A Brick Wall Shaped Like An Asylum

When I began my family history research, my mother was only able to tell me very little about her paternal grandfather's family. He had died before she was born and the family had little further information about his origins.

His parents, George Seitz and Catherine Upton, had also died relatively young. Breaking through the brick wall behind George and Catherine was one of the first big victories of my genealogy research. George's mother, Elizabeth Kiefer, had an even larger brick wall waiting to keep me from becoming too sure of myself.

The headstone of Elizabeth Kiefer and her family in Ivy Hill Cemetery.

Elizabeth was born around 1820 (her headstone gives an uncorroborated date of December 20, 1820),1 most likely in the region of Hesse-Darmstadt in what is now southwest Germany. Sometime before 1850, she immigrated to Philadelphia where she shows up on the census married to Henry Sites [sic] along with a one-year-old son, Frederick A. Sites. Henry, a cordwainer (shoemaker) was also born in Germany, while Frederick was born in the U.S.2 I don't know if Elizabeth and Henry were married in Germany or if they met after emigrating.

The next ten years brought enormous changes for Elizabeth's family. When she talked to the 1850 enumerator, Elizabeth was pregnant with her first daughter, Henrietta Carolina. Then in 1852 and 1855, two more children would arrive - George and Louisa. Sadly, Henry died on November 14, 1854 just before Louisa's birth.3 Fifteen months later, Elizabeth married another cordwainer - Joseph Ensle from Württemberg, Germany. Before the 1860 enumerator knocked on their door, Elizabeth gave birth twice more - Joseph Ensle, Jr and Louisa Frederica.4

Elizabeth in 1860 with her second husband, Joseph Ensle.

The Louisa born in 1855 disappeared by the 1870 census and most likely died in the 1860's. The rest of Elizabeth's family remained intact on the 1870 census - giving the (probably false) impression that the 1860's were less tumultuous for the family than the previous decade.5 Elizabeth was approaching her 60th birthday when the 1880 enumerator visited the house. She and Joseph were listed together with their youngest daughter, Louisa, who was married with a daughter of her own. The other children had moved out on their own and some had married.6

Everything seems to have turned out well for Elizabeth until you notice the little slash on her line of the census - directly below the word insane.

The 1880 Schedule of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes provides some of the context behind that black mark. Elizabeth's condition is classified as melancholia accompanied by epileptic seizures. At this point, the "attack" of melancholia had lasted for 12 continuous years, during which Elizabeth was an inmate of Blockley Asylum. This pulls apart the image of domestic bliss that was implied on the 1870 census.7

1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes provides greater context.

By the 1900 census, Elizabeth had been transferred from Blockley to the State Hospital for the Insane in the Philadelphia suburb of Norristown. Even through the census you can sense how deplorable the conditions must have been - she was listed alphabetically along with hundreds of other inmates. Norristown gained acclaim in 1880 for appointing the "first woman in the nation to direct a female division in a psychiatric institution," Dr. Alice Bennet, who abolished the use of chains and straitjackets on patients. Despite this there were reports of abuse and human experimentation at Norristown and similar institutions.

It is hard to say how credible the facts on the census are for each inmate. Elizabeth's age is off by six years. The census indicates that five of her five children are still alive, but only three of her six children survived until 1900. The length of her current marriage is listed as 52 years, which might have been accurate if you combined her two marriages and the year in between them.8

Elizabeth died at the Norristown asylum on July 23, 1901. The cause of death was listed as chronic nephritis.9 She had most likely been in one institution or another for 33 years - more than half of her adult life.

The permit allowing Elizabeth's body to be removed to the family home before burial.

Elizabeth was presumably first institutionalized in 1868 at the age of 48. I can only imagine what a disturbing loss this must have been for the family. It most likely forced the children to support themselves and leave the house earlier than they might have otherwise. Her son, George (my great-great-grandfather), was only 16 at the time. This sudden separation, combined with the early deaths of George, as well as his son Frank, would have made it particularly difficult for family stories and connections to have been passed down.



This is my first post in a set of family history profiles that I am calling #20in2020. I'll post the next one in a couple weeks on Joseph K. Norcross.


Sources

1 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 January 2020), memorial page for Elizabeth Kiefer (20 Dec 1820–23 Jul 1901), Find A Grave Memorial no. 166830220, citing Ivy Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA.

2 Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7667/4293541_00407/4799651

3 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 August 2018), memorial page for Henry J. Seitz (11 Oct 1821–14 Nov 1854), Find A Grave Memorial no. 166830211, citing Ivy Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Sharon Kelly (contributor 49026042).

4 Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/8054/4205115_00358/4955192

5 Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7163/4278945_00374/6358844

6 Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6742/4244467-00690/423161

7 Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1634/32775_236674-00309/361567

8 Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7602/4115138_00076/47392890

9 Familysearch.org Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDL5-7MF

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