Missing Women

Are you missing a female ancestor in your family tree? Only one? Chances are it is many more than just one. I know, it's frustrating! Want to make it even more frustrating? Piece of cake. Can you say insane asylums?

Starting with the 1850 census you can literally see females disappear right before your eyes. No record in the census, no obituary, no death certificate. Reason? Maybe they were committed, against their will, to an institution just because they were females. Misogyny at its best. 

Conditions that we would consider normal today were once seen as abnormal or insane. Anything a man did not understand or approve of could be a reason to remove a woman from her home. Menopause, jealousy, postpartum depression, book reading, standing up to your husband could be reasons for a woman to be locked up until they conformed to natural behavior. All that was needed was "request of husband" with no evidence required. Female independence was madness! Suffragists suffered from hysteria!

Asylums for the most part were overcrowded with poor living conditions. And waiting lists! Treatments included chloroform, ether, straight jackets and unnecessary cruel surgery. All because not all women were fulfilled by being wives and mothers. Many men saw this as women overusing their limited abilities.

Unfortunately it wasn't until the late 20th century that women started to fight for their right to be more than "just a housewife" and that didn't happen overnight. It has taken years with frequent set backs. 

Due to privacy concerns the records from many asylums are not available to the public making genealogical research difficult. You can begin by searching for an obituary or death certificate. As usual be alert for clues -- family folklore, letters or journals. Clues can often be found in local newspaper gossip columns. One overlooked census column is information about deaf, dumb or insane family members. Also, check to see if there is a small cemetery located on the grounds of an institution. The graves might be marked or there could also be a record of those buried in the cemetery.

For ancestor hunters in northwest Ohio the Toledo State Hospital has a wonderful website  toledostatehospitalmemoryproject.org There are two cemeteries located on the property with graves dating back to the Civil War. It is worth checking out if you are missing any ancestors in the area. The institution was a model of excellence, with no known history of the cruelty associated with asylums. 

Things to look for when researching any clues you might find are misspelling, hospital transfers, probate records, and sadly spouses who claimed to be widows.

The last asylum closed in 1994!!

Sources of information. Time Magazine, 22 Jun 2021, Declared Insane for Speaking Up:The Dark American History of Silencing Women Through Psychiatry, Kate Moore.

Website: toledostatehospitalmemoryproject.org

 

The Rest of the Story

 When the 1950 census came out I thought it would be easy to blog about. After all I was there in the room where it happened. So I dove right in a few months ago and ran straight into a roadblock. Why? I couldn't answer that question. At the time!   But as time went by I realized there comes a time when you need to look at the census differently. I was at a fork in the road. I could keep going on the path I was traveling or I could take the new path. 

A week ago I injured my ankle and wound up in the hospital totally unable to walk or put weight on my right foot. For years I have been struggling with mobility issues and gradually reached a point where I could barely do anything. My ankle injury put an end to standing or walking for a while. I was stuck and I live alone. I couldn't ignore the problem any more. In a matter of days I was on my way to a skilled nursing facility for a few weeks of physical therapy with the goal of being able to return home on my own. My family packed up a few things I needed from home and sent me on my way. 

They left my To Do List at home so all I could do was lay in bed, stare out the window and think. And there was the answer; right there in front of me. It was my turn to spend time, be it long or be it   short, (ahem) in the dreaded nursing home. Almost everyone eventually reaches this point in their life. 

What does this have to do with the 1950 census? . . . .As I sit here typing it is 2023 and my turn, my decade, a new chapter in my life to face the fact that I might have times when it is hard to live alone. MY TURN to make new decisions that will affect this decade in my life and possibly the rest of my life. And this discovery has made me look at the censuses in a much different way.

All the censuses that we appear in are chapters in our lives. In each chapter we are faced with new decisions. For every action there is a reaction. How we react to the situations in each chapter/decade of our life create the story of our life, the dash. Would you believe that you can find clues to these decisions in the census. 

What decisions did you have to make?  Did where you lived affect that decision? What were you doing at that decade in your life that could have affected your reaction? (School, working) Was there a major event or disaster in the decade that would have affected your reaction? The census is full of clues. You might have to hunt for them. Some may require research. Some people are affected by every little thing that happens around them. Others are oblivious to their surroundings. 

A few months ago when I first laid eyes on the 1950 census all I could see was everything that happened in my life and the world. I saw that decade as changing the world. It didn't -- well maybe a little. Mainly it changed my life, guided my life on the paths of my choosing. The 1940 census was to my older cousins what the 1950 census was to me. I watched them make the decisions that I would soon be making. If I am lucky enough to see the 1960 and 1970 censuses, I will see the decisions I made and how they shaped my life.

So what do I do with these new discoveries? I will use them to go back to the first census and take a new look at my ancestors. Find the clues that will give me a new insight into their lives. See them as real people with real problems and decisions that need to be made in order to travel through life. I will look for clues about things that affected the decisions my ancestors made.

Tomorrow I will return to my villa for a couple of hours to determine if I can safely return to living alone in a few days. Or will I need another week of therapy. I'm at a crossroads in my life and I know there will be major changes in the months of this decade ahead. How I react will affect my life in the future. i can't avoid it.                     

 ST. PATRICK'S DAY SALE

 

Family Tree DNA

Family Finder $59

Family Finder + My DNA Wellness  $79

ENDS MARCH 17

     FOR MORE INFORMATION AND DEALS go to familytreedna.com 

The Rebels

 James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo. Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story. "57 Chevy, black leather jackets, Rock and Roll is Here to Stay. 

Poodle skirts, pedal pushers, saddle oxfords, 45 records, Annette, Sandra D.

ELVIS!!!

I feel so sorry for my parents. It must have been hell living with these teenagers. 

But what made us such rebels? Speaking for myself I was a year old when Pearl Harbor sent this country into WWII. Of course I didn't realize it but it became normal for all my older cousins to be in military uniforms. I never under stood the word war. But that didn’t make me a rebel! 

Many kids my age grew up with their fathers in the service and their mothers working in factories. (My parents were older.) These children became responsible for their younger siblings and also for helping out at home. Personally I think they grew up faster that the rest of us whose mothers didn't need to work. Did it make them rebels? Maybe. Why? Because they learned responsibility at an early age. And they knew women could survive on their own.

Whatever it was, the result was Civil Rights and Women's Rights. And the 1950s lighted the fuse that started the fuss. 

What Did We Learn From Looking Back

We know what we have now.

We know not to take it for granted.

We know life can be a constant battle 

 I really believed and still do believe we can learn a lot from the census. But what? There’s something wrong with this post on my blog. I can feel it but I  can’t describe it. There is something wrong. But what’s wrong. Its me. It has to be me. My view has changed.

Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you. See ya later alligator!! After while crocodile!!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I never realized what the 1950s were all about and then the census reminded me

With the 1950 census indexing project coming to a close on many genealogy websites it's time to take a look at myself in the census. I missed being counted in 1940 because I was born too late, but I turned 10 in 1950. And, after years of seeing my ancestors in the census, I am finally looking at myself.

I was a little disappointed at first but as I learned more about pop culture in the 50s I became more disappointed and I just wanted to bang my head against the nearest wall. I didn't realize what life was like back then. Compared to now!! As I started to relive my memories my mood improved a little but I was now becoming aware that I totally accepted the misogynistic society that I was born into. Seventy-two years ago as a 10 year old girl I guess it was just life. The 1950 census was a wake up call that made me realize why I am who I am today.

I decided that the best way to get a good view of the census would be to take a trip back in time.

1950

In post WWII the perfect family was born. Father was the breadwinner and disciplinarian of everyone in the household. Mother stayed home, cooked, cleaned, took care of the kids and tried to look like a movie star all day. Sure!! Men were back from the war and needed jobs so women left the workforce and went back to being "just housewives". Young couples graduated from high school, got married, started a family and moved to the suburbs. I remember in 1958 many of my friends were engaged and planning a summer wedding when I graduated from high school

In the early 50s we all walked to school in the morning, went home for lunch,  and finally walked back home in the afternoon. We played outside, rode our bikes and as we got older talked on the phone. Boys took shop class and girls took home economics. We survived air raid drills, bomb shelters and polio. There were no drugs, no alcohol, and no sex. We were totally innocent.     

And then it happened! Television!! 

It took a while to catch on. Many were still listening to the radio since those families couldn't afford a tv. Department stores offered a free home demonstration, you could rent a set for a dollar a day, OR you could grab a lawn chair and sit on the sidewalk outside a store display window and watch for free. Remember those days? 

My parents had a television so all my aunts, uncles and cousins came to our house. We turned out all the lights and sat  in the dark and watched 15 minute shows. Plus a lot of test patterns. Why did we sit in the dark? Because anything else would ruin our eyesight and let's face it we were used to watching movies in dark theaters.

A New Generation. 

 During the early 50s television began to be available from coast to coast, unless you lived in the country. In the fifties my dad retired and we moved to Florida. We had a tv but there were no tv stations. We lasted 6 months and moved back home. There you have it -- tv had us under control and we weren't alone. As our own lives were changing in the 50s, a new generation that had been born in the late 1940s was beginning to appear in our lives. Baby Boomers!

Marketing.

Television's evil twin had all of us in her cross hairs. Yup! Marketing was here to stay!  Soon we were learning how we should look and act. How to look, diet, dress, live. What we just couldn't live without in our lives. Sitcoms and advertising were shaping our lifestyle. 

Baby Boomers were targeted and taught to "need". Their teacher was Miss TV. But as these Boomers were growing up, the teenagers of the 50s came into their own.

*Next: The Rebels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we   

Frugal Tip

       Ancestry Labor Day DNA Special. 

DNA Test - $59  (regular $99)  Excludes shipping.

Ancestry Labor Day DNA Special.

Offer ends 4 Sep 2022

Battery recharged! Back on the road but headed in a new direction!

 I guess it just isn't possible to retire from the world of genealogy. I tried and I was successful for about two years. During that time I purged my genealogy files and cleaned out my office. Recently I put my laptop on my dining room table in front of a large window with a great view. We all know that nothing screams genealogy like a dining room table. And so I am back! While purging and organizing  I saw all the information and facts I have accumulated over the past 70 years. I also had a chance to think about all the things I have accomplished in my many years of genealogy. I realized I know hundreds of stories about my family and ancestors. Why in the world would I just stop?

 Covid was the perfect excuse to stay home and get caught up on that To Do List.   For me it  was more like a time to dive into depression and laziness.  Hibernate! Live in my pj's. Watch tv and have ice cream for breakfast. It should have been a time for research and reading all those conference syllabuses from the last 10 years. But no! It was an excuse to just goof off. I don't know about you, but I misplaced two years of my life. I like to think that made me 2 years younger!!

Believe it or not, good things did come from that. As for me I did get rid of the piles of paper that covered every horizontal surface in my office. I was able to purge my files of duplicate slips of paper, freebies I picked up in the exhibit halls at conferences, and all those articles I saved because I thought I might need them some day. Thinking back I did need this break if just because I needed to clean house and clear my mind. It was more of a time to recharge my battery.

It feels good to be back pounding on my keyboard again and I am looking forward to making a few changes to my blog of 10 years. I will still keep the frugality while also going in a new direction. I will also be focusing on my 70 years of genealogy experience.; sort of "branching out". Don't be surprised if I kick some old habits to the curb and bring in a new outlook when it comes to finding your ancestors. Also with genealogists feeling safer attending society meetings and conferences again, be sure to check out the events page.

There will be something for everyone from beginner to medium/advanced. I will teach when necessary, provide needed help and throw in some tips I've learned over the years. And if there is one thing that makes my blood boil it is the term Brick Walls so you can be sure we will go there soon. It is an overused, inaccurate term that causes concussions and makes people shut down. I prefer the Doughnut Award! Stayed tuned