By Ellen | November 12, 2015
By Julie Stricker ( jstricker@newsminer.com) Jun 10, 2015 FAIRBANKS — Back in Alaska’s territorial days, it wasn’t uncommon for a gold miner to go berserk in a lonely, remote cabin. A woman on an isolated homestead might fall into severe, debilitating depression, becoming catatonic. The territory also had its share of violent, sometimes mentally ill […]
It’s time for memorial in Alaska. “The Gardens at Saint Elizabeths — A National Memorial of Recovered Dignity is being designed by the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design, and will be incorporated into the existing 10-acre cemetery adjacent to the new hospital. Saint Elizabeths, which opened in 1855, was the first federally […]
[image title=”” size=”full” id=”1531″ align=”center” linkto=”viewer” ] The Morningside Hospital patient database will soon be available on FamilySearch.org, the largest collection of genealogical and historical records in the world. And, not only is it the largest collection, you can use it for free. Here’s some background from their website: “FamilySearch, historically known as the Genealogical Society […]
By Ellen | December 23, 2014
The text on the photo reads: Christmas Festivities at Morningside Morningside Hospital provided three Christmas trees for the inmates. Natives helped to provide the entertainment which was held in the Assembly room in the new Parole House. Gifts were provided for all the patients in the institution by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, the Chief Officer. […]
By Ellen | April 10, 2014
My last post was about citizens being hired by the U.S. Marshall to take patients from Alaska to Oregon. The article below details one of the more exciting trips. Patient Jennie Zimmerman was 49 and from Fairbanks. She was admitted to Morningside Hospital on March 2, 1919. Her diagnosis on admission was, “Paretic, noisy and […]
By Ellen | January 7, 2014
I got an interesting email yesterday from John Drews, who relayed a part of the Morningside story I’d never heard before. “Many years ago I interviewed a gentleman in Fairbanks who had worked as a Deputy Marshall in Alaska during the territorial days. He told me about criminals and “others” that would be held in […]
By Ellen | December 31, 2013
When the Lost Alaskans blog went online five years ago, we began to hear from people who were searching for friends and relatives who were committed to Morningside Hospital, some as long as one hundred years ago. We hope the Morningside Hospital Patient Database will make their search easier and answer their questions. There are […]
By Ellen | December 4, 2013
Niesje Steinkruger sent this picture of the Valdez Stage. Her description is below. Keep in mind that the trail between Fairbanks and Valdez was 400 miles long. “This is a good picture of the Valdez Stage. Many patients travelled from Fairbanks and the Interior to Valdez via this Stage. It was a long, hard trip by […]
By Ellen | November 20, 2013
Published: Sunday, August 26, 2012, 6:00 AM I read with interest The Oregonian’s Aug. 5 article about Morningside Hospital. The article focused primarily on the deaths and inadequate care of the “inmates.” The researchers said they’d never heard of the hospital before, so they obviously had no firsthand knowledge of its standards and practices. […]
By Ellen | September 18, 2013
Nearly 300 more death certificates are now available in the Morningside Hospital Research Archive. Once again, we have Eric Cordingley and David Anderson of Portland to thank for these invaluable records. I’m sure they’re on a first name basis with everyone who works at the State of Oregon Archives. Thanks to Eric and David’s […]
