The Death and Burial of Charles C. Gross

Initially I had a lot of difficulty finding a paper trail for Charles C. Gross. Ocassionally I look through the records of Cincinnati cemeteries to see if I can find any clues. I was shocked when I uncovered this record for Charles at Spring Grove Cemetery.

I don't know what shocked more more -- learning that my gg-grandfather died at the age of 37 or that the card listed his disease as "insanity."  Thus began a quest.

First of all, in light of his Civil War Penion Record and the information found in his patient record, I am convinced that his "insanity" was directly related to his physical illnesses.  He was clearly suffering from "Bright's Disease" from the time he signed up to be a soldier in the Civil War at the age of 18 or 19.  I've not been able to determine the "cause" of this disease, but the more I read about the conditions his regiment endured on the road to their first battle, the more I wonder if this was the "trigger" for his illness.  Secondly, a doctor friend of mine was with me when Charles' record from Longview Asylum arrived in the mail. As we read through it together, John said that it sounded like Charles had suffered a heat stroke (or something similar) while on the job as a baker.  As I have a paternal gg-grandfather (Britton Wainright) who died from heat stroke, it was not a big surprise to me that this can have a significant impact on someone. 

Since I now knew where Charles was buried, I headed over to Spring Grove Cemetery to try to find his grave.  I was hopeful that it would be "marked" because he was, after all, a Civil War veteran.

It soon became apparent that there was not going to be a marked grave.  The office personnel graciously agreed to find a couple of the groundskeepers to meet me in the section.  I learned that day that each grave has a number found below ground.  These two gentlemen patiently scanned the area with a metal detector and then dug a hole to see if we were in the right space. Eventually, we located it.

It made me sad to think that this man, who served his new country in the Civil War, fathered six or seven children, and started his own bakery in a new country and city could be the same man so unceremoniously  buried in a cemetery that is known for honoring Civil War veterans.  I am reminded once again that without him, there would be no me. It is my hope, that in some small way, this post will insure that his contribution is not forgotten.

How he must have suffered.  In the last post, the doctors described his condition this way: 

 His face is pale and very much puffed-up and so it is with his hands and feet.

As someone who has personally dealt with several illnesses, I am amazed at the number of times that I have had to catalog the lives and deaths of my ancestors who faced death when they were far too young.  They often died from diseases that are easily treated today.  They could have lived productive lives as I have been able to do.

Charles -- if you could only see your descendants now!  You have a reward beyond measure.

The Marriage of Charles C. Gross and Rosina Becker

According to the Restored Hamilton County Courthouse Marriage License Book, Charles C. Gross and Rosina Becker were married on January 21, 1864.  The Archdiocesan Archives was not able to easily identify the Church where they were married.  However, the Cincinnati City Directory lists their address as 122 W. 5th Street.  Charles was working as a baker. The Archives was able to supply baptismal records for three of their children from St. Francis Seraph Church on Liberty Street.  As the family always lived in the 5th - 6th Street area, I was surprised that they would find a parish home several blocks north. 

By the 1870 Census, Charles was the Proprietor of his own bakery.  He and Rosa were the parents of four living children:  Julius - Age 5, Rosa - Age 4, Julia - Age 3, and Catherine - Age 1. He had a net worth of $600, more than any of his neighbors. Life for these first-generation Americans appeared to be on track.

Then tragedy struck.  According to the Case History of Male and Female Patients for the Longview Asylum, Charles became insane.  He was admitted to the hospital on May 8, 1876 as the result of an illness now in its fourth year.  His condition upon admission is as described:

The duration of the present attack is four years, this being the 1st attack.  The supposed cause of insanity is some four years ago, he was overheated at his work and since then has been an invalid. Patient has hallucinations described as follows:  Imagines that he must kill himself and family, can't sleep of nights and roams around the streets coming home always in an excited condition of mind.  Patient has shown a disposition to injure himself and others, but not to be destructive.  He has made two attempts to hang himself.  He has not been addicted to the intemperate use of alcoholic drinks.  Has not been subject to epilepsy.  The disease is not hereditary.  (Typed as recorded).

No record of treatment is included between May and September 20th.  It seems as if Charles suffered greatly from his kidney disease for three days in September.  His medical record includes the following:        

September 20, 1878 - Complains of a very severe headache and pains in his bowels.  He has likewise considerable difficulty in passing his urine, which is very high-coloured and has a strong ammonia odour.

          September 21, 1878 - Has had no passage from his bowels for a couple of days.       

September 22, 1878 - Had one operation this morning.  Has less difficulty in passing his urine and it is more natural in appearance.  His face is pale and very much puffed-up and so it is with his hands and feet.  Eats well and sleeps quietly. 

The next entry in Charles' record is a notation that he died in the evening of January 3, 1879 at 9:00.  Cause of death:  Bright's Disease.

The 1879 and 1880 Cincinnati City Directories list Rosa as living at 288 1/2 W. 6th Street. Her occupation is listed as "widow selling confectioners articles." Once again one of my female ancestors is listed as a widow by about the age of 40 with the total responsibility for the care and raising of four children. As I've said many times before. I am descended from a long line of STRONG women.

Note to family:  I have copies of many documents related to the above post.  Let me know if you have need of them.

Kathy

Google Genealogy News Timeline Tool

Today I made a "new-to-me" discovery.  I am a fan of many of the tools that google has developed that make doing research so much more interesting.  Through the GeneaBloggers Daily, I came across this video:



I was unaware of Lisa Louise Cooke's GenealogyGems website, but I'm sure I'll be a frequent visitor. I tested googles' NewsTimeline tool.  I searched on these terms:  Longview Cincinnati 1879.  Up came three articles about the "Longview Insane Asylum" placed within the context of other news stories of the day.  What an incredible tool!

Regular readers of this blog know that I have been researching the Longview Insane Asylum in preparation for a post I intend to write about my gg-grandfather who died while a patient there in 1879.  The state of this mental health facility was deplorable.  If you read my post on "Graham Crackers and Corn Flakes" you realize just how little we knew about the causes of mental illness.

It's one thing to not understand what causes mental illness, but it's quite another to treat the "inmates" with so little compassion.  This article was published in the Three Rivers Tribune, April 3, 1979.

To describe this kind of treatment and then conclude that the attendant "has the sympathy of all the attendants" is just beyond my comprehension.  It seems that if you weren't "insane" when you arrived, you would become insane once admitted for "treatment".

If you haven't tried out this tool yet, search on one of the topics you are researching.  I'd be interested in whether or not your search proves as interesting as mine.

Graham Crackers and Corn Flakes

Photo Credit:  Wikipedia

What do these two foods have in common?  If I had to guess I'd probably say they both have a crunch, are made made from grains, and are pretty bland.  I would say they are both pantry staples.  (I love a bowl of corn flakes in the morning).

I've been doing a lot of research for my next series of posts. I've been reading up on "insanity" and how it was typically handled around 1879. I found out that a relative, yet to be discussed, was diagnosed as "insane" when he died at the age of 37. He was an "inmate" at the time of his death in "Longview Lunatic Asylum" -- a well-known mental hospital here in Cincinnati that was closed permanently in 1993. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Spring Grove Cemetery and his Death Certificate also says that he was suffering from Bright's Disease -- a name used to describe kidney diseases in the 1870s.

So what do graham crackers and corn flakes have to do with any of this?  Through my research I discovered that doctors at the end of the 19th Century thought that one of the main causes of mental illness was masturbation or what they referred to as "self-abuse".  If you can believe it, during the time in question, 16% of the patients in Longview had their "insanity" attributed to masturbation.  Doctors went to great lengths to try to prevent patients from masturbating.



Note: Click on the image above for a link to the full 1881 report to the Governor and State Assembly of Ohio contained in Google Books.

According to Wikipedia, "The Graham cracker was originally marketed as "Dr. Graham's Honey Biskets" and was conceived of as a health food as part of the Graham Diet, a regimen to suppress what he considered unhealthy carnal urges, the source of many maladies according to Graham. Reverend Graham would often lecture about the adverse effects of masturbation or "self-abuse" as it was commonly called. One of his many theories was that one could curb one's sexual appetite by eating bland foods. Another man who held this belief was Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the inventor of the Corn Flakes cereal."

I'll never be able to think about my bowl of corn flakes in quite the same way.  I don't even want to think about the bananas.