Asylum Records and photograph of Jacob Isenschmid(t)

[lynn cates]

sheep killing

Hello Phil. Thanks for that. I hope it proves to be fruitful research.

It has always fascinated me that Isenschmid was going to the east end markets and slaughterhouses and picking up sheep heads and internal organs for resale. Although primarily a pork butcher, he must have made the change to sheep rather easily.

Now, it is no mean feat to kill a sheep. go here to see what's involved.

http://www.leafpile.com/TravelLog/Romania/Farming/Slaughter/Sheep/Sheep.htm

Notice how carefully the sheep's intestines must be pulled out to avoid a rupture and subsequent contamination by the faecal material (fourth from bottom). So once the sheep is slaughtered, if the intestines are examined, one can determine the level of expertise of the butcher. If there is a smooth removal, then it seems safe to conclude that the butcher knew what he was about. On the other hand, a would be butcher might make a rum job of it and inadvertently cut through the intestines--getting faecal material everywhere.

Moral; leave butchering to a bona fide butcher and not a crude imitator.

The best.
LC

[Chris Scott]

From their death records it seems that the following Isenschmid offspring did not marry:
John Richard (died aged 22 and no record of a marriage)
Minnie Jane - Died under her maiden name
Jessie - Died under her maiden name

Katharine A (Catharine Annie) married in 1907 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire to either Herbert Claridge Vincent or Charles Williams
Ada Mary married in 1896 in Islington to George Edward Chipper or George Edward Kimber
Annie Edith married in 1900 in Islington to George Hunt or William John Thorne
Amy Magdalene married in 1911 in Islington to Charles W Griffiths

This "either/or" for spouses may seem confusing. This occurs when the page in the searchable index (transcribed by volunteers for online searches) on which the marriage in question occurs contains more than one couple. A page with two couples will list, literally, two men and two women with no indication of who married whom. The only way to determine which partner a specific person had is to obtain the full marriage certificate OR be able to match the couple in the next available census, which I will try to do.

For example, in the case of Ada Mary we can identify her and her husband in the 1901 census, the first after their marriage in 1896.
We know the following about Ada:
She was born in 1875, so in 1901 she would be 26
Her place of birth is given variously in censuses as Islington or Gilston in Essex, which is where her mother came from. Her married name would be either Ada Kimber or Ada Chipper. A little searching finds the following record:
2 Avery Row, St George Hanover Square, London
Head: George Edward Chipper aged 32 born Marylebone - Gents' hairdresser
Wife: Ada Mary Chipper aged 26 born Gilston, Essex
Son: Stanley George aged under 2 months born St George's

[Roy Corduroy]

Great pity that all his 1888 records have gone missing.

Those records being from his stay at Grove Hall, Bow. A pity, yes but not necessarily a mystery. Grove Hall was one of five private asylums that also took pauper patients. It was run since 1836 by three generations of the the Byas family, with Edward H Byas being both the Med Supt and proprietor at the time it closed in 1905.

I'll go out on a limb here and guess that if Isenschmid's patient file from 1888 survived it was in possession of the Byas family.

Roy

ps - checked out his photo again. Wearing corduroy.

[lynn cates]

records

Hello Roy. Thanks for the information. Although the archivist indicated to me that the records from Grove Hall are thought not to have survived, it might yet be worth pursuing.

She noted that I can still get a few snippets from Banstead and the Islington board of guardians. I hope to pursue that if I have time later on.

Yes, when I saw the coat and vest I thought of you.

Cheers.
LC

[Rob Clack]

Here's Isenschmidt's photographs from his 1895 and 1896 stay.
On both pages it is spelt 'Iscenscmidt'

1895 admission photo


1896 discharge photo


Rob

[lynn cates]

the eyes have it

Hello Rob. Thanks for that, well done! I am still awaiting my copy from London.

Is it just me or does anyone else note a marked dissimilarity of his eyes in the before and after photos? Upon discharge, his eyes look quite normal--even cheerful. But his eyes upon admission seem so different. I would not want to meet the above edition in a dark alley.

Cheers.
LC

[Rob Clack]

Hi Lynn,

A lot of the inmates had very creepy eyes. The 1908 photo I presume was the admittance photo. There should be a discharge photograph as well.

Here's a page from the books so people can see what they are like. That is Hyam Hyams top right hand corner.



Rob

[lynn cates]

indeed

Hello Rob. Thanks. I see what you mean.

Who was that Kelly (?) chap?

The best.
LC

[Rob Clack]

Hi Lynn,

It's Thomas Kelly. No admission date on the photo but he was in the 'Old Case Resident. 1899' So he would have been admitted pre 1893 when the book started.

Rob

[lynn cates]

frank admission

Hello Rob. Thanks for that.

When I'm finally admitted I hope I don't run into any such characters.

The best.
LC

[silverstealth]

At his initial reception into the asylum he displays classic symptoms of GPI, General paralysis of the insane. The grandiose gestures and unlikely accounts of his life fit perfectly. People suffering with GPI, would lay claim to extreme wealth and even royal birth, the unfortunate suffering from the malady would offer anybody a dukedom or embark on the wildest adventures.

The only compensation to this horrific disease was the patients inability to acknowledge his degeneration and more often than not died in total happiness believing himself to be "on the top of the World"

One other indicator apparent from early on in the condition would be one of the pupils being more dilated than the other. The three stage tragedy as it was known, would as a rule take less than 3 years till death. Death was always the outcome.

I was really surprised to see him discharged and then re admitted 11 years later.

Nice work converting the record to text, I know from personal experience the casebooks can be incredibly difficult to decipher.

[lynn cates]

Mickle

Hello Silver. Thanks for that very helpful diagnosis. The chap who saw him at Grove Hall asylum was Dr. Julius Mickle--the foremost authority on general paralysis (he wrote a book on it ca 1880).

Actually, JI was admitted to the asylum on about a half dozen occasions.

Any other information you have will be appreciated.

The best.
LC

[Archaic]

Hi Lynn. I sometimes see articles about 'General Paralysis of the Insane' in the old medical journals I've been looking through. If you're interested in them I'll try to find you a few.

Another common LVP term for this disease was "General Paresis."

The modern term for it is "Neuro-Syphilis". It's a form of dementia known to be caused by a syphilitic infection and is treatable today if caught in the early stages.

Best regards,
Archaic

[lynn cates]

syphilis

Hello Bunny. Thanks. I think much of Mickle's excellent book is available online.

I had heard that GP was frequently caused by syphilis, but in JI's case--first episode 1887, died 1910--it seems a rather long pair of termini for that malady.

I am checking with libraries to see if they can find Mickle's collected works, especially his correspondence.

The best.
LC

[Little Nell]

Two points

1. I can confirm that Jacob's daughter Catharine/Katherine married Charles Williams in 1907.

Information from marriage cert:
3rd August 1907, Register Office, Cirencester, Gloucestershire.
Charles Williams 44 years, widower, domestic servant, No. 8 Rendcombe. Father: William Williams, farm labourer.
Katherine Annie Isenschmidt 35 years, spinster. No. 8 Rendcombe. Father: Jacob John Isenschmidt, meat salesman.

Although Katherine has no occupation on marriage cert (often missed off marriage certs at that time) she was a lady's maid at Rendcombe House, which is where Charles worked. They had no children. I don't know if this is because Katherine was infertile [Charles had 8 children with his first wife Ellen Purvey] or if they avoided children because there were already 8 to cope with - or whether they were afraid, since not only Katherine's father, but Charles' uncle suffered from insanity.

Charles was my great-grandfather and his maternal uncle William Mealing, killed his fiancee in 1962 and spent the rest of his life in Broadmoor, suffering from religious monomania, homicidal mania and melancholy. He was sometimes put on suicide watch and died in 1908.

2) I don't think Jacob had syphilis. His physical health is generally considered either good or fair in asylum reports. Although there is mention of the right hand side of his face looking paralysed, this doesn't imply general paralysis. It might be that he'd suffered nerve damage or maybe a small stroke.