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| South Carolina State Archives |
Note: This is a continuation from a previous post. To start back at part 1, click here.
Long overdue...
Long overdue...
I work in a law firm. Have I ever told you guys that? The job that I do is sort of a hybrid between legal assistant, paralegal, and receptionist. This is because I work in the smallest of my firm's eight offices, and I am currently the only support staff person in our office. That means that I am the only person doing all of the administrative work for the three very, very busy attorneys in our office. Unfortunately, this also means that I don't get the luxury of taking many days off to do genealogy research. And when you work for a law firm, if the office is closed for a holiday, that means the courts and any other government buildings are closed, too.
However...in exploring ways to do further research on my second great-grandfather, John Powell (and in large part thanks to this blog post), I discovered that the older records for patients at the State Hospital for Insane are held at the South Carolina State Archives. And then I made the best discovery of all: the State Archives is open on Saturdays.
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| What?!? How did I not know this???? |
Well, of course, I had to get down there immediately. So I texted my favorite research partner - my mom, Susan Foster Powell.
God bless her, maybe one of these days she'll actually get to help me research her own family. But, like the good sport that she is, she agreed to an early-morning road trip (on a Saturday, of all days) from Greenville to Columbia. We left Greenville at around 6:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, in order to get to the archives around the time they opened and take full advantage of our time there.
I'll let my mom tell you about our findings in her own words (with just a few interjections and record insertions denoted by brackets [ ] from yours, truly):
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March 31, 2019
I spent a fun, fascinating and eye-opening day yesterday
with Melanie at the South Carolina Archives in Columbia. We went with the intention of researching three very
specific family genealogy records - John Powell, Henry Powell and Frank Bell. John
and Henry were brothers. John was Mike’s great grandfather on his dad’s side,
his father’s father’s father. Frank Bell
was Mike's father’s mother’s father.
[I'll help y'all out with following that - here's a snip from my tree showing where these folks fit in:
See those folks highlighted in yellow in the top right? Those two, plus John's brother Henry, are who we went to research.]
All three died at the
state hospital in Columbia – yes, The South Carolina Hospital for The Insane,
also known as The South Carolina Lunatic Hospital. Quite a surprise to find in your family tree!
What we knew from
their death certificates before we went:
- John died in October 1922 of Huntington’s Chorea;
- Henry died on September 9, 1920 of Huntington’s Chorea;
- Frank Bell died in May 1922 of Cerebral Arteriosclerosis.
The State Hospital
records also added to our research:
- John was 51 when he was admitted with Huntington’s and it was noted that he inherited it from his mother, Martha Stone Powell.
- Henry was admitted on June 24, 1915 at the age of 46 and was released at some point and then readmitted on April 27, 1917 with intemperance and Huntington’s.
- Frank Bell was admitted at age 67 with Bright’s Disease and Pellagra.
Notes:
- Huntington’s Chorea, a/k/a Huntington’s Disease, is a neurological disease that affects brain cells. It causes delusions, psychotic episodes and suicidal depression. John and Henry had another brother who committed suicide by throwing himself off of something (building, cliff, ??) onto rocks below. We believe that he also had Huntington’s.
- Cerebral Arteriosclerosis - a very basic definition is the thickening of the arteries, resulting in the restriction of blood flow to the brain. This restriction results in strokes, confusion, and can cause symptom-free mini-strokes.
- Intemperance - alcoholism.
- [Bright's Disease - a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied by high blood pressure and heart disease.]
- Pellagra - the deficiency of nicotronic acid (tryptophan) in the diet. Characterized by dermatitis, diarrhea, and mental disturbance. Pellagra has been linked to a diet over-dependent on corn as a staple food. [How sad that these people were committed to a mental hospital, when a simple turkey dinner and better nutrition potentially could have cured them!]
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| Death Book - October 1922 - The State Hospital for the Insane (click to enlarge) John Powell |
[Transcription of Line 14: Date of Death - October 22, 1922; No. - 21814; Name of Patient - Powell, John; Sex - M; Color - W; Age - 51; Nat. - [blank]; Civ. Cond. - Div.; Date of Admission - Jan 25, 1918; Duration of Hospital Residence - 4 yrs 8 m. 27 days; Duration of insanity - [blank]; Diagnosis - deterioration, not insane - slight mental; Cause of Death - Huntington's Chorea; No. for Year - 219; Disposition of Remains - Shipped to Bath, SC]
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| Death Book - September 1920 - The State Hospital for the Insane (click to enlarge) Henry Powell |
[Transcription of Line 4: Date of Death - Sept. 9, 1920; No. - 21026; Name of Patient - Powell, Henry; Sex - M; Color - W; Age - 50; Nat. - [internal notation, not relevant]; Civ. Cond. - Sg.; Date of Admission - Apr. 27, 1917; Duration of Hospital Residence - 3 yrs 5 m. 13 days; Duration of insanity - [blank]; Diagnosis - Psy c Huntington's Chorea; Cause of Death - Huntington's Chorea; No. for Year - 226; Disposition of Remains - Shipped to Graniteville, SC]
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| Death Book - May 1922 - The State Hospital for the Insane (click to enlarge) Frank L. Bell |
[Transcription of Line 21: Date of Death - May 26, 1922; No. - 25196; Name of Patient - Bell, Frank L.; Sex - M; Color - W; Age - 69; Nat. - [internal notation, not relevant]; Civ. Cond. - M.; Date of Admission - Aug. 1, 1921; Duration of Hospital Residence - 4 mos. 20 days; Duration of insanity - [blank]; Diagnosis - Psy. C Cerebral arterio scler.; Cause of Death - Cerebral arterio sclerosis; No. for Year - 112; Disposition of Remains - Delivered to family - Columbia, S.C.]
All of these men had neurological diseases that in the early
1900’s would have justified having a judge commit them to the State Hospital for
the Insane. Treatment or management of
the symptoms was not possible during this era.
In that era of medicine, there were both medical and social stigmas
attached to the symptoms produced by these diseases. Dementia, depression, stroke, etc. were much
more of a mystery at that time than they are now.
The most eye-opening and thought-provoking thing we did was
go through the admittance journals for the hospital. In order to find the patient numbers for each
man we were researching, we had to go to the page containing their admittance date in the journals. These records showed the date admitted and
the patient number assigned, along with the diagnosis for committal - they were
referred to as "inmates" in several government records, including the census
records. Some of the most common
diagnoses were epilepsy and depression, but a few were really notable. One woman was committed because she threw a
temper tantrum when her husband left her.
Another woman was committed for “female problems” - maybe intense PMS?? [We have since learned that, unfortunately, it was common practice for a husband to have his wife committed for "female problems" when he simply wanted out of the marriage without the stigma of divorce. Just have her locked up and move on, right?]
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| The State Hospital for the Insane Admission Book, John Powell, left page (click to enlarge) |
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| The State Hospital for the Insane Admission Book, John Powell, right page (click to enlarge) |
[Transcription of Line 10, if read straight across both pages: Date of Admission - January 25; No. - 21814; Name of Patient - Powell, John; Pay or Beneficiary - M; Sex - W; Color - [blank]; Age - 47; Nat. - S.C.; Nat. of Parents - P. ?, Mt. ?; Civil Cond. - Sep.; Occupation - Cotton Mill Laborer; Religion - M; Heredity - Pt. [blank], Mt. mother; No. Adm. - [blank]; No. Attack - [blank]; Physical Condition on Admission - [blank]; Alleged Cause - Inherited; Duration on Adm. - +; Diagnosis - Psychosis with Huntington's Chorea; Revised Diagnosis - [blank]; Residence - Aiken; Judge - W.M. Scott; No. for Year - 55; Results - [blank]]
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| The State Hospital for the Insane Admission Book, Henry Powell, left page (click to enlarge) |
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| The State Hospital for the Insane Admission Book, Henry Powell, right page (click to enlarge) |
[Transcription of Line 25 (2nd up from the bottom), if read straight across both pages: Date of Admission - April 27; No. - 21026; Name of Patient - Powell, Henry; Pay or Beneficiary - B; Sex - M; Color - W; Age - 47; Nat. - S.C.; Nat. of Parents - P. [blank], Mt. [blank]; Civil Cond. - Sg; Occupation - None; Religion - B; Heredity - Pt. [blank], Mt. [blank]; No. Adm. - 2; No. Attack - ?; Physical Condition on Admission - [blank]; Alleged Cause - Intemperance; Duration on Adm. - 6 yrs; Diagnosis - Huntington's Chorea; Revised Diagnosis - [blank]; Residence - Aiken; Judge - G.R. Webb; No. for Year - 298; Results - [blank]
Note: as noted above, this was Henry's second admission to the hospital.]
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| The State Hospital for the Insane Admission Book, Frank L. Bell, left page (click to enlarge) |
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| The State Hospital for the Insane Admission Book, Frank L. Bell, right page (click to enlarge) |
[Transcription of Line 1, if read straight across both pages: Date of Admission - Aug. 1; No. - 25196; Name of Patient - Bell, Frank L.; Pay or Beneficiary - [blank]; Sex - M; Color - W; Age - 67; Nat. - Ga.; Nat. of Parents - P. x, Mt. x; Civil Cond. - M; Occupation - Farmer; Religion - M; Heredity - Pt. none, Mt. none; No. Adm. - 1; No. Attack - [blank]; Physical Condition on Admission - [blank]; Alleged Cause - cerebral arterio sclerosis - Bright's disease - pellagra?; Duration on Adm. - 2 days; Diagnosis - Psychosis - Cerebral Arterio Sclerosis; Revised Diagnosis - [blank]; Residence - Richland; Judge - S.D. Ballenger; No. for Year - 603; Results - [blank]]
The most gut-wrenching was a very brief entry:
Baby Graham----insane
This one almost took my breath—just a date and 3 words. Was Graham a first or last name? How could anyone declare a baby insane? Did he have Down Syndrome? Spina bifida? It must have been something obvious. I don’t judge the parents, 100+ years ago it would have been excruciatingly emotional to have a baby born with a medical condition and no hope of medical help. Most likely the expectation from the medical community and society was to put that child away and move on.
* * * * *
Okay, breaking away from my mom's narrative for just a moment, I want to add that we also took a look at the staff meeting books from the hospital. These are the books from where the hospital staff would meet periodically (once per week or so) to discuss the patients - new intakes, updates with treatment plans, etc. We were able to locate the meeting books containing the entries for all three men, including both of Henry's admissions.
John Powell's admission:
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| Patient Book with entry for John Powell (click to enlarge) |
Line 6: 34; 55; Powell, John; W; [blank]; Jan. 25; Feb. 27; Psych with Huntington's Chorea; Horger (doctor's name, maybe?)
Henry Powell's first admission:
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| Patient Book with entry for Henry Powell (click to enlarge) |
Last entry:
First Presentation - Dr. M____lyn [indiscernible]
Powell, Henry
Admitted June 24, 1915
Diagnosis: unclassified organic nervous disease, and Huntington's Chorea suggested
Henry Powell's second admission:
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| Patient Book with entry for Henry Powell (click to enlarge) |
Last entry:
First Presentation Dr. McElroy
Powell, Henry 47 S. Aiken
Admitted Apr 27, 1917 2nd
Diagnosis Huntington's Chorea
Duration 6 years
Etiology Heredity
Frank Bell's admission:
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| Patient Book with entry for Frank Bell (click to enlarge) |
Last entry: Frank Bell adm. Aug 1 - 1921 by Dr. Boone
Diagnosis: Psychosis with cerebral arteriosclerosis
Age 67
Now, back to my mom's narrative:
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Henry Addington Pardon
[For the background information about this story, see this blog post.]
We also researched the Governor’s pardon for Henry Addington, the murderer of my second great-uncle, Jacob Black.
We were able to see and photograph the original pardon certificate signed by then-Governor Ransome J. Williams dated April 4, 1945. Henry Addington served 5 years of a lifetime sentence.
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| Henry Addington pardon certificate (click to enlarge) |
We requested more information and went through two boxes - one box from the Governor’s office and one from the Pickens County Court. The Governor’s file would have contained a copy of the pardon certificate and any supporting documentation, i.e., letters from community leaders, petitions from attorneys, etc. The second box contained the actual trial documents from Pickens county. Both boxes were missing any documentation on the trial or pardon for Addington. We may have to plan a field trip to the Pickens County Courthouse.
On the way back, we stopped in Simpsonville at the Unity Baptist Church where we visited the cemetery. It was quite the experience to visit the graves of my great-grandparents, Nelson and Mamie Garrett, and my 2x great-grandparents, John B. and Polly Ann Garrett. It seems that half of my family tree resides now in that cemetery - Henderson, Brashier, Nabors, Barbrey and lots of Garretts!
[So my sweet mom got to research some of her own family that day, after all!]
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