On October 14th, 1895 life for Henrietta Fritcher Gibson changed dramatically. Her daughter Ellen Clara Kennedy had her committed to the Iowa Hospital for the Insane in Independence, Iowa. She had exhibited signs of “melancholy” as well as hallucinations and several suicide attempts. Ellen and her youngest sister Fidelia were both married and living in Goldfield, Iowa and their mother had resided in Grand Mound, Iowa; a distance of some 200 plus miles via todays interstate system. I am not sure how the sister’s learned of their mother descent into instability, but it does seem that they did act quickly on her behalf. Henrietta was but 65 years old, however it is obvious that she was not capable of caring for or being by herself. It appears that Henrietta ate and slept very poorly and could be quite difficult to deal with at times.
It is nearly impossible to know if Henrietta suffered from a stroke or a series of strokes or what else may have truly ailed her. It seems obvious that there was a dramatic personality change in her and approach to every day life. No handicaps are mentioned in her papers; as far as use of limbs, speaking or the like but that does not mean that there weren’t any. It is stated that she complained of a headache for years and that in the months prior to her committal, it had increased.
While Fidelia had two children and may have been able to care for her mother at home, Ellen had 10 of her own and had her hands full. From the notes it would seem that caring for their mother was a full time job and the possibility exists that this may have been a steady downward spiral from which her children knew she could not recover, nor could they help her with. We will probably never know the true family dynamic of this dreadful situation. You must have empathy for all involved. Henrietta with her difficult and sorrow filled life and her children who had to be conflicted about the lack of choices and services available to them to care for an obviously ill mother. Ultimately, I cannot feel that her children failed to support her. They appear to have done the best they could with what they had available.
One question on her admission papers that stood out to me: “What relatives, including grand parents and cousins, have been insane?” The answer? None Known
While it is true that that Ellen may not have known, she did have an aunt in New York that had been committed. Later my great great grandmother appears to have manifested some unflattering ways as she spent several years living with several of her children in quick succession and then ultimately living with and dying at her brother’s home. But I am getting ahead of myself.
After a short illness, Henrietta passed away on 13 July 1900. It was neither pleasant nor painless, but I do believe it to be merciful.
While I know very little of Henrietta, it is difficult to write about her. I feel sorrow for her and her family as they were both cheated out of meaningful relationships. She had at least 23 grandchildren who never had the chance to really know their grandmother and she obviously missed the value of these relationships as well. Sadly, this is the unkind side of family research. But it drives home the point that we all have a story…..and they did too. Unfortunately, they aren’t all happy but they deserve to be remembered, respected and represented fairly.
I have never seen a photo of Henrietta, her husband Spencer or any of their children. I would like to “know” them by more than just a gravestone. If you are related to the Fritcher family, let’s connect.