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A resource for reliable information about significant people, places, events, and things in Minnesota history.
Lydia B. Angier, ca. 1899. Photograph from box 113.H.I.4F-1 of the Fergus Falls State Hospital casebooks, 1890–1904, State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. Volume 12 (file nos. 2335–2633, October 1898–April 1899) contains case records regarding patients and their care, their care at prior institutions, and demographic and medical details, in addition to photographs of patients.
Lydia B. Angier was declared insane and committed against her will to Rochester State Hospital in 1896. For the next three years, she wrote letters arguing for her release and restoration to her old life in St. Paul, where she had run a newspaper stand. Her letters provide a window into life inside hospitals for the insane at the turn of the twentieth century, where many people faced poor living conditions and abuse.
In October 1886, a neighbor of a St. Paul woman named Lydia B. Angier filed a form with the Ramsey County Probate Court swearing to her insanity and need for commitment to a hospital for the insane. When medical doctors examined Angier, however, they found “her to be sane and not a fit subject for hospital treatment.”
Approximately a decade later, on November 13, 1896, an Associated Charities of St. Paul employee named James F. (J. F.) Jackson filed a petition alleging that Angier was insane. Newspaper coverage of her subsequent hearing in the St. Paul Globe depicted Angier as a pathetic figure selling newspapers on the street corner. It also described her as “evidently something of an intellectual genius” who believed in the US constitution rather than religion. The writer failed to mention that the Globe had covered Angier’s win in court against the City of St. Paul for property damage a year and a half earlier.
Medical doctors examined Angier again in 1896, declared her insane, and committed her to Rochester State Hospital. Drs. Sarah Linton Phelps and R. M. Phelps, a married couple, continued the medical examination at Rochester. They noted that Angier had no insane relatives, that she was not a church member, and that she did not drink alcohol. Their report described the death of her adult son, multiple circumstances regarding her son, and several lawsuits Angier had brought. They stated that one suit had been recent; after it was filed, the doctors noted, "they sent her here." It is unclear to whom "they" refers.
In January 1897, J. F. Jackson petitioned for John S. Grode to become Angier’s guardian, claiming her estate to be worth $100. Grode was a prominent citizen and estate executor whose name had been floated as a potential governor and member of the St. Paul Board of Public Works. Grode received letters granting him guardianship of Angier in February 1897. The available probate files do not describe anything further in Angier’s case, including actions Grode performed as guardian. Angier, meanwhile, remained at Rochester. “I prefer the Ramsey Co. Poor House to this place,” she wrote in a letter on May 25, 1897. “Here we are just dogs.”
In 1898, Angier wrote an inventory of her “things left in St. Paul” that estimated their value to be at least $290, showing that she disagreed with Jackson as to her net worth. On June 19, she wrote to W. A. Gates, an employee of the Board of Corrections and Charities, describing the death of a fellow patient (Anna Salzer) due to staff abuse. A case-book entry for a patient who matches Salzer’s description describes her death after a forced feeding. Angier claimed to have reported the death to a doctor herself, months earlier. In the same letter, she observed, “I have not seen enough insanity to call this an insane asylum, nor sickness, to call it a hospital.”
Hospital staff recommended Angier’s discharge from Rochester in early 1899. A doctor, however, blocked her from leaving, and she was transferred to Fergus Falls State Hospital. Angier wrote,
Trustee Titus told me that they had investigated my case[,] Doctors and Trustees had recommended my discharge[,] & I would go home in a few days[.] But Dr. Kilbourne would not let me go, and I raised a row with his lovely servants & they compelled him to send me here. I left Rochester feeling that Hell would be better than staying under the hypnotic influences of the priest-ridden panderer [name of nurse]. I do not take back one word that I have said about either of the asylums.
Fergus Falls records describe various searches for Angier’s assets, including her St. Paul valuables and bank accounts she claimed to have but did not provide detail about. Angier continued to advocate for her release, writing to William Watts Folwell (a member of the Board of Corrections and Charities) and Minnesota Governor John Lind for help. “I am still a prisoner,” she told Folwell.
Angier remained at Fergus Falls State Hospital for eight years. She died there of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 21, 1907, and was buried the next day in a numbered grave.
Author’s note: Of the letters Angier wrote, most were filed by the Rochester State Hospital Superintendent’s Office; they are also in the papers of William Watts Folwell (a member of the Board of Corrections and Charities) and in the correspondence of W. A. Gates preserved in the letters of the State Board for Corrections and Charities, both at the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS). Gates’ work for Corrections and Charities focused on investigating people who might be deported to their home states or countries. J. F. Jackson eventually became Secretary of Corrections and Charities. A letter from Jackson to Folwell written on June 8, 1899, states that Angier had written to Minnesota Governor John Lind. While J. F. Jackson occasionally appears as a correspondent of Governor Lind, there is no such entry among Lind’s governor’s correspondence (on microfilm at MNHS) on this date.
113.H.1.4F-1
Casebooks, 1890–1904
Fergus Falls State Hospital
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Personal and medical histories of each patient admitted to the hospital with updates during their stay. Lydia B. Angier’s case number is 2525 in Volume 12, File nos. 2335–2633, October 1898–April 1899.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr00352.xml
123.F.15.1B
Commitment papers, 1890-1967
Fergus Falls State Hospital
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Lydia B. Angier’s file number is 2525. See Box H, File nos. 2520-2697.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr01092.xml
105.G.3.3B
Patient records, 1890–1981
Fergus Falls State Hospital
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: See the indexes of cemeteries 1, 2, and 3, August 28, 1890–September 4, 1968. Angier’s first name appears incorrectly as “Lvoria.” The date of that transcription is unknown.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr00750.xml
113.H.2.3F-2
Statistical records, 1890–1992
Fergus Falls State Hospital
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Records (1890–1967) containing such information as admission date, patient’s name and residence, length of time in state, prior hospitalizations, and other information. Information about patients transferred to Fergus Falls State Hospital on February 14, 1899, from Rochester State Hospital begin with Fergus Falls case number 2323 and end several pages later with case number 2572 is in Volume 2, file nos. 1523–3094, August 1896–July 1900. Lydia B. Angier’s Fergus Falls case number is 2525.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr01098.xml
P335
William Watts Folwell and family papers, 1769–1950
Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Folwell’s correspondence related to the Board of Corrections and Charities, both undated and from April 1895 to July 1902, provides information about the inner workings of the board in that time period. See box 23.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00880.xml
114.B.20.6F
Patient casebooks, 1879–1903
Rochester State Hospital
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Personal and medical histories of each patient admitted to the hospital. Lydia B. Angier is case number 4577 in Volume No. 30, Women, October 22, 1895–November 2, 1896. See also the record for Anna Salzer (case no. 4792) in Volume No. 34, Women, December 15, 1896–September 24, 1897 (114.B.20.7B).
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr01024.xml
114.B.15.4(F)
Superintendent’s Office correspondence, 1885–1961
Rochester State Hospital
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence concerning hospital administration and facilities, patients, medical matters, relations with other hospitals and with supervisory agencies, nurses’ training, deaths and discharges, supplies and equipment, personnel, and the superintendent’s professional affiliation. The bulk of Lydia B. Angier’s letters are filed with other patient letters, in the “letters received” section. Angier’s letters are in a folder labeled “Selection of interesting patient letters.” The box is otherwise unarranged.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr01029.xml
109.I.6.8F
Letters received, 1897–1900
State Board of Corrections and Charities
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Letters received by W. A. Gates, agent for the board in matters relating to the determination of residence (and thus, liability for payment for the support) of indigent or insane residents of Minnesota. Letters from Lydia B. Angier to Mr. Gates are in folder A.
120.A.2.4F
Published records, 1886–1901
State Board of Corrections and Charities
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Published records, including the Minnesota Bulletin of the Board of Corrections and Charities, which describe the work of the board, its employees, and members. The March 1898 edition (vol. 11, no. 4) contains a sketch of Secretary James F. Jackson, including his prior work with the Associated Charities of St. Paul. This volume is in a bound book of Minnesota Bulletins containing quarterly circulars and the Minnesota Bulletin of Corrections and Charities, nos. 35–52.
“Angier, Lydia B.” R. L. Polk and Co.’s St. Paul City Directory. St. Paul: R. L. Polk and Company, 1886.
[Cartoon]. St. Paul Daily Globe, January 12, 1896.
“Field of Politics.” St. Paul Daily Globe, January 12, 1896.
Lydia B. Angier death certificate, 1907-54-929 (microfilm). Otter Tail County. Minnesota Historical Society library, St. Paul.
“Lydia B. Angier, Insane.” File no. 3893, October 8, 1886. Probate records, file nos. 3816–2904. District and Probate Courts. Minnesota, US, Wills and Probate Records, 1801–1925. Ancestry.com.
“Mathisen, Olaves.” R. L. Polk and Co.’s St. Paul City Directory. St. Paul: R. L. Polk and Company, 1886.
“Minor Suits.” St. Paul Daily Globe, May 24, 1895.
“Mrs. Remmeter' [sic] Guardian. Her Brother-in-Law, Mathias Ross, Is Named.” St. Paul Globe, February 3, 1897.
SAM 54 [microfilm]. Roll 7, volume 14, May 18–August 8, 1899. Minnesota Governor. Letters Sent: letterpress, 1889–1916. Lind. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.
https://mnpals-mhs.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01MNPALS_MHS/ge68j0/alma990017102660104294
“Will Be Cared For.” St. Paul Globe, November 14, 1896.
"Will Drop Wilson." St. Paul Daily Globe, February 14, 1896.
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On November 13, 1896, James F. Jackson files a petition alleging that Lydia B. Angier is insane.
The Ramsey County Probate Court detains Lydia B. Angier on October 8 after a neighbor swears to her insanity. Physicians examine her, find her to be sane, and order her release the next day.
On November 13, James F. (J. F.) Jackson of Associated Charities of St. Paul petitions the Ramsey County probate court, swearing that “Lydia B. Angier is insane and a proper subject for custody, care and treatment in a hospital for the insane….”
Sheriff’s Deputy P. C. Haas and an attendant named Miss Akers bring Angier to the Hospital for the Insane at Rochester later on November 13, arriving at 9 pm.
The St. Paul Globe writes about Angier’s hearing on November 14 under the headline “Will Be Cared For,” noting Angier’s surprise at the outcome and her complaints of rotten food provided to her by the Relief Society.
Doctors R. M. and S. L. Phelps examine Angier on November 14 at Rochester State Hospital. They document the chemical content of her urine, numerous gynecological details, skull measurements, and blindness in her right eye.
On January 18, J. F. Jackson petitions the Ramsey County Probate Court to make John S. Grode Angier’s guardian; he claims the probable value of Angier’s estate is $100. Grode is eventually appointed Angier’s guardian.
Angier writes to W. A. Gates, agent of the State Board of Corrections & Charities, on May 25: “I had a home and friends in St. Paul. My rent [was] paid five weeks in advance. They have kept me here long enough to rob me of all I had in St. Paul.”
Angier writes a detailed inventory of the things she left behind in St. Paul, including a shotgun; a Smith and Wesson revolver; old coins worth over fifty dollars; and windows, doors, and lumber. Angier estimates their total value at $290.
On June 19, Angier writes again to W. A. Gates, this time alleging the death of a fellow patient due to abuse by staff, describing a woman who had arrived in June 1897. Angier says she reported the death to Dr. Kilbourne on November 9, 1897.
Along with nearly fifty other patients, Angier is transferred to Fergus Falls State Hospital from Rochester State Hospital on February 14.
On April 26, staff note in Angier’s Fergus Falls State Hospital casebook that after Angier was told that “her discharge had been recommended and that her means of support were being investigated, patient became very angry….”
Jackson, now Superintendent of the Board of Corrections and Charities, writes to board member William Watts Folwell on June 8 that Angier has written to the governor that morning. He describes the note as “a little worse than the average of her letters.”
On July 24, Angier writes to Professor Folwell, “I am still a prisoner,” despite being told by officials that she was approved for discharge as recently as eleven months prior.
Angier dies of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 21 in Fergus Falls State Hospital.
Angier is buried in a numbered grave in a cemetery at Fergus Falls State Hospital on May 22.
Made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008. Administered by the Minnesota Historical Society.
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