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Archiver > ILLASALL > 2005-11 > 1132944007


From: <>
Subject: Re: [ILLASALLE] asylum history
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 10:40:07 -0800 (PST)


Hi, Audrey--

People on the Peoria rootsweb could provide much more and better information that I, but I would guess that The Peoria State Hospital was formerly a hospital for the insane and afterwards was probably the Zeller Zone Center, which housed people who had a range of mental-emotional disorders, from depression to psychosis. Just a little history:

There were several Hospitals for the Insane located regionally around the state. For example, the Eastern Illinois Hopital for the Insane (whose name was changed to the Kankakee State Hospital in 1919) took some people from Streator, Kankakee, other surrounding areas.

I am guessing that over time all the original Hospital for the Insane went throught the same name change, and then several became Zone Centers.

It is next to impossible to get the actual records of treatment of people who were patients at these facilities, even if they were there 100 years ago. A court order is required to obtain the documents.

However, a number of county courts--maybe many or most--required court hearings, called Court Dockets or Insanity Dockets in the IRAD system, for either voluntary or involuntary commitment to one of these hospitals. I urge you to write to the IRAD depository that includes Peoria and state as much specific info on your relative as possible--complete name, when or about when he was committed, anything else you know. FYI: IRAD stands for Illinois Regional Archive Depository. Just Google for Illinois IRAD archives, and you should find a page or two that gives the depository addresses, how to request a search, etc.

Here's a start for you:

http://www.wiu.edu/library/units/archives/archives_web.sphp?id=104&format=1

Best wishes,

Tim


--- "audreyb" <> wrote:

From: "audreyb" <>
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 07:23:00 -0600
To:
Subject: Re: [ILLASALLE] asylum history

Hi: I read your info on LaSalle Co. asylum & am interested in learning more
about a great uncle John Evans who was in Peoria State Hospital. What kind
of place was this? I know very little about him. I can't find him on the
census as an adult. He supposedly married Elizabeth Justice. Don't know
when or where. He died July 1936 and is buried in City Cemetery. Can you
help? Thank you.

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