Finding Community: Documenting Descendants of Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum Patients in History and Cultural Memory

FAIN: PY-263758-19

University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson, MS 39216-4505)
Amy Wiese Forbes (Project Director: May 2018 to May 2021)

Two community collection days to digitize materials and collect oral histories related to the Mississippi State Insane Asylum, which was located on the site of the University of Mississippi Medical College (UMMC) from 1855 to 1935.  After a University construction crew discovered coffins from the Asylum’s cemetery in 2012, many descendants contacted news sites and the university to request details and offer information.  The proposed events would seek to reach and unite the interested members of the descendant community and provide information about collective identity and history through family stories, historical context, and analysis.  History students from Jackson State University and Millsaps College would assist in collecting contextual information, and, with donor permission, digitized items would be made available via the UMMC library’s digital archive.

This project explores family and cultural memory of the Mississippi State Insane Asylum (1855 to 1935) descendant community by gathering, documenting and providing access to untold histories of family involvement with the Asylum and what that involvement has meant to descendants. It is significant to community members because it will preserve previously undocumented historical materials related to the Asylum, bring the Asylum descendant community together as co-authors of the Asylum’s history, collect evidence of the Asylum’s place in the community’s cultural memory, share information with the community about the Asylum’s history that is currently known, and educate the descendant community about the importance of preserving its past and how to do it. It includes 2 days of digitization, oral history, public exhibition of donated materials, preservation seminars, discussions of Asylum history, cultural memory and ethics, and descendant community input for future programs.

Associated Products

The Old Asylum: Rediscovering and Remembering Its History (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: The Old Asylum: Rediscovering and Remembering Its History
Abstract: The Power Point presentation examines what is known about the Mississippi State Asylum's history and how it is known. It looks specifically at the kinds of documents and other resources that contribute to historical understanding of the Asylum and its wards. It calls for public contribution of oral histories and materials to be used in developing an inclusive history of the institution.
Author: Amy W. Forbes
Date: 07/19/20
Location: The University of Mississippi School of Population Health

Ethical Issues in the Asylum Hill PROJECT (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Ethical Issues in the Asylum Hill PROJECT
Abstract: This presentation examines ethical questions about the Asylum project that stem from professional, racial, and religious perspectives.
Author: Patrick D. Hopkins
Date: 07/19/20
Location: UMMC School of Population Health, Jackson, MS

Asylum Hill PROJECT (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Asylum Hill PROJECT
Abstract: This presentation covers the background to the Asylum project, origins of the Asylum Hill Consortium, and links between researchers and the public within the project.
Author: Ralph Didlake, MD
Date: 07/19/20
Location: UMMC School of Population Health, Jackson, MS

The Mississippi State Asylum: A Realm of Its Own (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Mississippi State Asylum: A Realm of Its Own
Writer: Lida Gibson
Director: Lida Gibson
Abstract: Introduction to the Asylum, the cemetery, and descendants. Features interviews from 2 participants in the NEH-funded Old Asylum History Days public information and collection event.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://vimeo.com/429411524.
Access Model: open access
Format: Video
Format: Web

12 Asylum-related oral histories digitally recorded (Acquisitions/Materials Collection)
Name: 12 Asylum-related oral histories digitally recorded
Abstract: Recorded interviews with 12 people who were descendants of Asylum patients or staff or had experiences related to the Asylum.
Director: Amy Forbes
Year: 2020

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