lucy ann holbrook torrey (part 3 of 4)

Lucy's illness

Lucy's life takes a turn for the worse by the time of the 1870 census, at age 44, when she is listed as insane. The only clue I have to her insanity is from the 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes. (note 1)

From lucy holbrook blog post

This census lists Lucy as being in the following asylums; Taunton, South Boston and Worcester. By 1880 she had spent 12 years of her life in asylums according to this census, and was last discharged in 1879. There is also a checkmark in the column of homicidal. It sounds as if Lucy had some serious mental health issues, and probably did not have the best of life living in asylums during this time period. I would very much like to obtain her health records, and have read online that some people have had success getting records from the Worcester Hospital.

I do not know how long Lucy stayed at home after her 1879 discharge, but by the 1900 census, her husband had died and she is a patient at the Worcester Insane Asylum again. She is also a resident of this asylum in the 1910 Census.

There are some probate records for Lucy listed in the Norfolk County, MA Probate Index on ancestry.com during this time of illness.  I ordered these documents some time ago, hoping to find some more information on Lucy's medical condition. The documents did not provide any detail in this respect, but did show when Lucy was declared insane along with some guardian information and land ownership information.  The following is a breakdown of her probate records:

• May 12 1869 : Lucy is declared insane and her husband, Nathaniel R. Torrey, is declared her guardian of person and estate
• May 12 1869 : Nathaniel possesses "certain real estate...in which his said wife is entitled to a jurisdiction right of dower and homestead and that he is desirous of selling from time to time...he prays that he may be authorized to release all said jurisdition rights of dower and homestead of his said wife that he may sell or mortgage within the next 5 years." (includes a "schedule A" which documents location of land (note 2 and map below).  The court grants Nathaniel's request to release authorization to him.
• Oct 6 1874 : Nathaniel petitions the probate court and is granted that he be authoized to sell to Alveh Raymond... "real estate with a dwelling house and / Barn thereon, situated in said Weymouth, / On the corner of Park Avenue and Pleasant / Street, and occupied by Alveh Raymond Jr" (highlighted on map below)
• September 13 1882  case number 18598 Nathaniel petitions the probate court and is granted that he be authroized to sell to J. Shores...  "John F Shores of / Said Weymouth holds against him a / Bond for a deed of about five eights of / An area of land situated on Union / Street in said Weymouth with a small / Dwelling house and barn thereon" (J Shores lives next to Nathaniel and Lucy Torrey on the 1876 weymouth map above)
• March 1898 case number 33415  new gaurdianship, as Nathaniel R. Torrey is deceased.  Gaurdianship granted to Nathaniel A. Torrey and George W. Torrey, sons.
• August 1899 Nathaniel A Torrey petitions court to sell land of his deceased father..."
  That an advantageous offer has been made to your petitioner for said estate to wit, the sum of / Six hundreddollars over and above an existing mortgage of sixteen hundred dollars,
  That theinterest of all parties concerned will be best promoted by an acceptance of said offer, and / That it will be for the benefit of said ward that her interest therein be sold, and the proceeds / Thereof putout on interest or invested in some productive stock, for the reason that she is / Now without other means of support at the insane asylum."

Lucy probably resided at the Worcester Insane Asylum until her death in 1912, as her death record is from Worcester. The cause of death is listed as dementia praecox, with a contributory cause of broncho-pneumonia.  While she was in Worcester, three of her children passed away.  George Wilbur Torrey died of pneumonia in 1901, Lucy Jenny Torrey died at the Westborough Insane Asylum in 1903 of tuburculosis, nepritis, and pneumonia, and Nathaniel Austin Torrey died of heart disease in 1909. 

Lucy's death record states that Lucy was buried in South Weymouth.  Her two remaining children, Lydia and Henry (my 2nd great grandfather) must have been responsible for making sure she was brought back home and buried with her husband at Elmwood Cemetery on Union Street in South Weymouth. 

From lucy holbrook blog post

websites of interest:
1. Worcester insane asylum pictures from 1948 Life Magazine article on Opacity website.
2. Wikipedia article on Worcester Insane Asylum

notes:
1.  U.S. Federal Census - 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes : National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Massachusetts, 1850-1880: Supplemental Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes; Year: 1880; Roll: 35; Publication Number: T1204. ancestry.com

2.  Schedule A of Lucy's probate describes land that Nathaniel wants authorization over, but Lucy has rights to according to dower and homestead.  " One undivided fifth part of all the real estate which I inherited from my father Josiah Torrey late of Weymouth deceased intestate..."

• "being about seven acres of land with the buildings thereon and bounded as follows mainly / Northerly by land of Alvah Raymond and Park Avenue / Easterly by land of Alvah Raymond and Pleasant Street / Southerly by land of Elijah Bates, westerly by land / of George Holbrook and widow Noah Torrey" (highlighted on old Weymouth map of 1876 below - after Nathaniel sells to Alveh Raymond, looks like Jospeh Emmons Torrey, Nathaniel's cousin, is living next to this property)
• "Also 1 piece of land continuing one and half / acres bounded as follows / Northerly by Prescott Torrey and Land of R. S. White / Easterly by land of Jacon Holbrook / Southerly by Park Avenue / Westerly by Pleasant Street" (highlighted on weymouth map below : near ps torrey)
• "Also / 1 piece wood bottom containing about 7 acres / in south Weymouth on what is called mosquito plan"
• "Also / eight aces wood bottom on pine hill in Hingham / bounded as follows northely by land of heirs of David Whitman / Easterly by land of Daniel Holbrook / Southerly by land of Abner Curtis / Westerly by land of Jason Holbrook" (I have not been able to find this land on the 1879 Hingham map - Pine Hill is the southern most hill of World's End in Hingham - but none of the above names are on the Hingham map in that area)
• "Also / 1 pew in the congregational Church / South Weymouth"

some of Nathaniel Torrey's land in Weymouth as noted in Schedule A of Lucy's Probate records

From lucy holbrook blog post

to do:
1. Obtain Lucy's medical records. (Shirley Burchfield posted on an online forum about obtaining records from the Worcester Insane Asylum : "[you need to be]appointed a "volunary executor" for medical records only. This entailed driving to the City Hall, getting the death certificate, walking next door to the courthouse and filling out the paperwork, handing over $120 and within minutes, I was appointed her voluntary executor. I then just needed to mail a copy of the death certificate, together with the court order to Worcester State Hospital and within 6 weeks I had most of her records. ") Sounds promising!  I have already ordered a certified copy of Lucy's death certificate online through Worcester Vital Records department.