Genealogy Chat

Hi All, Could you be put in a lunatic asylum for being poor in 1912, or would you have to be a 'lunatic' (I know this covers a lot :) ). As one of my Aunts relatives is shown as dying at York, Fulford Asylum, which after a google search, I think is The Retreat Lunatic Asylum. His address is different to the asylums though? Best wishes

Hi Glenise Are you talking about Whixley? That was also the local lunatic asylum - just on the edge of York. If you google it there are lots of references to it. Snowdrops

I think asylum was a term used quite loosely. Your relative could have developed senile dementia. Looking into the history of a hospital where I once worked now closed. It originally took drug addicts and drunks then expanded to take the morally impaired homesexual men, petty thieves, girls who had illegitimate babies etc. usually from good families who could afford the fees. Later it took the mentally impaired and mentally ill including those suffering from the effects of syphils. Most of the people had very sad stories to tell. Many residents spent most of their lives there. Some residents had epilepsy or other signs of brain damage. The families sometimes opted to send their child to an asylum to avoid him going to prison. However a prison term would have been much shorter. This was in the days before the NHS.