Upper Canada (Ontario) Insane Asylum Inmates

Upper Canada (Ontario) Insane Asylum Inmates

The establishment of mental hospitals in Upper Canada from the 1840s to the 1880s brought some relief to mentally ill people who had previously been placed in jails, almshouses, or who had been left to care for themselves. Throughout Upper Canada’s early history, many mentally ill people were left to wander at will, provided that they neither endangered nor were perceived to endanger people or property. Others, who were viewed as disruptive or who elicited fear in the populace, were placed in almshouses, poorhouses, jails, and penitentiaries. This rise of institutional psychiatry in the form of asylums, while it did bring some relief to mentally ill people, also caused a considerable amount of misery for a portion of the asylum residents.

What they shared was a sense -- among fellow citizens, families, doctors, judges, policemen, and in time social workers -- that they were, if not actually violent, then certainly aberrant. Their odd ways were often a burden to friends and loved ones, to others offputting at best: unconventional; unpredictable; unsettling. They were disturbing -- therefore "disturbed." And maybe dangerous.

The aberrances deemed most disturbing, even if not violent (most in fact not), were those seen linked to sex. Of women locked up at the Toronto Queen Street Asylum prior to 1900, a quarter were in for "female trouble" -- "childbirth, lactation, miscarriage, menstrual disorders, uterine disorders" and other natural conditions seen as "the predisposing cause of insanity."

The following database has been constructed from records of the Toronto (Queen Street) Insane Asylum. Each record in my index consists of the name of the inmate, the home residence of the inmate (ie District,county,town), and the age of the resident.

The COMPLETE insane asylum records contain a wealth of information on your ancestor that will not be found in any other records available.

Data that may be included (* inmate details vary from case to case) in the registers includes country of birth, by whom supported (ie friends,province), sex, age, stature (mainly in pre 1850 records), color of hair and eyes (mainly in pre 1852 records), temperament (mainly in pre 1852 records), original disposition and intellect (mainly in pre 1852 records), single or married, number of children, occupation, degree of education, religion, habits of life (ie. sober,sedate,intemperate), times admitted, date of admission, date of discharge (this often death date in asylum), time in asylum, age at first attack, number of previous attacks, duration of present attack, cause of disorder (ie. hereditary, life event), form of mental disorder, hallucinations, accompanying body disorder, results (ie. died, discharged), cause of death, general observations.

* Records now indexed from 1841 through 1891. Also see link below for new Kingston Asylum Database - 3000 records indexed February 2010

* As far as locations are concerned, county, township, or town/village are recorded. Many were listed as being from Toronto, but researchers should keep in mind that most of these individuals probably were originally from elsewhere in the province. It also would appear that many of these individuals moved to or reported their residence as a nearby larger town such as Hamilton, or Ottawa...or any other town that may have been near their rural residence.

This web site is a copyright work. The reproduction, copying, downloading, storage, recording, broadcasting, retransmission and distribution of any part of these pages (including all text, compilations, graphics and source code) without the written permission of Michael Stephenson is strictly prohibited.

Insane Asylum Records Part 1
Insane Asylum Records Part 2
Insane Asylum Records Part 3

E-mail database enquiries to:

Kingston, Ontario, Insane Asylum Database
   Central Upper Canada (Ontario) Marriage Database 22650 Marriage Records Indexed
Central Upper Canada Baptism Database 25000 Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic and Church of Scotland Marriages indexed
Upper Canada (Central Ontario) Burial Database 4500 Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist and Church of Scotland Burials indexed

Eastern Upper Canada Marriage Database 1200 Anglican, Roman Catholic and Church of Scotland Marriages indexed
Eastern Upper Canada Baptism Database 3000 Anglican, Roman Catholic and Church of Scotland Baptisms indexed
Eastern Upper Canada Burial Database

   Upper Canada Land Petitions 51000 Records Indexed
Upper Canada (Ontario) Sundries Database

    Upper Canada (Ontario) Toronto Insane Asylum Database
       Upper Canada (Ontario) Kingston Insane Asylum Database
   Ontario Genealogy Historical Newspaper Collection Historical Newspaper Files from various regions of Ontario
NEWSPAPER Genealogical and Historical Records - Thousands of entries
Ontario (Upper Canada) Map Collection Great site for locating your ancestors in Ontario
Ontario Genealogy Postcard Site - Great old-time landscape views
Newcastle District CRIMINAL Database
Ontario Genealogy Database Index Site 350 000 Genealogy Records Indexed
January 2004 Join the Ontario Genealogy mail list now. Discussion group for genealogy and history of the Province of Ontario post 1867, or join the Upper Canada (Ontario) mail list now, discussion group for genealogy and history of Upper Canada prior to 1867.
Subscribe: Type subscribe in message subject and body.
Ontario Genealogy Mail List
Upper Canada Genealogy Mail List
Need HELP With Your Family Research?...

Northumberland County Genealogy and History
Victoria County Genealogy and History
Durham County Genealogy and History
Haliburton County Genealogy and History
Peterborough County History and Genealogy
Newcastle District (Upper Canada) History and Genealogy
Ontario County History and Genealogy
Upper Canada History and Genealogy
Echoes of the Past - Ontario Genealogy Home

Search the Ontario Genealogy Website

Email: