Scope and Content: State responsibility for the insane was assigned to the State Board of Lunacy and Charity per St 1886, c 101. In an era of heavy immigration, Massachusetts sought to relieve taxpayers of the burden of supporting insane persons originating from other states or countries, who were being cared for in Massachusetts state institutions. The board’s Committee on the Removal of Insane Persons out of the State (board chair, vice-chair, and one other board member–first mentioned in the board’s 1894 annual report (p.4)) proposed names of those to be returned to their place of origin; these recommendations were acted on by the board at its monthly meeting and implemented by the Superintendent of Indoor Poor. The State Board of Lunacy and Charity was replaced by the State Board of Insanity in 1898.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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