My youngest 2nd great uncle was Joseph M., who was just a boy when his older brothers James and Thomas went to Cincinnati in the late 1840s. But by 1855 he had followed them there, when he would have been just 19 years old. He was a young man during the American Civil War, but didn't enlist. I wonder why. Was there an underlying medical reason?
City directories tell us that Joseph (Joe?) lived with siblings his entire time in Cincinnati. There were changing casts of characters through the years, but always with family. He was a store clerk. He last appears in the 1884 Cincinnati city directory.
Thanks to one of those random acts of genealogical kindness, I was pointed to his 1886 burial record in St Joseph New Cemetery in Cincinnati. The name is spelled Daugherty, but his parents' names, Marcus and Mary Ann give me that confirmation, together with the fact that he's buried in the same plot as his siblings Thomas and Catharine.
Next, I went looking for more information about his death. Family Search had the actual complete record, which I didn't download and is now no longer there. He died at the Longview Asylum. The death record lists his occupation as insane, the cause of death is recorded as paralysis of the brain. I do have the death register as well, where his is one of a long list of names of deceased in March 1886.
I've read anecdotally about the broad reasons that people were confined to asylums in the 19th century, but went looking for more. Good old Snopes never disappoints. Their fact check, Reasons for Admission to Insane Asylums in the 19th century is well worth a read. But if you don't read it all, I'll post there closing paragraph here:
"In general, this document might be more accurately described as “a list of some reasons why people were believed to have eventually developed illnesses that led to their being admitted to the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane” and not a list of “symptoms” or “reasons” why people were admitted to that hospital."I'll always wonder why Joe was committed. Was this a family decision, or was the decision taken out of their hands? He was just 49 years old when he died.
I'm still not sure why Joseph, his sisters Catharine and Louisa, and his then deceased older brother James were included in the 1861 Lower Canada census with their father Marcus. They were all clearly in Cincinnati by then.
The never ending story continues.....
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