I'm still working on this post...
What you're about to read is derived from research in archive centres, libraries, personal collections etc. As with everything in the before we leave archive, all the information is already in the public domain (I've just made it easier for you to research parish history, is all). If you've a particular research interest and would like to see my photographs of the original documents (letters, medical records, newspaper clippings etc.) please contact me.
The Story of Joseph Monkhouse (1836-1915)
Introduction
Joseph Monkhouse was born in Brigham in 1836 to a family that would know remarkable achievement and profound sorrow. Joseph was the son of William Monkhouse, a coal miner who would later become a colliery steward, and his first wife Jane (nee Graham, I think). Nothing in Joseph's humble beginnings hinted at the engineering career ahead of him, the substantial investments he would accumulate, or the decades he would spend behind the walls of Garlands Asylum. Joseph's path from errand boy to mining engineer represented an extraordinary leap in Victorian society, achieved insofar as I can tell, without formal education past the school leaving age of the day.
1840s
By 1841, as shown on that census, Joseph and his family were living in Gilcrux. Joseph was 5, his younger sisters were Mary Ann and Elizabeth.
1850s
Joseph's mother, Jane, died of tuberculosis in 1851, leaving by this time, six children.
The 1851 census, by which time Joseph's father is widowed, lists Joseph, fifteen years old, as errand boy.
It was common to remarry, back then, and perhaps later that year or soon after, William married widower Ann (nee Wright, her maiden name was Graham.)
In 1854, Joseph's sister, Catherine, a little under ten years of age, died from a form of malnutrition.
On December 10, 1857, Ann and William's one year-old baby, Ann, died from tabes meserentica.
December 16, 1859, Ann and William's son, Henry, not yet two years-old, died from typhus.
And on December 26 that same year, Joseph's brother, John, eighteen, died from typhus.
1860s
At the time of the 1861 census, Joseph was in his mid twenties, a colliery clerk, living at home.
By 1861, the population of the parish had grown to 653, "as a result of expansion of coal mining." (2) At a time when many lacked formal education, approximately 30-40% of men and 40-50% of women in rural Cumberland were unable to sign their names on marriage registers in 1861 (a common measure of basic literacy. See footnotes 3 and 4). Joseph must have had literacy, numeracy, and organisational skills to be a clerk - record keeping and payroll management, financial documentation, contract administration...
Joseph's father, William, died January 11 1864. His medical conditions listed on his death certificate suggest he may have suffered from occupational illness, emphysema was common among those working in mining environments due to dust exposure, even for those in supervisory roles who spent time underground. The multiple health conditions (lung disease, heart disease, and dropsy [fluid retention]) indicate William likely suffered for some time before his death.
On May 16 1864, Joseph's sister Elizabeth (twenty-four) married Thomas Barton at Ireby Church. Their firstborn, William, was christened in Gilcrux on October 9 1864.
1870s
The 1871 census shows Joseph was living at home with his stepmother, Ann, and his half siblings, Isaac, Thomas, William, Catherine, John Henry and James. Joseph is listed as being Ann's nephew.
In 1871, Ann is farming five acres of land (what was the Old Vicarage?/Rose Cottage?)
Ann's three eldest sons, living at home, are working in the mining industry. One is an apprentice Mining Engineer, two are Brakesmen.
I can't find any concrete information about Ann after the 1871 census.
Elizabeth, her husband Thomas, their six year-old son [William Monkhouse Barton?] and their one year-old niece, Jane, live in Gilcrux at the time of the 1871 census.
1880s
On the 1881 census, Joseph is the head of his household and lives with his youngest sister, Jane (thirty-four) and his eleven year-old niece, Jane Ann.
1890s
When Jane, Joseph's youngest sister, died of rheumatic fever on January 21, 1890, her death triggered significant changes in the family's circumstances.
Records show that Joseph was first admitted to Garlands (which first opened in 1862) on November 11, 1890. Further, Joseph's niece, Jane Ann, was admitted to Garlands soon after Jane had died because she appears on the 1891 census for that institution where Jane Ann (twenty-one years of age) is listed as a former dressmaker. Dressmaking is a role I think Jane Ann continued throughout her life at Garlands.
Abridged Transcript:
Lunacy Act 1890.
I hereby undertake to pay the sum of £1 : 1s. 0d., the Admission Fee for Joseph Monkhouse on his being received into the said Asylum, and the sum of fourteen shillings a week during the time that he is a Patient in the said Asylum; and I also agree to remove the said Patient from the said Asylum, at any time when called upon by you to do so.
Name: Elizabeth Barton. Address: Gilcrux Cockermouth.
Date: November 27th 1890.
I John Ritson having called to my assistance John Crerar of Maryport, qualified medical practitioner, and being satisfied that Joseph Monkhouse of Gilcrux, Mining Engineer, is in such circumstances to require relief for his proper care and maintenance, and that the said Joseph Monkhouse is a person of unsound mind and a proper person to be taken charge of and detained under care and treatment. I hereby direct you to receive the said Joseph Monkhouse as a patient into your Asylum. Subjoined is a statement of particulars respecting the said Joseph Monkhouse.
Signed: John Ritson, a Justice of the Peace for Cumberland.
Dated the 11th Day of November one thousand eight hundred and ninety.
Joseph Monkhouse.
Male 55 years.
Single.
Mining Engineer.
Church of England.
Whether first attack: Yes.
Age on first attack: 54 years.
When and where previously under care and treatment as a lunatic, idiot, or person of unsound mind: Nowhere.
Duration of existing attack: about four months.
Supposed cause: Hereditary and excessive application to Business.
Whether subject to epilepsy: No.
Whether suicidal: No.
Whether dangerous to others and in what way: No.
Whether any near relative has been afflicted with insanity: his eldest sister and a niece.
Union to which lunatic is chargeable: Cockermouth Union.
Names, Christian names, and full postal address of one or more relatives of the patient: Mrs. Thos. Barton, Gilcrux, Cockermouth.
Name of the person to whom notice of death to be sent, and full postal address if not already given: Mrs. Thos. Barton, Gilcrux, Cockermouth.
Signed: G L Collins, Relieving Officer, Cockermouth Union.
I the undersigned John Crerar do hereby certify as follows:
I am a person registered under the Medical Act 1858, and I am in the actual practice of the medical profession. On the 11th day of November 1890, at the Maryport Railway Station, I personally examined the said Joseph Monkhouse and came to the conclusion that he is a person of unsound mind, and a proper person to be taken charge of and detained under care and treatment. He tells me he sees and hears things which are impossible, and that he is being continually persecuted by unseen personages .... His sister, Mrs Barton, wife of Thomas Barton, residing at Gilcrux, informed me that he suspects a person or persons to be habitually throwing currents of electricity at him with the effect of overpowering him; another person throwing blue light at him; that he maintains that he hears conversations uttered many miles distant.
In the Register of Admissions for Garlands the records say Joseph, admitted November 11, 1890, is a 55 year-old single man, a mining engineer, whose education is R&W, whose religion is CoE. Joseph is 68 inches high and weighs 161 lbs. The name of his disease, the records state, is "mania." His disposition and habits in health are: "Steady and industrious, but eccentric." As for Joseph's mental health history, this is his first attack (lasting "about 4 months") though a "sister and niece insane." Joseph is neither depressed nor excited, but on the subject of his enfeeblement: "Is an intelligent man except on the subject of his delusions."
Joseph, the records state, has a good memory, is coherent and can answer questions. But he has delusions "That people throw electric contrivances onto him, and that, except at night, they have some peculiar means of seeing everything he writes."
As for his appearance, Joseph looks "an intelligent but prematurely aged man .... grey hair, very bald." He has blue eyes, his muscularity is good, and his nervous system is recorded as "general muscular tremulousness on effort." Joseph's reflexes, special senses and lungs seem normal and healthy. His tongue is "tremulous and rather dry," and he has a good appetite.
"Was quiet last night but did not sleep very well. Is a quiet, orderly man. Talks intelligently on general subjects, except his delusions, in telling of which he hesitates & seems at a loss to express his meaning in suitable words; he also talks more quickly & excited when referring to his delusions. He states that prior to admission he was half poisoned, that he was electrified from the west end of his village, & that the people who electrified had occult means of knowing what he was writing. He said that even if he got inside an iron boiler they had the means of seeing what he was writing about. He also says that he has not experienced any electric influences since he came to the asylum; but that the people outside can still make themselves conversant with what he writes about. Takes food well & sleeps fairly well. Behaves quietly. Readily expresses his delusions."
"He told me today that for 3 years electricity has been played on him. That people 'would off come' [give him shocks?], & that they caused see what he did & wrote in his house through the shutters when shut. He is in average h.h. [health?] No active disease detected but his heart's action is not strong & the second sound is not quite distinct at termination. No marks of injury on body. Behaves quietly, is obedient & easily managed. Complains that he receives electric shocks every alternate night. These sometimes affect his throat & at others his genitals. He believes that this electric force is in the air & that he inhales it if he breathes through his mouth, but that if he breathes through his nose it cannot enter his system. He talks for a reason in his position, intelligently on subjects unconnected with his delusions. Takes food well. Sleeps fairly."
Reading this now, I find myself wondering what we'd call Joseph's condition today?
He believed people had been "playing" electricity on him for three years. He thought they could see through his shutters when they were shut. He felt electric shocks every other night, affecting his throat and genitals. He'd even developed a protective behaviour - breathing through his nose rather than his mouth to keep the "electricity" out of his system.
The medical notes say there were no physical injuries, no active disease, though the doctors noted something about his heart sounds. It seems they were checking his body as well as his mind. What strikes me is how the doctors describe him outside of these beliefs - quiet, obedient, speaking intelligently about everything except the delusions. He was looking after himself, eating well, sleeping fairly.
"It has been explained to him that what he mistakes for electric shocks are due to abnormal nerve currents & he seems inclined now to adopt this idea which he cordially grasps. He however still believes that some people can by some occult means divine what he is writing. Complains of his right arm feeling numb of a morning tho' he has been careful to avoid pressure on it. Takes food & sleeps well & behaves quietly."
This entry fascinates me. The doctors tried to offer Joseph another explanation for what he was experiencing. Not "you're wrong" but "perhaps it's this instead." They reframed the electric shocks as nerve currents. And Joseph seemed to accept this, at least partially. He "cordially grasps" the idea. But he still believed people could know what he was writing by some occult means. One belief shifts, another holds firm. Then there's this new complaint about his arm feeling numb in the mornings, though he says he's been careful not to put pressure on it.
The repeated "No change" entries in Joseph's records suggest his condition stayed stable for a while. Neither better nor worse.
In the margins of the records, there's a notation confirming: "Cert. of Dr. Campbell & Dr. Thos." This refers to the formal medical certification required for asylum admission during this period.
"He is suffering from Mania. He holds expressed delusions about persecution & the extraordinary action towards him of unknown enemies who for months have rendered his life miserable & who in spite of the precautions taken here are still able to molest him. He told me that although since he came here he had been fairly free of the actions of his enemies yet that last Saturday night they had been able to get their instruments into play upon him & that they gave him fearful electric shocks. He specified the date correctly & fully as Last Saturday the 27th December 1890. On the whole his mental state is improved. He is in weak health. Heart action feeble. 2nd sound indistinct at termination. No marks on body."
So despite the doctors' earlier attempts to reframe his experiences, Joseph had another episode. "Fearful electric shocks" on Saturday December 27, 1890. He remembered the date precisely. The doctor notes this - "specified the date correctly" - as if Joseph's memory and awareness of time mattered alongside everything else. And then, curiously, the doctor writes "on the whole his mental state is improved." Improved, despite the relapse? His physical health gets attention too - weak, feeble heart action - but again, no marks on his body.
The next entry documents treatment.
"Was laid up for a few days with lumbago, from which he has now recovered. Has been taking Pot Bromid ℨi Salt Ricorb ℨiii [a medicinal formula] Says he feels much the better for the medicine. He has been out on a fortnight's trial."
Potassium bromide. I've read that doctors used this as a sedative back then. And then Joseph went "out on a fortnight's trial" - was this a visit home? A test to see if he could manage outside the asylum?
The final entries show something shifting.
"Doing light work out of doors. Beh: much improved."
"No change."
"Quiet & orderly. No change. Beh: improved."
"Has improved a good deal. No longer expresses any delusions. Talks civilly..."
Either Joseph's delusions had gone, or he'd learned not to speak of them.
In May 1891, they discharged him.
What Joseph's records show me, more than anything, is how carefully the doctors at Garlands were paying attention. They documented his symptoms, his physical health, what medicines he took, how he behaved, whether he slept and ate. They tried different approaches - medication, outdoor work, trial periods away from the asylum. They noted everything, in that careful Victorian hand. I don't have any medical knowledge to say what Joseph's condition was in modern terms, or whether the treatments helped or whether time simply did its work. But the records exist, and they tell us Joseph Monkhouse spent those months at Garlands, and then he came home.
Or did he? More soon.