Mary Reid Died 1940 or 1941 Hartswood Asy, Shotts

[jjlmary312]

Hi,

I know this person does not appear in the census on several occassions so I assume she could be in a hospital or asylum. If there a way you can find out if she was in a hospital or asylum at the time the census was taken and if so how do you go about this?

[SarahND]

Hi,
The censuses were also taken in hospitals and asylums, so she should be listed somewhere. Unfortunately though, sometimes the asylums only listed the inmates by initials, rather than by name, so you would have to guess by a combination of initials, birthplace and age. Which censuses is she missing from?

Best wishes,
Sarah

[jjlmary312]

HI

Most of them. That is why I thought if they were listed else where? Her husband and my grand mother with her brothers and
sisters are listed but not the mother. My mother cannot remember seeing her - that would be her grand mother and she was
not talked about in the family.

[StewL]

Hello jjlmary312
Sad that she was never mentioned in the family, but we have to remember that back then mental illness was seen as a "stain" on the family. It has only been in recent times that mental illness is talked about more, and has less of a stigma, although it is not totally accepted by many as yet.

[jjlmary312]

Hi,

How would you go about seeing if someone is listed in the census if they were in an asylum or hospital.

[AndrewP]

Patients in an asylum would be enumerated in the census like anyone else. However, some asylums put only initials and ages for their patients, so you would be unlikely to identify anyone enumerated that way. Also, bear in mind that the censuses after 1911 are still under lock and key until they reach 100 years since each census was taken. Also, as the war was on, there was no census taken in 1941.

All the best,

AndrewP

[LesleyB]

If you could locate her death record that may give some clues e.g. place of death etc. Have you had a look on Scotlands People for it? With the name it could be a bit of a needle in haystack job, but at least you seem to have some idea of the likely area and approximate year, so that may limit potential candidates to a manageable number.

Best wishes
Lesley