Lucy

I recently read somewhere (I wish I remember where) that there is an additional schedule to the 1880 US Federal Census which would be of great interest to me. It is the Supplemental Schedules 1-7 - DDD Schedule Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent, which may list information such as type of illness, length of illness, residence, homelessness, etc. to those individuals listed as insane, idiotic, etc.

I have been looking for more information on one of my ancestors who was listed as insane beginning with the 1870 census, Lucy Ann Holbrook Torrey, my 3rd Great Grandmother. In the 1900 and 1910 census she is living at the Worcester Insane Asylum. I am not sure how to obtain her medical records, if they even still exist, but it may involve a court order. I have not obtained her death record either, as she died in 1912, past the date the NEHGS covers in their online database. She is buried in Weymouth with her husband at the Elmwood Cemetery.

Now I have some more options for obtaining information on Lucy's medical condition. I now just have to locate a copy of the 1880 DDD schedule for Massachusetts. It does not seem to be at the FHL, so I cannot order the microfilm from their library.

I also noted that their are two gaurdianship records from the Norfolk County Probate Court; one for 1869, the year before she was marked as insane on the census; and another gaurdianship record for 1898 - the year her husband died. These records for a Lucy A. Torrey most likely are hers. It will be interesting to obtain these to unravel more of Lucy's medical conditions.

To Do:
1. find a library that houses the 1880 DDD schedule for Massachusetts. UPDATE: this schedule is now on ancestry - but I realized Lucy is not living at asylum at this date and therefore not listed in the DDD. They do not have the DDD schedule for the 1900 census.
2. order norfolk probate guardianship records from court for Lucy. UPDATE: obtained these records, did not provide information on Lucy's diagnosis, just information on who had rights to her land, etc.
3. find out more about the Worcester Insane Asylum and if records are obtainable.