Jane's Illness: Home Care, Her Doctor & Her Caretakers

Vasily Polenov, The Patient, public domain

 

Over the past few weeks, we've discovered that Jane Darragh, my great-great grandmother who died of acute mania, may have had multiple episodes of the disease. Her children's births were separated by several years in some cases—unusual for the time—suggesting that she experienced infertility, miscarriages, or stillbirths during her childbearing years. And we learned that Jane likely supported her husband Charles' blacksmith career by caring for their home and four children.

This week, we'll look at whether Jane was institutionalized for her mania, what her treatment might have been, and who her physician was.

 

It does not appear that Jane was ever institutionalized for her illness, at least for the episode prior to her death. 

Medical practice of the day suggested there were two options for treating acute mania; the first was to treat the person in the home if they were amenable, for example, willing to eat food offered or to take medications. If the patient would not follow recommendations, if they were delusional, lacked willpower, were violent or feeble, or if a suitable caretaker to monitor them was not available, then treatment in an institution where they could be strictly monitored was recommended.¹ 

The fact that Jane's death certificate was signed by Dr. John Sheahan, a local physician, suggests that she was under his care in her St. Catharines home for the five weeks prior to her death.² There was an asylum nearby in Hamilton, Ontario, that she might have been sent to if home treatment did not work.³ If she had been institutionalized, however, her death record would have been signed off on by asylum physician, as was the case on many other death records in Ontario that year.

 

Hamilton Hospital for the Insane was about 35 miles from St. Catharines. There is no indication that Jane was treated there. (The Asylums Project)

Jane's Physician, Dr. John Sheahan, was young and likely to be familiar with the latest treatments recommended for mental illness.

Dr. John D. Sheahan opened an office in St. Catharines in mid-September 1896, a few years prior to Jane's death. His office on Church Street in St. Catharines was just a few blocks from Jane's home on Chestnut St.⁴

Dr. John Sheahan in later years.

Dr. Sheahan had graduated from the University of Toronto in 1895, prior to opening his St. Catharines practice. He was licensed to practice by the College of Physicians and Surgeon of Ontario, after sitting for and passing three exams covering the fields of medicine, surgery, and obstetrics. A tribute after his death noted, "Throughout his long career, Dr. Sheahan was a staunch advocate of improved medical treatment...," suggesting that he would have known of and perhaps advocated for the latest treatments for mental illnesses.⁵

Dr. Sheahan was active in many of the same activities as Jane's husband, Charles. He was a member of the local Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, and a parishioner at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria.⁶ He likely knew Charles and Jane both personally and professionally.

Sheahan was mentioned in numerous newspaper articles as responding to St. Catharines residents' accidents, illnesses, and injuries.⁷ He was a highly respected and trusted member of the community. It would be natural for the Cassidy family to turn to him to treat Jane's illness.

 

Jane was likely treated with medications to help her sleep, with plentiful food, with as much quiet as possible around her, and was watched over by a caretaker—possibly an elder daughter—to ensure that this treatment was strictly followed.

Keeping Jane calm, rested, and strengthened would have been Dr. Sheahan's recommendation, in line with contemporary medical practice. "We are threatened with exhaustion and death of our patient unless rest, artificial or natural, is procured...the fire of acute mania will burn out after a time, if we can only in the meantime keep up the strength with food, and quiet the nervous system."⁸

Treatments were considered both moral and therapeutic. The moral treatment, a movement originating in Europe in the mid-19th century, focused on everything in the environment around the patient, such as the personal attendants, the room, and whether the patient was amenable to discipline.⁹

Under these guidelines, food was to be freely given to help Jane maintain or gain weight. Narcotics such as opium, sulfonal, sodium bromide, or chloral might have been prescribed to calm her and allow rest.¹⁰ She might have been encouraged to get fresh air and exercise to help her sleep well.¹¹ It was thought that with such treatment, an episode of acute mania would run its course in three to six months.¹²

It's possibly that either or both of Jane's two daughters were her caretakers during this time, as their father Charles had his blacksmith business to run. Jane had no relatives to speak of in the area. Charles' mother and siblings lived in St. Catharines in the early days of his marriage to Jane, but by 1900 several had moved to Cleveland, Ohio.¹³ It makes sense that Jane's immediate family would step in first to help. 

If Jane were to be treated at home, Dr. Sheahan would have looked for caretakers who possessed the necessary temperament to administer his recommended. They needed to have common sense, empathy, and compassion. Jane's eldest daughter, my great-grandmother Catherine "Kate" Cassidy, who was then 17, and her sister, Mary Jane, then 15, could have shared the role to watch over their mother, as well as to care for the household, and mind their younger brothers, Philip, age 11, and James, age 3. 

If these young women looked after Jane, they might have been torn between duty to her and the emotionally and physically draining business of caring for her in addition to the household. One wonders about what manic symptoms Jane displayed and how that might have affected them. Like other mania patients, did she talk relentlessly or attack herself or others? Did she tear her clothes or destroy family belongings? Did she hallucinate or have delusions that Kate or Mary Jane witnessed? How might they have felt in such roles? Were they strong emotionally? Did they feel up to the task, or did they feel overwhelmed and helpless?

Caring for Jane in her illness, as well as a home and family would have been a heavy burden. (Photo by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on Unsplash)

 

As Jane's symptoms progressed towards her death, what distressing symptoms might her family have witnessed? As she gradually wore herself out, she may have been awake for hours or days at a time, unable or refusing to eat, her mind a tangle of thoughts and ideas, rarely lucid.

Who could the family turn to in their time of need? Could their neighbors, friends, or their church be a source of comfort? Next week, we'll look at the community and the Catholic Church and how they might have responded to Jane's illness.

Until next time...

 

NOTES 

¹ John Bassett Chapin, A Compendium of Insanity (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1898), 137; imaged, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/acompendiuminsa00chapgoog/page/n150/mode/2up?q=acute+mania : accessed 11 Julu 2026).

² St. Catharines, Lincoln County, Death Registrations, vol. "6", 1903, p. 433, Mary Jane Cassidy (53), 23 October 1903; database with images, "Canada, Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q93-C9YJ-GGNQ : accessed 28 January 2022); Deaths > 1903 > no 13721-19304 > image 865 of 1730; citing Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto. 

³ Asylum Projects (https://asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Hamilton_Psychiatric_Hospital : accessed 21 July 2026), "Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital." 

⁴ "City and Vicinity News," The Twice a Week Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario), 10 Sept. 1896, Dr. J. Sheahan to open office; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1017908994/ : accessed 16 July 2026). 

⁵ "Dr. John Sheahan Dies at 90," The St. Catharines Standard (Ontario), 28 September 1961, p. 1, col. 9; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1019086418/ : accessed 20 Aug. 2026). Also,  C. Elizabeth Koester, "Not by Whom but How”: Helen MacMurchy, MD (1862–1953), and Her Medical Education at the Ontario Medical College for Women from 1895 to 1900," Canadian Journal of Health History, 39:2; digital article, University of Toronto Press, (https://utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/cjhh.2022-561-012022 : accessed 20 Aug. 2026). Also, Editorial Board, "He Will be Missed," The St. Catharines Standard (Ontario), 28 Sept. 1961, p. 4, col. 1-2; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1019086458/ : accessed 20 Aug. 2026).

⁶ "Dr. John Sheahan Dies at 90," The St. Catharines Standard, 28 September 1961.

⁷ "Attempted Suicide," The Weekly Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada), 1 October 1896, p. 5, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1017909356/ : accessed 21 Aug. 2026). Also, "News of City and Vicinity," The Weekly Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada), 30 March 1899, p. 2, col. 2, Dr. Sheahan attends Mrs. Jno. Merriman; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1017913828/ : accessed 21 Aug. 2026). Also, "Killed by a Bursting Stone," The Daily Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada), 28 March 1900, p. 1, col. 4, ; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1017915802/ : accessed 21 Aug. 2026).Also, "Found Dead in Her Bed," The Weekly Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada), 20 March 1903, p. 1, col. 8, ; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1017920001/ : accessed 21 Aug. 2026).

⁸ Daniel Clark, M.D., Mental Diseases: A Synopsis of Twelve Lectures Delivered at the Hospital for the Insane, Toronto, to the Graduating Medical Classes (Toronto: W. Briggs, 1895), 212; imaged, Canadiana (https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.00661/ : accessed 13 July 2026).

⁹ Chapin, Compendium, 135.

¹⁰ Ibid, 141-42.

¹¹ Ibid, 143.

¹² Ibid, 137.

¹³ The Cleveland Directory for the Year Ending July, 1894 (Cleveland Directory Publishing Company, 1893), p. 156, Mary J. Cassidy, 90 Literary; imaged, "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/3826691 : accessed 10 Feb. 2025). Also, The Cleveland Directory for the Year Ending July, 1894 (Cleveland Directory Publishing Company, 1893), p. 502, John H. Kelly, fireman, 90 Literary; imaged, "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/3826691 : accessed 27 March 2025). John Kelly was Charles Cassidy's brother-in-law, married to his sister Mary.