Willard State Hospital Medical Certificate of Lunacy (Commitment) Papers

Numerical by case number.

B1429-96: Unarranged.

The series consists of medical certificates, petitions, lunacy orders, and forms containing patient information which document the process used to commit over 8,300 people for care at the Willard Asylum (later known as the Willard State Hospital). The type of forms used in the process changed over time. The earliest forms (from 1869) typically give patient name, the reference number and page of relevant case book, date of admission, consecutive (case) number, number committed for the year, and legal status (whether indigent, public or private).

Later papers provide more detailed information, such as the patient's marital status, religion, nativity, and occupation, as well as if the illness is hereditary, the date the insanity commenced, status of the disease (increasing, decreasing or stationary), patient conditon or behavior (filthy, excitable, violent), and name and address of the nearest friend or relative. Forms issued by the State Commission in Lunacy include a certificate of discharge (sent by the superintendent to the board of trustees as required by Chapter 172 of the Laws of 1895) and petition, certificate, and lunacy orders (which the commisision was required to furnish by Chapter 545 of the Laws of 1896).

B1429-96: This accretion seems to document cases of patients who were declared legally insane and were ordered to be committed to Willard State Hospital, but whose commitments were never carried out. Included with the usual petitions, certificates, and orders are statements from attendants and legal authorities that the patients could not be transported or commited for various reasons. Reasons generally given are patient could not be located; patient was critically ill; family members had withdrawn petition; or patient would be admitted to another mental facility.

Series B1465, Record of commitments, contains transcripts of records from this series. Series B1441, Medical certificates of lunacy, contains related records. Series B1543, Records of commitments, contains simiarly records of committment for Utica State Hospital.

A container list is available at the repository.

These records were transferred to the State Archives from Willard Psychiatric Center at the time of its closure in April, 1995.

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.