The only biological son of Mary Ann Griffin and Joseph Dwight Goodale was
Allen, born in Galland’s Grove on April 10, 1867.[1] Born mentally handicapped, at the age of
three, Allen was labeled “idiot” in the census taker’s notes. In 1870, an idiot was defined as “. . . a
person the development of whose mental faculties was arrested in infancy or
childhood.” Ten years later, he was
labeled “idiotic” and “perfectly dumb but not deaf.” Ten years after that, at
the age of thirteen, his name appeared on the 1880 Defective, Dependent, and
Delinquent Class special census. This
particular census provided more details on Allen’s condition than the other
two. It stated that Allen’s idiocracy
had occurred at birth and that he had spasms. Five years later, he was labeled as both deaf
and dumb, although an earlier census stated he was dumb but not deaf. These contradictions were an indication that
with each passing census, the diagnosis of Allen’s mental condition, from his
birth to the age of eighteen, was described more accurately--perhaps so,
because shortly after this, Allen was sent to live in the Glenwood Iowa Institution
for Feeble Minded Children. His family
had cared for him until he reached adulthood, but the burden must have been so
difficult that the state took over his care at that time. He lived in the institution for the next
seven years, entering it in March 1885 and leaving it in September 1891. The institution cared for those who were not
capable of much or any mental improvement.
After seven years’ time, the commissioners of Mills County, where the
institution was located, adjudged him
to be insane; and this evaluation may have been the next step in the
process of admitting him to the state hospital in Clarinda on September 25,
1891.
Clarinda State Hospital
Admittance there would provide
better treatment suited to his mental capabilities.[2] Dr. Hester’s initial medical examination of
Allen affirmed that Allen was “insane and a fit subject for custody and
treatment in the Hospital for the Insane.”
His medical evaluation included the fact that the first symptoms of his
mental state occurred in infancy and that gradually his mental disabilities had
increased over the years, corresponding with what the census takers had
written. However, the 1891 diagnosis of
“mentally insane” was not necessarily an accurate one since his mental condition
originated from birth, whereas one who is mentally insane is usually diagnosed
as such at a later stage in life. Allen,
far from home and family, must have felt be-
trayed and perhaps displayed his
anger with various behaviors such as trying to injure himself and jumping from
and through windows.
Interestingly enough, about six months after his mother passed
away, Allen, though severely mentally handicapped, inherited the Goodale estate;
and his brother- in-law William Crandall was appointed as his guardian and as
the estate’s administrator.[3] In
February 1901, a petition by the Shelby County Court was filed against the
estate for $1622.67—a figure derived from the expenses incurred for Allen’s
support and care. The petition stated
that if Allen and William did not appear in court by September of 1902, that
they would be responsible for paying the claim.[4] Following the petition in 1902, a sale of
property from the estate was a timely transaction which would have paid the state’s
claim. Two years later, William
Crandall, preparing for his move with his family to Nebraska, filed a petition
to be discharged from guardianship responsibilities. Allen may have had little contact with any
family members after this time, as all but Minnie, his younger sister, had
moved away.
Allen was institutionalized from the age of eighteen
until his death, at the age of sixty on September 14, 1927, due to “exhaustion
from psychosis with mental deficiency.” Unlike his siblings, there was no obituary
when he passed away, just a few scattered notes from his medical records which describe
the mediocrity of his hospital life. On
December 30, 1902, “Is in fair condition physically. Is in fair flesh and quite muscular. Is eating well and is resting well. Is careless about his personal
appearance.” On January 1, 1909, “Is
much demented and has made no improvement during the past year.” On January 1, 1912, “Has undergone little
change for the past several years.” Last, January 1, 1914, “Is quiet and orderly
and in very good physical health. Is
quite badly impared mentally.” [5]
So there we have it! And if it wasn't for the hospital record, all we would know about Allen was that he was, according to the census, record labeled an "idiot" and that he lived in a state hospital for almost forty years.
[1]
Glenwood State School for the Feeble Minded Archives, email message from
<DBorck@dhs.state.ia.us>
[2] Allen
Goodale Medical Records. File No. 624.
Clarinda State Hospital.
Clarinda, Iowa.
[3] Shelby County Court Record. County Clerk’s Office, Harlan, Iowa, February
1901.
[4] Ibid., September 1902.
