Product Ref: FHF-109
My Ancestor was a ... Lunatic by Kathy Chater
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My Ancestor was a ... Lunatic: A Guide to Sources for Family Historians by Kathy Chater is a sensitive and insightful handbook for genealogists exploring the often-hidden stories of ancestors affected by mental illness or disability. Part of the My Ancestor Was... series from the Society of Genealogists, this guide helps researchers navigate the complex and sometimes stigmatized history of institutional care.
Here’s what makes it especially valuable:
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Mental health focus: Explores how mental illness and intellectual disability were historically treated, often within the same institutions, and how this shaped record-keeping.
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Source guidance: Points to surviving medical records, asylum registers, case files, and documents related to the criminally insane, suicides, and carers.
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Historical overview: Traces attitudes toward mental health from medieval times to the present, offering context for how and why ancestors may have “disappeared” from the family tree.
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Regional coverage: Includes chapters on records in Scotland and Ireland, expanding its usefulness beyond England.
It’s ideal for researchers confronting gaps in family history or seeking to understand the lived experience of ancestors in institutional care.
ISBN : 9781907199325