Mary Rebecca Smith, my great-great-grandmother,
was born on Halloween, 1849, in Georgia. June 1869, she
married John W Black in Grimes County, Texas; three sons and three
daughters were born to their union. John passed away in March
of 1884, leaving the 35-year-old Mary with six small children from
four months to 13 years of age.
One would think that the young
mother would have remarried, but as census records bear out, that
was not the case. In 1900, I found Mary and her two youngest
children, Wayne and Fannie, living with her oldest daughter, Mary
Alice, her husband, John M Machen, and their family. In June
of 1911, Mary was committed to the Austin State Lunatic Asylum in
Austin, Texas, by her son-in-law, W T Higgins.
For 19 years, five months, and
13 days, this was her home; this is where she
died. I was
able to obtain her commitment papers, and her patient file a few
years ago. It was heartbreaking to read that the condition
for which she was committed could have been easily treated with
Vitamin B-12.
