CA-DEATH-INDEX-L Archives

From: Marie <>
Subject: Re: [CADI] CA Memorial Project - honoring those who died at Stockton State Hospital
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 08:20:41 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <IJEDILDONBKDOLNFINOFAELBEMAA.margecam@comcast.net>

What a wonderful idea... to give voice for those who
had none. The flier mentions that the project was
interested in any California state hospital....

I have a sad tail of a little girl who was committed
to Sonoma State Hospital on September 4, 1923 when she
was but 11 years old. Her med file list her as blind
and "low imbecile". She suffered six years in that
institution before she passed into peace on February
22, 1929 of cerebrospinal meningitis.

Her name was Claris E. Montgomery. Her "medical" file
is surprisingly short. There are only 5 entries in the
log in 1923, 7 in 1924, 1 in 1925, 1 in 1926, and 2 in
1927. Nothing entered for the last two years that she
was there. Most log entries were Wessermann test (all
being negative) and Salvarsan treatments. I asked
someone once why a child would need so many syphilis
tests and treatments, I was told that there were some
of these "hospitals" that were not segregated. The
children were not separated from the adults nor the
men from the women. Not sure if this was one of those
facilities but the possibility brings to mind the
potential of horrific things happening to an innocent
blind child. In any event she must have been so scared
poor little angel.


Would it be possible to add her name to this memorial?






--- Margie Campbell <> wrote:

> Hi All:
> I just received a notice from the CALIFORNIA
> MEMORIAL PROJECT (CMP)there
> they will be holding the 2005 Memorial tribute to
> those who died in the care
> of the Stockton State Asylum/Hospital.
>
> All are welcome to attend. If you have a family
> member who resided at the
> state hospital, or died there, and are willing to
> tell a story about them...
> the CMP would be interested in having that story
> told at the memorial.
> Please contact me, Marge Campbell & I will get you
> in contact with Alicia
> Mendoza. The flyer I received reads:
>
> SAVE THE DATE!
>
> CALIFORNIA MEMORIAL PROJECT REMEMBRANCE DAY
> CELEBRATION
>
> WHEN: September 19th, 2005
>
> TIME: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
>
> WHERE: Stockton Rural Cemetery
>
> The California Memorial Project (CMP) is a
> collaboration of the California
> Network of Mental Health Clients (CNMHC), The Peer
> Self-Advocacy Unit of
> Protection & Advocacy, Inc. (PAI), and People First
> of California. Our goal
> is to honor and restore dignity to those individuals
> that lived and died in
> stte hospitals by restoring hospitals and
> institutional cemeteries,
> documentation of the history of the client movement
> in California, and
> collecting the oral histories of those that lived in
> state hospitals and
> institutions.
>
> For more information contact Alicia Mendoza (her
> phone number)
>
> I did not post Alicia's phone number here, but if
> you are at all interested
> in helping, or just getting more information, please
> email me, Marge
> Campbell at <> or at
> <> , and I will
> be happy to forward her phone number to you.
>
> This, in my opinion is a wonderful way to get to
> know those in our community
> with mental/physical disabilities who have become
> activists in their own
> rights, who have overcome adverse circumstances
> beyond their control,
> rallying to make life better for themselves & now to
> aknowledge and give
> dignity to those who were unfortunate enough to have
> lived and died in the
> care of this state.
>
> The memorial project is being planned by
> developmentally disabled, with the
> help of kind folks like Alicia.
>
> Marge Campbell
>




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This thread:

• CA Memorial Project - honoring those who died at Stockton State Hospital by "Margie Campbell" <>

  • Re: [CADI] CA Memorial Project - honoring those who died at Stockton State Hospital by Marie <>