New York State Commission in Lunacy Medical Certificates of Lunacy

Chronological by admission date.

The State Commission in Lunacy was established pursuant to Chapter 283, Laws of 1889 (as amended by Chapter 273, Laws of 1890) and empowered to license, regulate and investigate public and private institutions that provided for the care of the state's mentally ill. It was charged with investigating the care and treatment of patients, the condition of physical facilities and the management of all such institutions; and establishing rules and regulations it deemed necessary and/or desirable to insure the proper care of patients. In addition, the commission was required to maintain a record of all judges and medical examiners who were legally qualified to order the commitment of an insane person; and to register all of the insane in custodial care.

This series consists of true copies of medical certificates of lunacy for each person admited to a mental health facility. A standard form promulgated by the Commission in Lunacy, shortly after its creation, signed and attested to by a legally qualified examiner, the certificate provides: patient name, sex, nativity, color, occupation, cause of illness, relevant family history, the basis for the certification of insanity, the name of the institution, and the date of admission. This volume is the first of what was presumably an ongoing series that covered the commission's tenure through 1912. The existence and location of subsequent volumes is unknown.

B1429Series B1429, Willard State Hospital Medical Certificate of Lunacy (Commitment) Papers, 1869-1927, contains commitment papers for care at Willard Asylum, 1869-1897.

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office of Mental Health.