Is this letter proof there was some sort of an estrangement between Ella Shipe and her father?
This refused letter was in the insanity case file for William Ira (Ira) Sargent in Adams County. Ira was committed to an Illinois state hospital in 1907 by the Adams County Court.
Court records indicate that Ira was sent to the state hospital that was located near Bartonville, Illinois. In 1911, he was injured. Letters were sent to his next of kin, including this one that was refused by his daughter. The letter to Ira's wife was returned as "unable to find" and letters to his other two daughters were apparently delivered. The envelope to Ella Shipe is marked "refused" and was in case packet with other papers regarding Ira's case.
Is this "refused" letter evidence that there was some estrangement between Ella and her father? Court papers indicate that Ella's husband was instrumental in bringing the insanity case against Ira. Perhaps their relationship was already strained when Ira was institutionalized.
All I know from the letter is that Ella (or perhaps even her husband) refused it. While it doesn't make a direct statement, the refused letter does raise the question that the the relationship between Ella and her father may have been problematic.
The material used to create this post was obtained from:
Adams County Circuit Court, Probate Case Packets, Wm. Ira Sargent, Box 307, 1907.
All I know from the letter is that Ella (or perhaps even her husband) refused it. While it doesn't make a direct statement, the refused letter does raise the question that the the relationship between Ella and her father may have been problematic.
The material used to create this post was obtained from:
Adams County Circuit Court, Probate Case Packets, Wm. Ira Sargent, Box 307, 1907.
7 comments:
It occurred to me that it was possible the problem was related to that son-in-law. Why would he try to institutionalize his father-in-law? Was there a financial gain? Could he had been a manipulator?
In this case there was really no estate or money to fight over. Ira had been in the county poor farm for a few years before the 1907 incident. The committal papers indicate that Ira and his wife were estranged at the time and it's possible that Ira was living with the son-in-law at the time.
It would be interesting if the handwriting could be compared to the husband's. I am thinking that the words about the subject in the letter weren't original to the mailing. Also, now if a certified letter is not picked up, it is sent back as "refused". Could it have been the same if the mail was to have been picked up at the post office as "general delivery" since there wasn't a Route # or address?
The note on the envelope does not say who exactly "refused" the letter. Did the receiving postmaster write this when returning to sender? Is there a narrative explaining this in the case material?
There is no narrative in the case material. There is a statement indicating notices were sent and this "refused" letter is with that statement.
There is no real way to know exactly who refused the letter--it is possible that it was the husband, but it is just as possible it was the wife.
Your narrative points out that the stamped message on the envelope states "unable to find." Was the addressee living or visiting elsewhere than at the crossed-off address? If the addressee had been home but refused delivery, there would be no occasion for the stamp and for crossing off the address.
The letter to the wife (not pictured) was stamped "unable to find." The wife was living in the area, but apparently just not in the village where the letter was sent. The wife didn't die until approximately twenty years later.
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