10 April 2011

Michigan Home & Training School In Lapeer

 The Michigan Home For the Feebleminded and Epileptic in Lapeer, established in 1893, later known as Oakdale and often referred to as the Lapeer Home (at least by me), has its own Facebook page.

My sister, Laura Ellen Powers, lived there from about 1974 (could have been earlier) until she was moved to a facility in Mt. Pleasant when the Lapeer Home closing was imminent. 

Twelfth Biennial report ....for period ending June 30, 1918, revealed the following pictures, costs and employees:



Cost per patient allowed per day:



Officers and employees:

 [Click on images to enlarge]

An index of census pages pertaining to the Michigan Home and Training School for the census years 1900, 1910 and 1920 can be found here.  

A biennial report from 1898 can be found here.  

A story about a girl who should have never resided at the Lapeer Home:
This 1913 story from Grand Rapids, entitled,  "Though Sound In Mind Girl Because Mischievous Imprisoned 7 Years In Home For The Feeble Minded," told the story of Bessie Lewis.  Bessie's destitute mother sent her to the Girl's Industrial School in Adrian but the "annoyed" authorities there sent her to the Lapeer Home.  Her release from the Lapeer Home was celebrated in the above article. (source reprinted in the Evening Times in North Dakota).

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The link for the article on Bessie Lewis doesn't work! Anyway to get a copy of the article?

PalmsRV said...

The newspaper article can be found at GenealogyBank.com, a paid site. I'm no longer a member, so cannot retrieve the article any longer. Sorry.

Dorene from Ohio said...

An ancestor of someone I am helping worked as a night watchman for the Michigan Home and Training School in 1933. So exciting to find your blog post!

PalmsRV said...

Wow, Dorene, small world! Glad you liked the post.

Cathy

Linda said...

My great uncle died there in 1933 from tuberculosis. Is there any way to get hold of his records? Or maybe a photograph?
Linda

PalmsRV said...

Linda, I have no further information -- sorry.

Anonymous said...

My Grandfather was there in 1940 when he was 19, so he was probably there earlier too. He died 3 years before i was born. Im trying to find any information about him.