Madness or Mishap: Locked Away for Life in the Insane Asylum: Frances Caroline Utter
Nellie
Blye was a famed journalist and social reform activist. In 1887, working for a
New York newspaper. Her first assignment was to show how easy it was to get
admitted to an insane asylum and find out what happened there. After
pretending to be crazy, she was admitted to the Women's Lunatic Asylum on
Blackwell Island. While there for ten days, she encountered the truth of
neglect and physical abuse the patients endured. And she found that not all the
patients there were crazy! Her many articles about the experience and the
conditions in the asylum led to improvements made at Blackwell Island Asylum.
Years ago, people were taken to asylums if they showed any type of behavior that appeared to be unruly, upsetting, or ill with health problems. Sometimes, people died in the asylum, while others were lucky to be released and went home.
Frances Caroline (Parrish) Utter died in Hospital #3 in Nevada, Vernon County, Missouri. She was the 2nd wife of my paternal great-grandfather, Dee Jay Utter. This is her story.
Born in McDonald County, Missouri, in 1908, Frances was the only daughter in a family of boys. After many hours of research, only a few historical records are available about her. It’s as if she never existed. When I discovered that she was a patient at the insane asylum, of course, questions arose. Was she born with an affliction? Did she go to school? Did her parents treat her differently than her brothers? Was she hidden away from the prying eyes of townspeople and gossiping friends?
When Frances
was 19 in 1927, she married Dee Jay, who was 41. They were married for one
year and three months, when on March 14, 1929, they had trouble that ended
badly. The local newspaper account wrote that Frances Utter was
adjudged insane and ordered to the State Hospital in Nevada, Missouri, by the
county court. The county sheriff and a deputy took her to the hospital on a
Tuesday afternoon. Her husband, Dee Jay, was arrested on a charge of wife abandonment. He
was placed in the county jail awaiting a preliminary hearing. Dee Jay was
later released. I have found no other writing about the outcome of his part
in the story.
Frances entered the Insane Asylum when she was twenty-one years old. She is listed on each of the U.S. Federal Censuses as a patient until her death. Due to privacy matters, nothing is shared about the cause and details of why the patients were there in the first place.
Another newspaper account relates that on a cold February afternoon in 1930, one of Frances' brothers was arrested for a felonious assault in connection with Dee Jay. It states that George Parrish threw rocks at Utter, dangerously wounding him about the head and shoulders as Utter passed by the Parrish home. The article said that evidence showed that Parrish was of unsound mind and subject to "epileptic fits." A verdict of not guilty on the grounds of insanity was returned by the jury. Parrish joined his sister - he was taken to Hospital No. 3. He was twenty-two. However, he was released after spending several years in the hospital, dying at 77 years old.
Frances' mother died in 1953, and her father died several years later. She died as a
patient in the asylum on December 5, 1957. Her death certificate states she
was a patient in the hospital for 28 years, 8 months, and 26 days. She’s listed
as a married housewife. The cause of death was due to pulmonary
tuberculosis, of which she suffered for over two years. Sometimes, a code number is written on death certificates, the International Classification of Diseases, which gives more information about the death. But there is no code on Frances’ certificate. She is buried at the Owsley Union
Cemetery south of Stella, Missouri. Her headstone is a simple one.
Mental illness was profoundly misunderstood. People, especially women, were treated terribly when they suffered from depression, stress, postpartum problems, and other female ailments. Men's and women's health issues were sometimes diagnosed as insanity. Anger problems and behavior issues were another reason to send people to the insane asylum. Disabilities were embarrassing to families, and many times, those afflicted paid the price by being institutionalized.
I researched the Nevada Insane Asylum, the third asylum built in Missouri. The original building was built with the famous Kirkbride architecture and bore the name State Lunatic Asylum No. 3. Later, it was renamed Nevada Hospital No. 3. The main buildings are gone, but other original red brick buildings still stand on the grounds and are currently in use. Not far from those buildings is the hospital's cemetery.
I ponder what Frances and the other patients went through. Frances spent most of her life there. What treatments was she given? Did she have a good relationship with the other patients? Did her parents visit her? Did she make friends in the asylum? Did she read books, sew, paint pictures, or write letters? Was she deemed "simple" and quiet, or was she unruly and loud?
My most haunting question is why she married my great-grandfather, who was so much older. They came from a small town where everyone knew everyone in the county. Whether it was madness or mishap, I must tell Frances’ story so
that we know she did have a life, insane or not. I celebrate Frances Caroline
(Parrish) Utter during Women's History Month. Rest in peace, Dear One.
Sources:
Insane Asylum Number 3, Nevada, Missouri (lyndonirwin.com)
https://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php/Nevada_State_Hospital
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