something going that route. I need to figure out what the legal requirements were in 1986 to see if the state or locality was responsible for disposition of the body. Thanks.
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Re: Why This Board Was Created
I am so glad I found this message board. I am researching my great grandmother. She died in a sanitorium from TB. in New Jersy or New York in around 1950 to 55. I located one called Essex and a few in the anorondicks..She was african american. I have heard that allot of the records in most institutions like these were left in the facilities. I cannot even locate a death certificate. Gladis Jones
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Death Certificates and records and Remembering with Dignity
I am truly happy I found this board! I have been hunting for my three great uncles who were placed in the Rochester State Hospital, MN in the early 1900's due to Huntington's Chorea. I can't find death records or anything. I've found several articles regarding a group, Remembering With Dignity, that is locating the unmarked grave's of institutionalize patients. First they have to gain access to the state records, then they have to try to locate and mark the graves in what are often just empty fields. I'm hoping that eventually their work will free up the records. However, if anyone reading this has any information on the Rochester State Hospital in MN cemetary records, please let me know. It is sometimes referred to as Granite Hill cemetary. I'm searching for Adolph, Albert and John Fedge, all bron between 1883 and 1890.
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