Last week’s October meeting of the PGSNYS featured Rosanne L. Higgins, Ph.D., who presented a fascinating look at the evolution of the mental health care system in New York State. As Dr. Higgins explained, the very first mental asylum in the U.S. was the Utica State Hospital, which opened in 1843. Subsequently, the Buffalo State Asylum opened in 1880, designed by Dr. Thomas Kirkbride with a goal of providing compassionate care according to principles of Moral Management. Prior to the 1880s, Poor Houses sheltered those with mental illnesses, along with those who were unable to work due to physical disability. Dr. Higgins noted that although medical records from the Buffalo State Asylum and its successors are unavailable to genealogists, records from the Erie County Poorhouse and its succeeding institutions have been digitized and are available in the online collections of the Grosvenor Room. You can read about them here, and the nine-volume collection, spanning 1864–1952, is available here.

The recording of Dr. Higgins’ lecture, “A History of Mental Health Care and Its Institutions in New York State,” is now available on our Meeting Recordings page for members to access. Dr. Higgins’ books, inspired by her research into the Poor House records, can be purchased here.