Hospitals amp; Institutions

LeonardGibbins · Post by **LeonardGibbins** » 12 Jan 2006 18:51

This is more of a general question.

I have a family member whom I believe had a medical condtion which meant they would have been held in an asylum or other mental institution. They were born in Camberwell, Surrey in 1884 (I have their birth certificate). Do any centralised records exist of inmates of such locations, preferably online? Would inmates be recorded on a census?

ID:1285

Post by **nsw** » 12 Jan 2006 19:28

Yes they should appear in census records.

No centralised records as far as I know. I think it would depend on each hospital as to whether their records have been destroyed over the years, whether they are still held at the hospital or whether they have been deposited with a local record office (or the National Archives?). There may well be a very long closure period too, perhaps 100 years?

I would use ancestry.co.uk or similar to try to find them in the 1891 and 1901 census and then assuming you find them in a hospital do some Google searches to see where the records are held.

LeonardGibbins · Post by **LeonardGibbins** » 13 Jan 2006 14:07

Many thanks for the info. My reason for posting was due to having drawn a blank using the 1901 census. It is certain the individual concerned was alive during this period. The information was obtained from a now sadly departed family member, and hence the location of the individual I'm attempting to trace has been lost.

ireneblackburn · Post by **ireneblackburn** » 14 Jan 2006 14:06

I have found on the census returns that some inmates of asylums are only recorded by their initials - not the full name. This could be why you have drawn a blank. If you go onto Ancestry and search the 1901 census by entering the place, year of birth and so on but just enter the initals you might find something.

Post by **nsw** » 14 Jan 2006 14:59

One of the census fields that ancestry allows you to search on is the relationship to head of household. I assume that if your individual was in a hospital their relationship would be something like inmate or patient. So you could search just on the surname and perhaps try some possible counties with a date of birth specified with perhaps a +5 to -5 year range.

LeonardGibbins · Post by **LeonardGibbins** » 17 Jan 2006 12:46

Many thanks for your replies and suggestions.

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