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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...
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DOUBLE TAKE

I am participating in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, a writing challenge encouraging genealogy researchers to write about their ancestors. The challenge is hosted by genealogist, blogger and podcaster Amy Johnson Crow.

 Here's my post for Amy's Week Fifteen prompt: DNA

By Nancy Gilbride Casey

One of the wonders of this DNA we share with members of our families are the strong resemblances that sometimes occur among different generations. I've done a double take or two looking at family photos, amazed at how much a person can look like one—or even several—ancestors at one time or another throughout their life.

Here are some family photos, where the resemblances, buried deep in the family DNA, are evident.

Daughter Anne and her Dad, Jim Casey share 50% of their DNA in common. And it shows! From the turned up nose to the laughing eyes, even the hair color - an amazing resemblance.
Some family resemblances skip a generation or two. Sharing roughly 12.5% DNA in common, son James, right, shares similar hairline, eye and eyebrows as his great grandfather, Harold Edwin Casey, left.
We're lucky to have located photos of seven generations of Casey men to compare. Above, from left to right, Stephen Casey (photo, collection of T. Crow), Thomas Benton Casey, Stephen Henry Casey & Harold Edwin Casey. 
The Casey line and similarities continue with James Casey, Sr., husband James Casey, Jr. and son James Q. Casey. Although separated by several generations, and sharing only about 6.25% DNA in common, my husband (center), bears a good resemblance to his 2x great grandfather Thomas Benton Casey (above 2nd from left), particularly in the forehead, hairline and cheekbones.

On the other hand, while each person inherits 50% of their DNA from each parent - which 50% may differ among siblings. This accounts for why, while some siblings can look remarkably alike, some siblings can also look strikingly different. It's all part of this fascinating genetic puzzle in which we are all pieces.

Although each child inherits 50% of their DNA from each parent, which 50% can be radically different. In this family photo taken in the late 1980s show me (lower right), with my Dad and three siblings, who range from tall (Joe, over 6 feet) to short (me 5' 3"), and with a range of hair colors (Joe and I are blondes, Tim and Sharon, brunettes) and eye colors (Tim and Sharon - blue, Joe - brown, me - green).

How much DNA do you share with your relatives? View this handy chart from the blog Famlii, to see.

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 Until next time...
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