Info needed re: Winfried Scott Hartman Rutter-patient on 1900 census

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6:58:50 PM - Thu, Oct 6th 2011

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Mr Rutter is on the 1900 census for Illinois Northern Hospital for Insane, but is on the 1910 and 1920 census for Watertown Hospital for Insane in Moline, IL,where he died in 1927.

Any info or direction for ancestry research would be appreciated.

The 1900 census states that he had been/ or was at that time, a blacksmith.

He lived for 27 years in those hospitals, so must have been reasonably healthy, physically.

I'm interested in admission diagnosis, event leading to admission, and person admitting.

Thanks!

Soldat251 Forum:Mod, checkuser, sysop
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12:08:08 AM - Fri, Oct 7th 2011

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Sadly we cannot really help you here.

You should contact the state department of mental health, they could possibly help you. Are you a direct relative or next of kin? HIPPA can be a real problem with patient records.

I need to warn you though, most of these hospitals kept really track of records and often leave them to be destroyed in vacant or demolished buildings as new ones are made.

However, both of these hospital are still active, so your odds aren't terrible.

Good luck.

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9:57:42 PM - Fri, Oct 7th 2011

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Winfried Rutter was my great-grandfather. He was born in Freeport, IL, married and moved to Montana. Then left a wife and 7 very young children in Montana, came back to Illinois, and spent the rest of his life in hospitals for the insane.

Because of family history, I'm trying to understand why all that happened. On census for 1900, 1910, and 1920, he is listed as married, however, his wife remained in Montana, and on all census for her from 1910 on, she is listed as a widow. All these years the family was told he 'abandoned' them, or was probably killed while hunting in the mountains.

Any help is appreciated!
Linda

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8:30:34 PM - Mon, Oct 17th 2011

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Quote: Fri 7th 9:57 pm

Winfried Rutter was my great-grandfather. He was born in Freeport, IL, married and moved to Montana. Then left a wife and 7 very young children in Montana, came back to Illinois, and spent the rest of his life in hospitals for the insane.

Because of family history, I'm trying to understand why all that happened. On census for 1900, 1910, and 1920, he is listed as married, however, his wife remained in Montana, and on all census for her from 1910 on, she is listed as a widow. All these years the family was told he 'abandoned' them, or was probably killed while hunting in the mountains.

Any help is appreciated!
Linda

Linda,
My ancestor was in the Watertown asylum from 1889 until his death in 1947. His wife listed herself as either widowed or divorced as well. I found out that many of the graves for "inmates" were in Resthaven Cemetery, a cemetery on the grounds for people who died there. It is now a prison and the stones were pulled up. Here is a link to my ancestor's memorial on FindAGrave. It tells the story of what happened to the graveyard. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSsr=41&GSmcid=47214367&GRid=...
Lisa D. Davis

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