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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Devon => Topic started by: LizK on Tuesday 26 January 10 09:07 GMT (UK)
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Hi
I've found my great grandmother's sister's death in Devon Mental Hospital, Exminster of tuberculosis in 1919. Would the fact she died in a mental hospital mean she definitely had some form of mental illness/depression or were mental hospitals used for other purposes like having too many TB patients to deal with in a general hospital?
I'm trying to get a handle on how things were dealt with and find out more about my great grandmother's family so any ideas would be helpful.
Thanks
Liz
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I'm wondering how old the lady is question was? Many people with dementia ended/end up in such places but then died of something else. Just a thought....
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Hi, thanks for replying.
I think she was 38 when she died, so I don't think that could be the case.
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Hmmm.... very unlikely then ;D
I've never heard of mental hospitals being used as overflow places, but that doesn't mean they weren't. My understanding is that there's a 100 year closure on patient records. so no finding out that way. Do you have her death certificate or was the place of death from a burial record?
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I have her death certificate which only states that she died at the Mental Hospital and that she died of TB. I think I can assume that she was in the hospital for a mental health problem (in those days could be something relatively mild of course).
I need to try to find her in the 1911 census actually, she doesn't appear with her family in Staverton/Totnes so far... I wonder if she was in Exminster for a while. ???
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I have found, in family research, a relation who died in Devon Mental Hospital, Exminster in June 1921. He was born in Devon, a mariner, married three times, and died aged 48 of "general paralysis of the insane". We believe his illness started with syphilis.
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Hi Dorothy
I think that phrase was one of the usual euphemisms for tertiary syphillis - there were a few ;D ;D ;D
I would be inclined to think that Liz's relation had one of the more standard things like depression, or possibly even schizophrenia? if she ended up dying young of TB
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I do find those euphemisms for syphillis rather interesting! ;D
Yes, I imagine my relative had a relatively common condition. Its just a pity that her records are closed for 100 years according to the Devon Records I've seen. She died unmarried and without children as far as I'm aware, so I keep on wondering who would have visited her or if anyone attended her funeral...
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Do you live locally enough to be able to check newspapers? It's just possible the funeral was reported, although in the circumstances it sounds as if it might have been a fairly quiet one......
Is she recorded in the 1901 census as having any disability? I know we can't see that column in the 1911 yet....
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Sadly I live in Hampshire which is a bit too far away. I do have in-law's in Devon so there are possiblities to have a look at newspapers when visiting later in the year.
She doesn't have any disability listed in 1901, no, she's listed at home aged 20 and a general servant. Despite a lot of wildcards and random guesses in 1911 I still can't find her....
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given the level of over crowding in psychiatric hospitals in those days its much more likely that she was admitted for mental health reasons and caught TB while living there.
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HI, had the same problem with my relatives in Wells Lunatic Asylum,Somerset. 100 yr rule is after the records book was finished not date of your relatives death.Try local records office who might put you in touch with someone who has access. Might mean a detailed letter explaining how you are related to the deceased and wanting to tie up loose ends. My relatives both were sent in for mental health issues and caught tb about the same time!
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Hi LizK
I had a relative who died in Devon County Asylum in 1917. I paid the Archivist at Devon Record Office to do a search (1 hour) and was provided with copies of the records held. There is quite a bit of detail in these records including admission details, but I understand they are only obtainable by using the services of the Archivist.
Before paying the search fee I had spoken on the phone to DRO, giving them details of the person and timescale that I was researching. They were most helpful.
Jo
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Hi, Just googled this message as I was having the same problem with being unable to find someone who was in the Devon County Lunatic Asylum in 1911. I've finally found a way in by using the Advanced Search box selecting Devon in the County option and Exminster in Civil Parish. Then to stop so many results I selected F for female in my case. Still quite a few pages came up but I trawled through looking for possibilities. My ancestor had an error in the spelling of her surname, only an initial for her christian name and an unknown place of birth. Her age was correct though. I hope this helps.
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Just read your message Stella. I originally found the possible entry on 1911 census showing initial only. I then phoned Devon Record Office who confirmed the first name. It was only then that I paid the services of the Archivist to search and send me copies of the records held. If you have found a relative on the 1911 it is well worth a phone call at least to confirm a name.
Jo
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Thanks for the tip. I had already had a friend in Devon extract the relevant information from the Asylum records for me, in my case I was just trying locate the actual census entry to complete my records and like the original poster of this thread had been struggling to find her.
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I have now put in a request to the archivist at Exeter to look up my relatives records, they seem to think it wont be a problem for me to see her admission records and possibly burial record too. It seems they are experiencing a backlog though and have warned me it might take up to 8-12 weeks to obtain this. I'm not worried as I've got plenty more to keep me busy! ;D
Liz
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About ten years ago, I obtained my grandfather's Exminster Hospital records from the NHS (he was a patient there in the 1930s)
Under the 100 year rule, they will not normally supply records purely for genealogical reasons, but if you have a medical reason for accessing them, they will. In my case, I was thinking of having children, but wanted to be fully informed about my family medical history before making that decision.
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If an inmate of a mental hospital had contracted TB [sometimes taking a time to develop] then as it would probably not be safe to send the patient to a sanatorium, I see no reason why the TB patient would not be treated in the sick bay or hospital wing of an asylum.