Next Steps in Researching Jane Darragh's Diagnosis

Image by rawpixel, edited by author.

Last week I shared the beginnings of my research into Maria Jane Darragh's mental illness diagnosis of "acute mania." (If you haven't read that post, catch up here.)

 Here's what I've been working on since then.


Research Planning

Given what I already know about Jane, I already have a good set of questions that I hope to answer about her acute mania diagnosis.
 

Her Life in St. Catharines, Ontario

• What would life have been like for Jane in St. Catharines?
• What was St. Catharines like at the time, it's population, trade, social and religious environment?
• What was Jane's married life like?
• What was it like raising her children in that time?

Acute mania

• What was the medical understanding of acute mania in the late 19th century?
• What were the symptoms, how was it diagnosed, how was it treated at that time?
• How does one die from acute mania?
• Could Jane have been misdiagnosed? What other conditions could have been confused with acute mania?
• How often was death attributed to mental illness at the time in St. Catharines?

Physicians in St. Catharines

• Who were the medical professionals in the area at the time?
• Who was Dr. John Sheahan, who signed her death certificate, and did he have the skills to handle Jane’s case?
• What other doctors or facilities might have been available to treat Jane?

Social View of Mental Illnesses in late 19th century

• Would anyone except Jane’s family have been aware of her condition? How did her family react?
• What social stigma might Jane have faced because of her illness?
• Jane was Catholic. How did the Catholic church look upon mental illness?

Identified Sources

Since I've previously researched Jane, a next steps is to review all my reports, logs, locality guide, files, and emails, to make sure to gather any resources I've already found that could help with this research. I don't want to retrace my steps or use a resource I've already looked at before.

Locality research is a key step in any research in order to understand the area and to discover what resources are available. I had previously developed an Ontario, Canada, locality guide for past projects. It was my starting point for identifying resources I could use for this research.

Here are the resources I plan to focus on to find answers to my questions:

City and county histories and gazetteers will give historical background of St. Catharines community during Jane's life.

Examples: 

• Smith's Canadian Gazetteer, 1849
• Ontario, Canada Land Gazetteer, 1875-1881

City directories, medical directories, newspapers, local museums, and county histories may contain information on doctors and medical facilities in St. Catharines.

Examples:  

• Directory of St Catharines, Thorold, Merritton and Port Dalhousie, 1898
• Vernon’s City of St. Catharines and Thorold, Ontario, Directory – 1904-1906

This St. Catharines city directory could provide clues to the physicians available to Jane.

Historical medical journals and books will offer information about acute mania, and its symptoms, treatments, and prognosis.

Examples: 

• John Bassett Chapin, A Compendium of Insanity (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1898)
• A Practical Manual of Insanity for the Medical Student and General Practitioner (Philadelphia and London: W.B. Saunders & Co., 1902)
• 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: William Briggs, 1895)

The 1898 book A Compendium of Insanity included descriptions of various mental illnesses as well as several photographs of individuals with the disorders.

Death and/or burial records could reveal occurrences of this diagnosis as a cause of death in the area. St. Catharines newspapers could record instances of acute mania being mentioned.

Examples:  

• Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938, 1943-1944, and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947, Ancestry.com
• The Standard, Newspapers.com
• The Twice a Week Standard, Newspapers.com

With the sources in place, now I'm ready to research. I'll begin reporting my findings in next week's post.

Until next time...

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2026. All rights reserved.