Our understanding of mental illness changes every day. America’s understanding of mental health only a century ago is hard to imagine today. I have been fortunate to study psychology and history at Duke University. Dr. Ahmad Hariri, Dr. John Blackshear, and Dr. Barry Gaspar are among Duke’s fantastic experts.
I have found clues that my ancestors might have suffered from mental illnesses. Take this newspaper clipping, for example, published on a Wednesday: May 31st, 1911. Charles Westermeyer, my great-great-great-grandfather’s nephew, battled with internal demons.
This article is only 56 words, but paints a sad image. Charles, 28 in 1911, was presumably mentally ill. He didn’t need to go to jail — he needed psychological help. He might have had Schizophrenia. Symptoms onset in the mid- to late-20s and sufferers feel like they have lost touch with reality. This article does not give us enough to make a firm diagnosis, but it is possible.
The next day, The Meriden Republican reported that Charles entered the Middletown Insane Asylum. A picture of the “hospital for the insane” taken around the time survives.
Charles only lived there for six months. He passed away on December 3rd from “a complication of diseases” at age 28.
Why is the history of mental illness such an important topic? Why should we pay special attention to mental illness in genealogy research?
First, to honor our ancestors who faced mental illnesses. Mental illness is outside anybody’s control. Many of our ancestors who suffered not only fought their illness, but ignorance. Understanding how mental illness touched our families brings us closer to our ancestors. It would be historically inaccurate to overlook mental health challenges. We would be painting the wrong picture of our origins.
How did mental illness affect your ancestors? People suffered from the same mental illnesses throughout history that we have classified today. Some are Schizophrenia, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Alzheimer’s Disease. But only a century ago, people had no idea what those diseases were. So when people presented symptoms, many doctors would label them “insane.” The public largely ostracized sufferers rather than sympathized and helped. Even today, we are still scraping the surface of understanding mental illness. We have so much more to learn about how they work, their prevalence, and their biological bases.
Tip: Mental illness almost certainly affected your ancestors. But they might be hard to detect. People did not know how to identify mental illnesses until recently. So, records are not always accurate. To find clues, you will need to look closely. There might be subtle hints in censuses, newspapers, tombstone inscriptions, or death records.
Jack Palmer has done genealogy research since he was ten years old and loves writing about it for family, friends, and anybody else who might enjoy research stories and advice. He graduated from Duke University in May 2023, majoring in History and Psychology, and is the author of Helen & Frank: A Biography, a biography about his great-grandparents.
