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Disabilities !!!

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  • Disabilities !!!

    I have a feeling that their seems to be some sort of "hereditory" problem which seems to stem from my great grandparents. for example:-

    My first cousin (my dads sisters daughter) has a son, born in 1951 who has a very young mental age, about 8-10years

    My first cousin (my dads other sisters daughter) was born in 1935 and she only obtained the mental age of about 8

    My first cousin (my dads brothers son) has a son, born in 1961,again with a very low mental age.

    These are relatives I know, but I have found throughout the various census, that my grandfathers brother, born in 1875, never married and always lived at home.

    I think that he suffered from some sort of disability although there is no record of a disablity in each of the 81/91/1901 census.

    Would there be any records where he may have been recorded as having some sort of disablity or is this the sort of thing that would have been "kept in the cupboard"???

    Kathlyn

  • #2
    Although such disabilities were supposed to be recorded on censuses, in practice they often weren't. I suspect that if the family made itself responsible for the wellbeing of family members, then there would be a great deal of under-recording.
    Did your geat uncle have a similar occupation to that of his brother? Living at home would not necessarily be a proof of being unable to cope by oneself. One relative of mine clearly had difficulties, but I only discovered this because he was in prison in the 1881 census. He was evidently in and out of prison every few months, always for minor crimes like drunkenness and vagrancy.
    Phoenix - with charred feathers
    Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.

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    • #3
      Gosh, I don't think you can assume an hereditary problem on the above information!

      The children who only reached a mental age of 8...this could have been brain damage caused at birth, or sometime in infancy. It isn't an indicator of an inherited problem in itself.

      Men not marrying...could be gay, but could equally be pining for their one true love who died young, or they were needed at home by a bossy mother who saw off any potential bride.

      I know of one couple, engaged for almost 30 years, did not marry until his mother died because "he couldn't leave her on her own". People were far more aware of their family "responsibilities" back then, I think.

      OC

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