The challenge of settling the western plains of the North America was sometimes too much to endure.
On the 1900 United States Census, I found Fred Campbell, a cousin, residing in the North Dakota Hospital for the Insane at Stutsman, North Dakota. What was a bit of a surprise, he wasn’t an inmate, but an employee with the occupation of fireman. Apparently, a number of the employees lived on the grounds as the first 44 census entries on page one are the employees and their families separated from the rest of the census entries of this enumeration district.
The next page and the following six are also the hospital enumeration district and appear to be the inmates. But they are not listed as such, instead as “son”, “daughter”, “wife”, “head of household” despite being all part of dwelling/family #1. They also have occupations listed which would appear to be what they did prior to entering the institution.
Curious to learn more, I discovered this in the Wikipedia entry for the North Dakota State Hospital:
“The North Dakota territorial legislature authorized a "hospital for the insane" in 1883. On May 1, 1885, the State Hospital opened, four years before North Dakota was granted statehood. Along with the University of North Dakota , it is the only institution in North Dakota to predate statehood. “
Turns out there was a condition known as “Prairie Madness” that afflicted European settlers in the nineteenth century which helps explains why one of the first institutions in North Dakota was a mental hospital. The conditions sound truly terrible for the inmates at times in this site where it is referred to as the Jamestown State Hospital.
My personal challenge is to add Fred, his grandmother and mother to Wikitree.