Finding Lillian: The lost patients of Washington’s abandoned mental hospital

[@rgomoffat]

This amazing man is researching, finding, and marking these graves deserves help and recognition.

[@pamelalapierre6678]

AGREED !!!

[@alexandrasuperbonita]

Being a social worker myself, I felt an immediate kinship with him. I am proud that he is a colleague of mine, even if we have never met.

[@kathypichey4306]

Your doing blessings for them

[@evelynjolliff2799]

Agree,what a Blessing ❤

[@aimeekubik8803]

​@@alexandrasuperbonitafur those if you who truly care, may God bless you mightily. So many list souls. Just living long can result in the liss of so many friends and Family. One that never leaves you is God, never forget that.

[@freedpeeb]

My grandmother's cousin was a deaf mute child who was violent out of sheer frustration. Her parents died and her grandmother was incapable of caring for her. She was put in a place called a home for idiots. So sad that little girl. I have pictures of her but cannot find any records anywhere of her life or death. It makes my heart ache for her.

[@kevincoad607]

Genealogy

[@firenze5555]

Quite a different reality and story than Helen Keller. Very sad.

[@OurConvictPast]

I have been doing genealogy for over 30yrs I am happy to try and help for free if you wish

[@namewithay]

I'm also happy to help try and find whatever information i can.

[@nancyharber9173]

Do you know if and how I can get my grandmother's records at Elgin State Hospital in Illinois?

[@1927su]

I already know this will be a sad story. Wevtook care of an old gent for 22 years. He was 92 when he passed peacefully here at our home. He spent around 50 years in an old timey institution thru a misdiagnosis. He told me “people disappeared from there” “they were mean down there” He was made to milk cows there for years in their dairy .Despite that horrid time in his life, he was a sweet fun gentle soul . Im soo glad we could give him a safe secure peaceful life in his latter years . We miss him immeasurably.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

Thank you for your kindness and compassion. Many were just learning disabled and people had a serious sense of hide them get rid of them back then it was shameful in a family to have someone not right. Especially in small towns. Glad he had 22 good years at the end. The staff were mean that's well documented.

[@Eve181dublin]

I suspect sometimes the vulnerable & poor were institutionalised for cheap labour 😢 I’m glad that poor man has 22 years of happiness & freedom, but he should have had a lifetime.

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

@@Eve181dublinchances are the milk was used at the institution for drinking and making cheese, yogurt, baking and so on. Capable residents worked to help run the facility, which is actually a good thing ! We are meant to work, it’s good for our Mind, soul and body, it’s probably why he lived so long.

[@Eve181dublin]

I completely agree, I just got the impression that the gentleman referred to wasn’t experiencing it as a therapeutic experience. In Ireland we had the Magdalene laundries & work was not part of of a therapeutic plan but a form of punishment. But I agree that occupation can be hugely positive, an addiction centre I’m familiar with looks after animals & it’s a wonderful experience for the residents.

[@candykane4271]

Milking cows was something to be proud of, who can do that. My dad could milk by hand. Started probably as kid on the Nebraska prairie. He went every summer to help his uncle farm. Working was once a valued state to be in, accomplished…especially for boys.

[@ejtappan1802]

I am the 'historian' for my family and what this man is doing is SO important and meaningful. What an amazing project, and an amazing perspective these folks have.

[@GardeninGrace]

Likewise, I am going to be graduating college in a few weeks with a CJ degree but I want to do genealogy work. I’m going to save up money for some certification courses so I can help others find family history, as well as become a search angel. I was able to find my biological father by using a handful of my second-third cousins publicly available family trees, and using census records. I sent a letter in the mail to my grandparents most current address a couple of years ago, and they called me. They also got DNA tests which confirmed everything. I’m flying to see them for the second time on Saturday.

[@doctorb.5893]

ive been working with john for the past month, i've been at the cemetery 10-5 6 days a week, i have a list with about 100 names to the grave marker

[@emilien.]

I wept. I wept for Lillian having contracted syphilis, and being simultaneously institutionalized and thrown away. I wept for both joy and sorrow for her heroic great-grandaughter's wonderful love that resulted in this story and Lillian's rebirth. God bless the sweet souls of this story.

[@JoanTarpley-hx9sh]

"She was real." My heart is breaking.

[@janetkizer5956]

Lillian looks like she was quite beautiful. It’s so sad how her life turned out, but at least she has some descendants who care about her, even though they never met her. That’s beautiful, actually, when someone cares about a person they never met, never knew in real life. It looks as if some patients at this hospital were totally forgotten, not even buried properly with labels of any kind on their graves. Heartbreaking. What is so amazing, is that many people today are more sympathetic, more caring about these long-dead people, than were some of those who knew them in life, and could have helped them.

[@GenderLoin]

Of all the crimes committed against her b/c she was a woman, ur takeaway is that she was good looking and it’s sad her life didn’t make better use of her fukability? Yeah, great. Also, so wonderful and lovely that someone cares now that she’s long gone. I’m sure that makes up for it all.

[@dystoniaawarness3353]

Back then the husbands can just put them in these places to get rid of them no questions asked. Deplorable

[@rubyparchment5523]

Or spinster sisters, gays, the physically disabled, misfits. Oh, I forgot religious fanatics!

[@psychedelicpython]

I was thinking the exact same thing.

[@elendilnz]

Yes. Happened to my great grandmother in New Zealand.

[@dystoniaawarness3353]

@@elendilnz How awful. Hugs.

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

Perhaps she had mental issues, but she might just as easily have been infected by her husband.

[@wendymcdaniel2483]

My grandmother's uncle died there in 1935 and Lemley took care of the remains and they had the records available in under 5 minutes when I called. He's buried with his wife in Evergreen Washelli. I learned from the archives he was committed twice, once when his wife died and lastly when his twin died in front of him. They were apple orchardists who had a house in Wenatchee Heights. He had "Involution melancholy" "depressive kind".

[@khismet]

He lost his will to live. The broken hearted.💔

[@Heroine2me]

I’m sorry.. Depression was so misunderstood back then (at some level still is). It’s appalling to think this man suffered from a deep depression from incredible loss as many do today, and he was institutionalized in a mental hospital because of it. If this practice was common today, more than half the population would be committed. That is insane. The irony of it all.

[@dionnedunsmore9996]

😳♥️omG thats incredible!! So cool that u discovered all this info. Im on the east side of usa so idh loved ones that mite be in any treatment facilities there but its still so interesting to learn about generations past. We did some digging around in my family tree but we definitely didnt get to dig as deep as u did. Really interesting tho, i like this kinda thing Btw?? Whats that diagnosis mean anyway? Like? What would we compare it to in todays illnesses?

[@dionnedunsmore9996]

​@@khismetthats what i assumed too. Sounds like it huh? I asked her tho, ive not heard of the diagnosis provided. First thing that came to my mind tho was .. a broken heart. I watched a documentary that researched broken heartedness. They proved an increased amt of hormones flooding the area the heart sits in, when dealing with what we call 'broken heart'. Physically there are more hormones in that location. Meaning we feel it for real, its not just something we make up. It's real, not imaginary

[@ECBurt]

My relative was self admitted to the Hudson River State Hospital near Poughkeepsie, New York in the 1950's for clinical depression. His daughters recount that he was told to "stay busy".....he was a quiet, thoughtful, talented man....wood worker, artist, master carpenter, working with his hands. This asylum was similar in that the architects were the same men. It was a "small independent city" with a working farm, with a gorgeous park like campus that we would drive through on our Sunday drives. He decided that there were residents far sicker, he left, but always lived with the spector of depression. In his case, he had a loving family that took care of him after discharge...he was able to work and do wood working. My family cherish many pieces of his work. May they RIP.

[@noname36970]

Bless you and your family.

[@kimk2635]

We need to start raising compassionate understanding people again instead of hate filled greedy ones.

[@sherryBLUE735]

Amen to this! ♥ I am so sick of the greed.

[@debbiedebbie9473]

Yes

[@LaLaLonna]

As long as our country and culture prioritizes money over anything that won't happen. Capitalism supports stepping on the people around you to gain wealth. We support our corporations putting profits above people at all costs. The bootstrap mentality pits neighbor against neighbor. We allow those that have succeeded in this environment and have the eat or be eaten mentality to make the laws and run our government. Until we make fundamental changes that stop all the resources from being horded in the top 3% of the population we will live with greed and cruelty.

[@dureshsamarasinghe5413]

You all need to change the system or world order it has failed and the world is in chaos.

[@Shellyshocked]

​@@LaLaLonnaYou said that perfectly. I just wish more people felt the way you do and would wake up to what's going on around the world.

[@keenoled]

Oh my goodness, well done, Lauren Frohne! That lady is a natural in front of the camera, she just invited us straight into her heart. Her compassion towards her grandfather, who seems to have been a terrible person, and her search for Lilian. Thank you, Seattle Times. PS anyone else thinking immediately that baby was either absolutely legitimate but her husband was angry at her and lied, or she was attacked by whoever employed her as a housekeeper...

[@oliviasayshi7517]

Oh my goodness! I have a suspicion that being attacked by the owner of the house, while my great grandma was a housekeeper, was possibly how my grandma was conceived

[@KDBee-ri5hi]

I somehow missed the tidbit about her being a house keeper. Back then as many foreign countries today blame when when they are innocent and attacked. We have again gone from one extreme to another.

[@Teresia12]

My Granny was born in 1900. She knew a couple of girls who got pregnant due to r in 1915. She said they were put in the mental hospital in Louisville, KY because their parents said they were insane. She said truth was it was due to the families shame. Both girls were raped by the same man and they died within a couple years of being in the hospital. Their babies were also put up for adoption. She said their nanes but I can't remember. I'm 67 now. I was a young girl when she told us girls the cautionary tale. Don't take a ride from anyone even if you know them and stay together.

[@StarDreamMemories]

Awful

[@hannahstenstrom4028]

How many women had postpartum ended up in places like this.

[@jkahl1985]

That's what I was thinking.

[@DaraS84]

Quite a few. The short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, is a fictionalized account of that happening. My guess is it was a lot more common than you'd think.

[@kennycombs4475]

They would be sent there for menopause as well. I grew up down the street from here. It's a fun spot to explore

[@EllaBella-76]

@@kennycombs4475•Not to live though ...Can you imagine once your in your not going out I have spent in my 20's a couple of years in hospital I had ECT I got flipping Epilepsy so yes they sadly do still do it for me I hated it -It's not a life it's becoming institutionalised it's easy to see how if your miles away from family that even if they are very loyal mine are and my parents where sure you go if your really unwell I have had psychotic depression/anorexia I guess I still have it -Just it's more controlled...Life hey throws curve balls

[@harley8680]

I was able to confirm this year that my GG Grandfather died in a mental institution here in Michigan. My mother (age 96) refuses to believe it for sometime now. Her grandmother (her Mom's mother) was orphaned at 3. Neighbors raised her and her siblings. Her mother had passed away (age 30) and I think he had some sort of break. He lived another 14 years. This was all in the late 1800's. I have no clue how to find out what happened. He was an emigrant from Ireland that came to Michigan and I cannot even find where he came from in Ireland. I hope to one day.

[@H20.]

Quite a lot of Irish surnames are specific to certain counties, so try putting the info you have on a genealogy site and people might help you out. I know my surname is predominantly from one county, as are most of my ancestors. Good luck with your search 💚

[@lanagalbraith6542]

My grandmother was admitted to Northern State Hospital in 1933. She was there until 1963 when she was transferred to a nursing home on Whidbey Island. She had been misdiagnosed by Naval doctors and thirty years later a correct diagnosis did not free her bc she had become institutionalized.

[@SeniorChief604]

So glad someone is making the effort to remember those lost to history.

[@dionnedunsmore9996]

It wouldnt surprise me to learn that Lillian contracted the std from her husband (whod cheated on her) who indeed DID impregnate her with his baby. Back then we women had no voice, like this lady says! The average woman would absolutely lose her damn mind if shed discovered her husband gave her tthis std and also impregnated her but accused her of running on him. Any of us would lose our damn minds over such a thing today!! ANY of us would! A bit of Lillian is in everyone of us 🎉😅( if what i think happened, happened to her)!!

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

Well over time whatever normal mind she had would be lost to untreated syphilis. I don't trust her husband at all. He just wanted to get rid of her. And that happened a lot in UK too. Some women got terrible post partum depression untreated and were useless as wives so were thrown into mental hospitals. Great documentary.

[@Arvanlife]

Tertiary syphilis causes mental debilitation. And she got TB apparently. Modern medicine could have treated both of these infections, but the treatments weren't available then.

[@dolinaj1]

Guess what: Thanks to the GQP, we women are losing not only our voices but our human and civil rights. Vote blue if any of this matters to you, citizens.

[@vickimerritt2832]

​@@dolinaj1so out of place here and you either deliberayely or ignorantly exaggerate the actual facts, no rights exist to exempt one from the deliberate murder of a near or full term child. Stop spreading gross misinformation, show some courtesy and respect over your misplaced fanaticism.

[@wtogspedersen860]

​@@vickimerritt2832there are very few abortions at a late stage unless the fetus has life threatening issues. Stop spreading lies.

[@dmreddragon6]

I just so happened to pause this where it says that the Seattle Times played an important role in the unsealing of Northern State Hospital's records on it's deceased patients. Also Lauren Frohne (Seattle Times) produced this documentary. Thank you to all those who helped bring light to the forgotten souls who reside, and passed at Northern State Hospital.

[@lexicat6177]

The fact the husband could put her there so easily is stunning.

[@rainpaken6240]

Women were property until 1971 in U.S.

[@sylviacarlson3561]

that's the way it was. Today, it's very difficult to do that. They can only keep them for 3 days. Not always a good thing.

[@KDBee-ri5hi]

We have gone from one extreme to another. You have ppl on the streets o'ding and being revived 2-3 times in the same day to stay on the streets. That person is a harm to themselves and needs HELP but nothing can be done. Talk about crazy.

[@jack9601]

Husbands and families did this very often, alot of times to get rid of a 'problem' person. It happened in my family as well. I bet she contracted the disease from husband and was then thrown away.

[@michaelaldrich5975]

This is an amazing video/documentary. For so many of us non-professional historians, this sort of information and data is not available. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@surfergirl2943]

Wow what a wonderful man to do this. 😢😢😢 1700 people wow .

[@elendilnz]

The same thing happened to me (in New Zealand). I found my great grandmother who was put into Seacliff Hospital because she was “cranky” and didn’t like her husband. My mother was never told anything about it. I was able to get information from a main library archive where the hospital records had been sent. The entry notes say she would be there for two days. She never got out. Her sister was nearly able to get her out, but she didn’t have enough power in the end. The patients did free gardening on the superintendent’s estate next door. They even held dances. A man could get thrown in there for being drunk and end up staying if there was no family support. The superintendent ‘s name was Frederick Truby-King he became a famous children’s Doctor later. We found my great grandmother’s grave and erected a headstone. It states after her name “She was lost and is now found”.

[@julsjewels3185]

I have a similar story. My grandmother was institutionalized after the accidental death of her second son at two years old falling down cement steps. My father came home to his mother in distraught and blood everywhere. She did get out and was able to meet her grandchildren . she got re.married and passed away a year or two later.

[@SharonStevens-d3s]

All that man had to do was to say his spouse was crazy and they could be locked away for the remainder if their lives. We, as women, need to be careful of laws taking away our rights!

[@melanieduke5085]

💯 correct

[@martig.garcia495]

Especially when they didn't want a divorce so they wouldn't pay them. And free to marry another woman.

[@golden8972]

HELL, YEAH!!

[@ednaisabel4741]

🙄

[@gigistrus490]

My great grandfather did that to my great grandmother. My grandfather was 10 years old and is younger sister was six it was about 1905 and in the Fulton State Hospital in Missouri. The children thought they were going to a fair.

[@kayaker66]

This is very admirable .. giving the people in these institutions back their identity and their lives to their families . .

[@darryllcampbell3342]

My mother was institutionalized when I was six months old. Back then she was diagnosed with manic depression. Later, it was changed to schizophrenic. She was institutionalized up until her death. I wasn't made aware of her passing until about a decade later. Like I, she was lost in the system.

[@emilywiebel3238]

How incredibly sad! It’s terrifying to know what happened to so many during these times. Even worse knowing it wasn’t very long ago.

[@kimjohnson8898]

My dear mother Marie was in Northern State for 9 months where they treated her post pardom psychosis with several things one being shock treatments. So thankful she lived through it and lived a good long life.

[@sunshine3914]

My mother-in-law voluntarily went through electric shock therapy in the 1970’s, after losing two teenage sons in two separate accidents. She came out on top & credited EST with saving her life. She was extremely strong & outspoken, no one would have ever guessed the trauma she had endured.

[@lindatrepanier3419]

​​​@@sunshine3914 I had the opposite effect from Electric Shock 'Therapy' in 2003. It's not for everyone - and usually not therapeutic. It was VERY devastating for me and i still suffer from the effects of it. (I had been mis-diagnosed and 'forced' to have it) None of the patients at Northern State Hospital would probably have been in agreement to have it, I'm sure--their experience of it during those years would be like what we see in the based-on-true-life movie: 'One flew Over the Cuckoo Nest'...that mental hospital that was portrayed in that movie was also in Washington state, just 2 Counties away from the one shown here.

[@marthashepherd341]

Thank You for posting this. Blessings to the Gentleman who is cataloging the grave markers. The folks are now not forgotten. ♥️🙏♥️

[@The-Portland-Daily-Blink]

That poor woman, she's the only person who will weep for her great grandmother. What a sad, lonely feeling. I can relate, as my mother's side of the family was afflicted with mental illness. The stories are endless when you have mentally ill relatives... my heart goes out to her... both her and her great grandmother.

[@lynettetehuia5021]

Thank you From an NZ Psychiatric Nurse

[@katelynharwood9830]

I grew up close to northern state my grandmas sister worked there and I remember going to the cemetery and seeing all the flags. Thank you for finding them. Thank you for caring.

[@patriciaalexander1061]

With an interest in Genealogy and Mental health, this documentary hit them both. Well done - I enjoyed this.

[@angb7374]

This was very educational. My Mom worked at an institution in the 1950’s . She worked with children most with Down syndrome. She is going to soon be 87 and has never forgotten a little boy who she cared for . She left after working there for several months. She often talks about Craig and wonders what happened to him . I wish there was some way I could see if he is still alive and well .

[@Beersforyears]

Awww, that's so sweet. We had an aunt with Down's, and she was the most wonderful, kind, caring person in the world. If Craig was well taken care of, there would be a slight possibility he could still be alive. I hope someone took care of Craig and he had a happy life. 💙

[@naughtyskyline]

what a wonderful man he is, such hard work, just to help others

[@TotallyLostSoul]

A wonderful, compassionate man.

[@BastetNoodles]

From her photos, Lillian somehow seems unconventional for her time and that trait, in and of itself, was enough "justification" to have a woman in the 1920's committed on a husband's/man's say so. Her husband "claimed" the child was not his ~ so she gets put in a mental institution!

[@HDPersonal777]

Unconventional, as in intelligent and strength of will.

[@KDBee-ri5hi]

She had the syphilis as well. Where did she contact that? Initially I thought she may have been graped at the facility and that's how she got pregnant.

[@antonellabanto]

@@KDBee-ri5hi since in the video they say most of people there died of tubercolosis or syphilis, , it's clear for me that not only hygiene and care were low, but someone also raped some/many young female patients. The son couldn't be his if she was already hospitalized when got pregnant, but he could be his if she was when already pregnant.

[@Angela-bk7yp]

You gentle searchers have brought these lost to memory. Tears flow.❤

[@jacquelinemeow5774]

Heartbreaking....riveting....so well done....my heart aches......🙏🐾

[@Figgatella]

Lillian was so beautiful!😢 It’s so sad, this shouldn’t have happened.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

Since antibiotic use we don't see people dying in huge numbers of syphilis and tuberculosis anymore but back then this documentary shows it was a huge public health problem.

[@heidi2166]

No but they'll soon have wards full of people with turbo cancers and other immune system problems antibiotics should fix but won't because of what they have coursing inside of their bodies due to drinking the Kool-Aid

[@b_uppy]

Mental health issues were the primary reason for institutionalization. You're thinking of a sanitarium.

[@emxilyk]

​@@b_uppy Bacterial diseases such as TB were spreading like wildfire in institutions such as asylums. Very poor living conditions coupled with an overcrowded indoor space in an era where germ theory hadn't been established and vaccines didn't exist = perfect disaster.

[@Catlily5]

Syphilis eventually caused people to become insane. It is partly why they had so many more mental hospitals back then.

[@FayeVert]

@b_uppy but in this case she was in the mental hospital because she got syphilis (being a promiscuous female was considered a mental illness), and likely got tuberculosis there.

[@barbie5697]

John Horne - thank you for your sense of humanity. From the relatives of these people who have no idea where their loved ones rest, I thank you for them.

[@littlegreyranger6969]

Thank you.

[@laurellewis1638]

Very interesting… God bless these forgotten souls ❤

[@laurastrobel718]

Lillian was a beautiful woman. Sad story, it's one of many. Northern State sounds a lot like the old Central State Hospital in Nashville now closed. It was a working farm at one time. There are hundreds of unmarked graves of deceased residents and patients behind it. About 18 years ago there was a project in the works to make a mass memorial there but don't think it ever came into fruition. Sad that this happens. Thanks for the report.

[@janetcarbone4213]

Thank you for that. The story of your hospital is retold over and over throughout the country. I worked in 3 on the east coast. At least the one I worked for placed the names on the gravestones in the cemetery. As for the comment “it wasn’t a utopia but it wasn’t a house of horrors either. It was human- both good and bad.” So true❤

[@Amanda-vi3di]

What a sick husband to have his wife committed for supposedly getting pregnant with a child that is not his! In all honesty.. I bet if they were to do a paternity test It would prove that he is the father! I wouldn’t at all be surprised if he wasn’t the one who gave her the syphilis too smh

[@kerim1035]

Agreed!!

[@childofcascadia]

@Amanda-vi3di It happened a lot that people got committed because they were inconvienient or "embarrassing" to their family, not actually having a mental illness. A young woman wanted to marry the man of her choice instead of who her parents wanted, committed. Someone was gay or lesbian, committed. A man wanted to get rid of his wife so he could have other partners, committed. It went on a lot.

[@dionnedunsmore9996]

Im with ya!! 👊💔🤷 I said the same thing almost word for word!

[@LB-bw4vj]

My Mom's father never accepted her and believed she was not his. I did my dna to find out and he was her father. Women had no rights back then. None at all. You could be locked away for cheating but only if you were a female.

[@ltee2261]

Yep I agree

[@catherinepraus8635]

Thank you for your heartfelt story I bet it never even crossed her mind that her great grand daughter would come looking for her to honor her memory I have no doubt she would’ve been so proud of you your amazing

[@catherinemerrill5511]

Thank yu for givig Lilian a voice and a shoulder. I have both Olmsteds and Masseys in my family tree.

[@findingjoy4725]

Wow. What a heartbreak this was. So much loss of human potential. So many human lives erased from our collective history. It's almost unbearably sad. The man's journey, to find them and honour them, is a testament to heroism - theirs and his. This video brings new meaning to "lest we forget."

[@phlamingophlox8492]

My grandmother was at Western Washington Hospital from about 1928-1950. Her name was Andorra “Annie” Gates. How I would cherish being able to investigate her life!

[@bobbievedvick9334]

I'm so grateful this man is taking the time to uncover these gravestones. Sadly, the history of this place has been all but destroyed. A few buildings are still in use but most of it is crumbling and given over to vandals. What a loss. The grounds have been kept up beautifully and the area with the remains of the farming, dairy and crumbling reminders of the cannery, are now a historical site but without any preservation., but it with no reader boards or informational history to speak of. They actually had a pretty amazing system with a fully functioning dairy business and canning facility. They had huge gardens in which the residents worked, along with the dairy and canning facilities. All those records were burned taking the history and stories of the numerous people within those walls to a fiery end. People who could have related stories are almost all gone now; those outside people who worked there or lived on the grounds in staff housing are all mostly passed on now. Today the medical practices used back then to treat mental health are obsolete, but it shouldn't be ignored or silenced as though it never existed. It's not like movies portray. These residents weren't in padded cells with crazed, unintelligible noises emanating from them. While there were some of those patients, the build were able to work and hold responsibilities under supervision. They just couldn't function in the real world. It was too over-whelming. And yes, they were there for treatment---archaic as it was---and they NEEDED to be there. But they were also made to feel useful while under the watchful eye, and it provided a safe place for them to live a life as "normal" as they could expect to have. As I wander the grounds today---it's beautiful peaceful place----I'm so sad this place wasn't preserved from the start, and opened to public for tours with educated tour-guides, because it's an era that has passed and is extremely interesting. I wish those records wouldn't have been burned. Names could have been changed, and their stories told through what I believe would have been a major best-seller book. What a rich tapestry of lives experienced this institution. The lives of the residents and the stories of the staff could have been the subject of award-winning documentaries and spotlighted a system, in spite of the medical practices, that was nothing short of amazing. But it's all lost now. So much money is wasted by hundreds of millions, but this piece of history is forever lost by their lack of interest.

[@Justine-gp5tn]

Their legacy lives on through their decendants. Youre doing a great job.

[@tiffcat77]

Ty for this. People should not be forgotten. My grandmother on my father's side had to take care of her siblings because her father remarried after her mother's death and the new wife was very mean. So the sisters Lillian and Lois stayed together however my great-uncle Hank would jump the rails back then a long time ago in maybe the 1930s even and beyond the last we heard of him was in the 1980s. My Great Uncle Hank who rode The rails. He hated the stepmother in Pennsylvania. They all ended up here in Michigan near a place called Plymouth and Detroit. My grandmother on the paternal side died not knowing what happened to her brother her only brother who she would help whenever he was in town and she tried to get him to stay when she had married and moved away. He had become used to that life and no one knows what happened to him. So I appreciate the work you are doing and I wouldn't mind investigating and looking up people myself because I happen to kind of do that already using a legal program. My family though tried everywhere and a genealogist and everything and nothing came of it so we may never know what happened to him and that is a big hole in the family, so for you to give some of these families any peace thank you.

[@Lillith8810]

I've been to the cemetery for the old western state hospital in Lakewood, WA quite a few times. Glad people are putting the effort into giving these patients their names back and updating headstones at the cemetery. So sad they were buried with only a number and forgotten about.

[@unicaonesimo]

Heartbreaking. Yet, deep gratitude to the man who devotes his life to finding and remembering the forgotten. And, the woman searching for her female ancestor. Bravo for your heart's courage to search.

[@LeahGratiot]

Thank you for this.

[@ladyredl3210]

As a neurodivergent out of the box type of person, her story could have been mine had I lived when she did. This makes me cry. So many lives just thrown away.

[@BernardProfitendieu]

but this isn't your story, is it, dear? stop looking for reasons to cry

[@ladyredl3210]

@@BernardProfitendieu I hope someday, Dear, you develop a sense of compassion and empathy. Until then, presumably you will continue to haunt comment sections like an insufferable ghost, commenting on the lives of strangers. How sad for you.

[@BernardProfitendieu]

@@ladyredl3210 sad enough to make you cry?

[@lwingeard]

My grad work was in 19th century asylums….this is amazing what you are doing!

[@danapinkerton1192]

That man is amazing. I love that he wants them to be seen and not forgotten.

[@AnneVandijck]

You guys are making all these patients real again by calling their names and remembring them, good for you ❤

[@Automedon2]

In doing my family research, I came across a single court docket from 1910 that list "The case of ________ _____________, an imbecile" (which was the term for mental retardation at the time - not a slur). I'm assuming it was his commitment hearing. He was my grandfather's brother. One I never knew about. I found no mention of him again in any records, so I assume he was locked away and lost to history. Very sad because I worked with many people who came out of the institutions when they were closed in Massachusetts after numerous scandals involving terrible treatment in those facilities. Placed into well appointed group homes and some, with support were able to live independently. Many, many sad stories of people with quite mild mental disability whose whole lives had been taken away and had to restart in their older ages. Even so, I wish there were congregate living situations that were not institutional settings where those who can't handle life without a great deal of support can live in peace. It is time to put the stigma of those places behind and focus on the reality of the people who fall between the cracks and find a new model for the care of the mentally disabled.

[@TH-jd9ib]

This man is incredible. Thank you

[@madreep]

My great grandmother was institutionalized in a mental hospital but it wasn’t Western State. I bet it was Northern State because she gave birth to my grandma in Sedro-Woolley. She was given electro shock therapy in the early to mid 1930s. It was supposed to cure her promiscuity after she had a baby out of wedlock.

[@caroleminke6116]

I still remember uncovering my Irish great great great uncle’s grave by tearing the frozen sod away with my bloody hands ❤️‍🩹 he was buried behind the Old Bennington Vermont museum which was the original Catholic Church as well as cemetery but my ancestors just swept those dirty emigrants under the rug & my sister had to convert to Catholicism in order to marry in 1968 🍀 I held my mother’s old hand as we climbed the hill to show her Martin’s grave marker & we cried as we read it ❤️‍🩹 he made the dangerous crossing from County Galway so we both might live here on earth over 150 years later… never forgot your roots no matter how humble for those ancestors made you what you are or aren’t today

[@shantibel]

Very moving. Respect to you for honouring your ancestors.

[@surferdog666]

People hate that these huge mental institutions existed, but we honestly need them back. We would need much more strict regulations, but so many people out there need help. Locking someone up for having syphilis is of course absurd, but giving people who have mental health issues that can't be managed on their own need a place to stay. It's just so sad that the patients of these defunct places were locked away, abused and forgotten.

[@sarah2.017]

Nowadays, syphilis can be cured with a shot of penicillin. This wasn't true back then.

[@twinkletoes6290]

100%!

[@JJSolitude]

Neurosyphilis came with many mental health symptoms in its late stages so they probably didn't have any other options.

[@mezanian]

​@LynneSimpson-sb9fhthe treatment in those places was so horrific. You need to research it before calling for the return of these hellholes.

[@hollybug-76542]

I'd prefer to see more home-like or group home situations for ppl with mental illness. It's hard to put trust in institutions when you look at the history. A good example would be Nursing Homes. They're rife with abuse and neglect. But I also believe these vulnerable ppl shouldn't be left to die on the streets or funneled into the Prison industry. Which is a whole other problem. Incarceration/institutionalization should never be a for-profit enterprise. The fact that most states have very few beds set aside for mental healthcare is a huge issue. Our Healthcare System is broken.

[@Faith-ib7vf]

Thank you !!! So much for what your doing . I cried watching this. I kept my sister Estelle Lynda Duran ( Tolly) ❤️out as much as I could from Western State Hospital .. ( they worked with me because was one of the longest patients, at that time ).. and she was intelligent very likable . she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality complex from nature nurture syndrome. Age from 19-27 then again on and off till 40 she passed at 40 in 2005 from MRSA . In my arms . I loved her so much . I grieved for 10 years … I loved my sissy so much . Say her Name. Estelle Lynda Duran a Beautiful little Star . Someone who loves me unconditionally and I her. I pray I see again , I feel I will. Tolly’s Sissy Nony 🥲❤️✝️Leona Idom

[@Faith-ib7vf]

❤️✝️🙏🏽🕊️

[@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380]

What a beautiful comment! Your love for your sister shines!

[@Faith-ib7vf]

@@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380 thank you I felt her love and she said she felt mine . Not just words with… I love you. 🥲

[@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380]

@@Faith-ib7vf ❤️

[@redfeather8927]

You will see her again ❤

[@lavernebacak8682]

Thank you for finding Lillian. I am in the process of find some of our lost mentally ill relatives.... What a job!

[@aubreyhill653]

This story is both heartbreaking and eye-opening. I have started my own search on a distant family member who was abandoned by his family back in the 1950's. He was a disabled child who became a ward to the state of Montana. It has been super difficult to find where he was dropped off and where he spent his life. Is he still alive? Is he deceased? Was he loved? Is he also lying in an unmarked grave somewhere? These are all questions I ask myself everyday since finding out about him. I wish it was easier to find family members from these types of places.

[@saramorgan6638]

Thank you for this, it brings them back to life by the efforts of these kind, gentle souls. Love to all-

[@luannedimaggio7025]

What a lovely young man Thank you

[@Corgis175]

Commendable what this man is doing and glad Lillian's great granddaughter found some records. So sad overall.

[@SMcCaskill]

This hits close to home for me. My maternal grandfather died at Central State Hospital in Waupun, WI. It would be nice to have a picture of his grave marker.

[@claireplauche7724]

We have the Central State hospital here in Pineville Louisiana and have been designated a Historic Site. Their stories must be told and there are so many unknown forgotten people there. So much Love for this work!❤️‍🔥

[@chrisdelnagro5867]

Thank you for your hard work. I didn’t know people were doing anything like this. 😢❤

[@myprophet1]

Live a mile away. Grew up here. Family worked there. It was an amazing place at its height. Still in use and lots of the land is open to the public.

[@rasclotify]

Awesome. And even awesomer to be reminded that there are in fact good people in the world who care about people and who care about history, and being humane to ppl both before and after their deaths even many decades after the fact. Thank you!

[@claireplauche7724]

Beautiful Beautiful piece! Im a psych nurse studying Social Work..I cant thank you enough for all the facets of this presentation ❤.

[@Starghost1999]

Excellent Work we need more people like these in the world.

[@kristitedrow1577]

My 2nd GGM died in 1929 at the age of 42 at Eastern State Hospital from Syphilis. It broke my heart when i found her death certificate. Thankfully i know where she's buried. Wish i had a picture of her.❤

[@ktinxx]

Such a moving piece of journalism! I live far away in Europe and it really touched me to witness this search for the forgotten, the voiceless, the wronged. These two need all the support they can get to continue their valuable work!

[@karenrose656]

Bring back our mental institutions! Make access more accessible and the criteria to enter to get much needed help🙏🏻

[@dionnedunsmore9996]

Ive not watched any of the post yet but i strongly agree with u. My father is old enough to remember the hospital closures and how the pts seemed (and still seem) to end up in jails being abused by fellow inmates. We need that resource. Ppl w disabilities do not deserve to be abused or tossed away in jail. I agree

[@margaretr5701]

@@dionnedunsmore9996 Yes, jails because crimes are often committed due to poor mental health, but jail isn't where the mentally ill belong.

[@lunacouer]

What we need is the community help and resources that were promised when these institutions stopped being funded by the states and were shut down. It was there in the very beginning, and then slashed from budgets over the last 50-60 years. Sadly, every budget cut lead to more homeless people - people who'd had help and were stable until the funding got cut. There is zero desire in disability spaces to see these places reopened. In fact, we fear it. Please see the history of ugly laws in the US. We already struggle with abuses in currently open psychiatric hospitals. Bringing back even more is not the solution.

[@b_uppy]

No. Bring on localized housing and treatment. These big centralized treatment centers got away with a lot, and lived ones were prevented from close oversight. These were closed because of patient rights issues/abuses. What happened next is where the problem is in that the state failed to supply localized support in a timely manner. It exacerbated the drug problem, and housing is further complicated by excessive local housing codes.

[@lunacouer]

@@b_uppy Thank you. This is exactly it.

[@eviesholette]

Fantastic video! It's wonderful to see the people who were treated so poorly regain their dignity, however late it may be.

[@JtownKat]

My great aunt's name was Mary (Maria) Massi and she died in a mental hospital in Pennsylvania in the 1920s so this gave me chills. Such similar names and such similar stories, and in both our families they are pretty much forgotten. I can only hope in whatever came after, it was better than their lives alone and mistreated.

[@marjane4344]

I am grateful to see the care going into this needed project.

[@pioneercynthia1]

"The belief was you keep people busy." The worst thing about being on disability for my mental illness is having no job. I miss working. Now that I'm getting older and less mobile also makes it harder to do other kinds of work like gardening.

[@AoifeNic_an_t-Saoir]

This makes me SO sad! I know if I lived back then, I’d most likely be in one of these places. We still have a long way to go, but I’m so grateful that our understanding of mental health has improved ❤

[@Catlily5]

Me too!

[@Gardengirl4]

I really feel for you, and your search, for your grt grandmother, she is a part of you, and you are, because of her, i totally get the hurt you feel. You have a connection to her, You have brought her story alive, and so she will never be forgotten, Dont give up your search.

[@sharonbertsch4520]

My family has a similar story of my great grandfather’s first wife. He put into a state mental hospital, she lived entire life there, she died about 40 years later. No relative claimed her remains. I am not a direct descendant, and cannot claim her remains. Sad, terrible life.

[@raeraewells7053]

This is an amazing story. I have a similar story, my great Xs 2 grandmother Martha Ella Summers Pendley was put in the Anna, Illinois state hospital at about age 28 and she had 2 children. Her husband married a 14 year old right after Ella was put away. I want to find out more about her story. I want to know where she is buried and also if there are possibly any pictures of her. I have her admit date and reason why she was admitted and it says her brother committed her. She died I believe in 1918 there. It’s a sad story.

[@karenjames953]

I love family history, no matter how it comes. And what you are doing, locating the grave markers and finding out who they are is amazing to me. That is just wonderful!!!

[@khismet]

This documentary was well done. Thank you for presenting.✨

[@dayzdnconfuz3d]

Great job on this story. Thanks seattle times for sharing

[@karlalphelps9909]

it is very hard to learn this type of stuff i was crying even when i learned my own great grandmother starved herself .

[@allisonians]

Thank you for your good work! I am overwhelmed by your valor!

[@Getchell32]

It is so strange, but I could not ditch the feeling this granddaughter could have been Lillian in a past life, her need for the emotional chase and journey for the truth. Prayers for her.

[@nicholasheckathorn]

This was a really wonderful story. Thanks for posting content like this here. Would love to see more like it.

[@ohmeowzer1]

Your an earth angel thank you for remembering these people time forgot

[@poggersvil6088]

You might not believe this but I'm actually a third descendant of the Olmsted family. I was listening to this while cleaning up my kitchen because I was cooking lunch. I got halfway through the video and as soon as I heard the Olmsted Brothers a realization came. We built so many institutions in the Olmsted family but they had different impacts. Some of those impacts displaced people. I got chills thinking of all the people who this hospital had forgotten about. The last name may be common at first but I felt chills down my spine. I know that we had a big impact in America because of our large number of descendants. I need to do research on this particular hospital. I have heard of this before but it never occurred to me that we had touched mental hospitals. I hope that the enormous amount of work Frederick built for the United States is remembered. I also hope that people who watch this video stop and remember all the people who were displaced or enslaved. I know we didn't directly cause the situation that these patients were in. I still think it's good to pause during this video. If you know somebody or you're watching this. Stop and remember these people because this happened all over the country. This is still a relevant issue and mentally incapacitated people deserve as much respect as everyone else!

[@grumpyoldlady_rants]

It wasn’t uncommon years ago for a woman to be committed to a mental hospital by her husband or other male family members if unmarried. I’m reading a book - The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore. It’s about a woman who, in the mid 1800s, was committed by her husband simply because she “didn’t know her place”.

[@robertgarrett3002]

Kids were often dumped there for disobedience.

[@grumpyoldlady_rants]

@@robertgarrett3002 - When I was a little girl, we lived near what was then called a reform school. When we would drive by, my dad would often tell me and my siblings that if we didn’t behave, that’s where we’d end up.