Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree—Arthur Lawes
Family
Background
Arthur Lawes was born in Barnby, Suffolk, England on or
about May 12, 1862 as the youngest child of James Lawes 1826-1890 and Ann
Brown 1831-1903. The children of
James Lawes and Ann Brown were:
1. Frederick George Lawes 1854-1934
2. Louisa Lawes 1857-1918
3. David Lawes 1859-1934
4. Arthur Lawes 1862-1900
Frederick George Lawes was born in Beccles, Suffolk in
Jan 1854 and married, age 20 years, Charlotte Batcheldor on July 14, 1874 in
the Parish Church of Carlton-Colville, Suffolk.
Their children were: Frank Ernest Laws 1884-1976 and May Florence Laws
1887-1970. Frederick Lawes died on July
6, 1934 at Providence House, Haward Street, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England.
Louisa Lawes was born in Weston, Suffolk on January
29, 1857 and married, age 21 years, Arthur “Hoot” Solomon on December 26, 1878
at St. Margaret’s Church, Lowestoft, Suffolk.
Their children were: Albert Arthur Solomon 1879-1936; Ernest Edward
Solomon 1880-1940; George “Puddy” Solomon 1883-1956; Laura Louisa Solomon
1885-1963; and Frank Ernest Solomon 1888-1958.
Louis Lawes died on October 5, 1918 in Carlton Colville, Suffolk.
David Lawes was born in Weston, Suffolk on August 1,
1859 and married, age 22 years, Susanna Elizabeth Pitchers in December 1881 in
Barnby, Suffolk. Their children were:
Alice Jane Laws 1882-1960; David John Laws 1883-1914; Agnes Louisa Laws
1885-1941; Bertie William Laws 1886-1948; Walter George Laws 1888-1956; Ethel
May Laws 1890-1976; Samuel Leonard Laws 1894-1965; Mabel Mildred Laws
1897-1973; Rosabell Laws 1900-1928; Queenie Myrtle Laws 1907-1986. David Lawes died in September 1934 in Barnby,
Suffolk.
Arthur Lawes was born in Barnby, Suffolk on May 12,
1862 and went to sea as a fisherman at age 14. Arthur married, age 25 years,
Alice Mary Ann Pitchers. Alice Mary Ann
was the younger sister of Susanna Elizabeth Pitchers (wife of his brother, David
Lawes). The children of Arthur Lawes and
Alice Mary Ann Pitchers were: Mary Alice
Lawes 1892-1983; Lily Lawes 1895- ; Ellen Lawes 1897- .
Arthur Lawes began suffering from the effects of
paralytic dementia and was picked up by the local constabulary and was admitted
to Hoxton House Lunatic Asylum in London, England on April 27, 1898. He was confined as a Pauper Lunatic. His confinement in the asylum was at the
expense of Guardians of the Poor of the Parish of Saint Matthew, Bethnal
Green. An action was brought before Her
Majesty’s Justices of the Peace in the County of London by the Guardians of the
Poor seeking reimbursement from Mutford & Lothingland Union Workhouse at
Oulton for the reasonable charges for lodging, maintenance, medicine, clothing
and care in the amount of Sixty-eight pounds, nineteen shillings and six pence
for his time spent at Hoxton through December 8, 1898. The court found in favor of the Guardians of
the Poor.
Court Order awarding a
sum of money to the
Guardians of the Poor.
Arthur Lawes was moved to the County Lunatic Asylum in
Melton, Suffolk on March 1, 1899 and subsequently died on January 31, 1900
After the death of Arthur Lawes, his widow had a child
by an unknown father. Gladys Victoria Lawes was born on February 26, 1902 in
Barnby, Suffolk. On February 1, 1905 Alice
Mary Ann Pitchers married James Baxter.
Together, they had two children:
Violet Rosa Clementina Baxter 1906-2002 and James Harold Baxter
1909-1984.
Interviews
with Spouse, Mother and Sister
Alice Mary Ann Lawes (nee Pitchers) was examined in
the case which ordered the removal of Arthur Lawes from the Hoxton House in
London. In an interview, Mrs. Lawes
stated she was married at Barnby, that her home with her husband has always
been at Barnby, thinks her husband was born at Barnby and brought up at
Barnby. His mother residing at Carlton
Colville could answer this. Thought her
husband was in Private Asylum and thus have not sent him to Suffolk. She has been getting parish relief since
husband has been in Asylum.
Ann Lawes (nee Brown) was interviewed at her home in
Carlton Colville, Suffolk and stated that Arthur is her son born at Barnby 36
years last May. Father James Lawes,
Mother Ann Lawes formerly Brown. Married
46 years ago at Beccles between Michaelmas [September 29] and Christmas. Their oldest son was 45 years old.
They went to reside at Barnby Michaelmas prior to
birth of son Arthur. Father a labourer
resided at a house near Blindman’s Gate in the centre of Barnby. Father James Lawes resided at Barnby from
Michaelmas 1861 to his death 9 years ago with his wife. Son Arthur has resided at Barnby since his
birth except when at sea and kept his home on. Before marriage he resided at home with
parents. Father never had any assistance
from parish nor was he in an Hospital.
Mother who resides with daughter Mrs. Solomon at Carlton Colville. Mrs. Solomon (Louisa Laws) corroborated
Arthur went to sea when he was about 14.
His birth, residence and up until age 16 was all in Barnby.
How did
Arthur Lawes die?
According to his death certificate, Arthur died of a
condition diagnosed as “General Paralysis of the Insane”. General paresis, also known as general
paralysis of the insane (GPI), paralytic dementia, or syphilitic
paresis is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder, classified as
an organic mental disorder, and is caused by late-stage syphilis and
the chronic meningoencephalitis and cerebral atrophy that
are associated with this late stage of the disease when left untreated. Degenerative
changes caused by GPI are associated primarily with the frontal and temporal
lobar cortex. The disease affects approximately 7% of individuals infected with
syphilis and is far more common in developing countries where fewer options
for timely treatment are available. It is more common among men.
GPI was originally considered to be a type of madness
due to a dissolute character, when first identified in the early 19th century.
The condition's connection with syphilis was discovered in the late 1880s.
Progressively, with the discovery of organic arsenicals such as Salvarsan and
Neosalvarsan (1910s), the development of pyrotherapy (1920s), and the
widespread availability and use of penicillin in the treatment of
syphilis (1940s), the condition was rendered avoidable and curable. Prior to
this, GPI was inevitably fatal, and it accounted for as much as 25% of the
primary diagnoses for residents in public psychiatric hospitals.
Geanealogy:
Arthur Lawes 1862-1900 was the brother of Louisa
Lawes 1857-1918 and her son was George "Puddy" Solomon 1883-1956 and
his daughter was Lilian "Lily" Gladys Solomon 1903-1929 and her
husband was William Adams 1899-1933 who was the son of George “Pikey” William
Adams-Welch and Caroline Forster.
The Story of Hoxton House
Hoxton Street, Hoxton, N1 6LR
Medical dates: 1695 - 1902
Medical character: Mental (Licensed House)
In 1715 the business was bought by the Miles family.
The asylum took both private patients and pauper lunatics
(especially from the City of London).
The latter resided in closed wards.
Insane inmates from Newgate and other prisons were also admitted, until
they recovered their sanity or died.
For physical illness, private patients could be cared for
by their own family doctors, while paupers were treated by various parish
doctors. A house surgeon and an
apothecary visited daily.
In 1756 two large houses in Hoxton Street were purchased
as additional accommodation.
Further expansion into the surrounding streets took
place in 1784, after which it became the
largest asylum in Hoxton, with 2 acres of grounds between Pitfield Street and
Kingsland Road for use by the private patients for exercise.
From 1792 the asylum received officers and men who had
become insane while serving in the Royal Navy.
Ostensibly, payment for their care was from the Chatham Chest funds, but
was underwritten by the State. A naval
surgeon visited and treated these patients, and an Inspector of Naval Hospitals
inspected the premises at intervals.
In the first year, some 18 naval patients (2 officers and
16 seamen) had been received, but the numbers gradually increased by 10 to 20
new patients each year. By 1805,
following the Battle of Trafalgar, the asylum contained some 80 naval patients
(10 officers and 70 men).
By the early 19th century, nearly all London's private
madhouses were in Hoxton and the area became synonymous with lunacy, mainly
from unwanted notoriety.
In 1808 it was reported that patients in the asylum were
poorly clothed, and even went about naked in the yard, covered only with a
piece of blanket.
The asylum was enlarged again in 1814. It accepted three classes of patients: pauper, government (naval) and private. Of the 150 naval patients, 17 were officers
and 133 seamen. The weekly charge for a
naval officer was 24 shillings and 6 pence (£1.23) and, for a seaman 15
shillings and 6 pence (78p) for the first 28 days, then 10s 6d (53p) thereafter. The charge for a pauper inmate was also 10s
6d (53p).
In 1815 the asylum contained 484 inmates, of whom 16 were
naval officers, 136 seamen or marines and 332 non-government patients.
At this time the asylum was owned by Sir Jonathan Miles,
an alderman of the City of London.
Conditions within had seriously deteriorated, with deaths from neglect
and harsh treatment covered up by bribery.
The Inspectors of Naval Hospitals called attention to the poor state of
the naval inmates, as indeed did certain Guardians of the Poor and several
philanthropists, who were deeply concerned about the treatment of pauper
lunatics.
Inspectors were discouraged from entering, but those who
did manage to get past the doorkeeper found conditions abominable. Dr James Veitch, a naval surgeon, found the
floors "soaked with urine", while the bedrooms were "close,
crowded and unventilated". The
incontinent were roomed with the continent.
Patients were forced to share narrow beds and some were chained to benches. There was insufficient bed linen and patients
had to make do with loose straw. A sick
man lay in a room in which "the smell and nature of the apartment was
utterly unfit for a human being to reside in, in any shape". There were no provisions for the physically
ill, who remained in the wards with the mentally ill, and no attempt at treatment
for any kind of illness. Everywhere in
the asylum was "all chaos and confusion". There were no tables and patients had to eat
standing up; no cutlery was provided so they had to eat with their hands. The exercise yards were cramped, with no
shelter, and surrounded by a high wall.
Staff levels were low, in a ratio of 1:20. In one room, measuring 19' 5" by 14'
(5.1 metres by 4.0 metres) one keeper was expected to help dress, wash and
shave 20 patients.
Another naval surgeon, Dr John Weir, called for a special
hospital for naval lunatics to be built.
In 1815 a Select Committee of the House of Commons began
an investigation into conditions within lunatic asylums. The reports revealed the horrific conditions
inside Hoxton House and the harsh treatment of seamen, some of whom had served
under Nelson. Violent patients were not
separated from quiet ones, and 6 beds had 2 patients in each. Some patients were unnecessarily kept
handcuffed to beds overnight or benches during the day. Dangerous patients were handcuffed and their
legs chained, with a chain (bazil) linking the handcuffs to the leg irons.
The findings increased public awareness of the treatment
of lunatics and led to demands for improvement and reform. However, despite this, little changed. The Committee censured Sir Jonathan Miles,
but he remained in business.
Hoxton House remained the Naval Lunatic Asylum until
1818, when part of the Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport was given over to
accommodate insane officers and men.
In 1819 the asylum housed 348 patients.
A second Select Committee was set up in 1827 to again
thoroughly investigate the scandalous maltreatment of lunatic patients. Following the Committee's report, the Lunacy
Commission was established to monitor and regulate the care and treatment
provided in private madhouses. The
Madhouses Act, 1928 aimed to strengthen safeguards against a person being
illegally detained in a madhouse, by requiring two medical certificates and authorisation
by a relative before a patient could be admitted (paupers required only one doctor and a magistrate to commit them).
In 1844 an inspection by the Lunacy Commissioners found
the internal arrangements of the asylum to be inconvenient and defective. It was located in a densely crowded
neighbourhood with no land on which the pauper inmates could be employed. The exercise yards were dull and confined.
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