From the Probate Files: George W. Slater - Greenwood County, Kansas - 1895-1899

George W. Slater, my maternal great great grandfather, died on October 10, 1899, at the age of 67. He's buried in The Twin Grove Cemetery in Severy, Kansas.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

His name appears in Greenwood County probate records but not because of a will. At some point late in his life George W. was considered insane and his case file number is 961.

[Ancestry.com. Kansas, Wills and Probate Records, 1803-1987 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Kansas, County, District and Probate Courts.]

What were the circumstances that led to this situation? When did the hearing take place? It should all be in his file. But there's a problem...

[Ancestry.com. Kansas, Wills and Probate Records.]

Searching through Ancestry's records, I discovered that somehow 961 doesn't appear. There's a 960, followed by 961a (a man by the name of Thomas Kirby. And the next section of files begins with 962. There's no sign of George W.'s records but they would have dated sometime between 1895 and his death in 1899.

[Ancestry.com. Kansas, Wills and Probate Records.]

But where probate records aren't available, there's always the press. From the pages of the Eureka Herald and Greenwood County Republican it appears that my ancestor suffered several periods of insanity, first in 1896 and then just before his death in 1899.

[29 May 1896, Page 3 - The Eureka Herald and Greenwood County Republican at Newspapers.com]

[22 Sep 1899, Page 3 - The Eureka Herald and Greenwood County Republican at Newspapers.com]

Looking through the files of other Greenwood County residents judged insane, it's too bad that George W.'s is missing because there could have been valuable information about his condition in his file.

Here are some examples of the kind of documents that can be found in the files of others (with the names/dates removed).

[Ancestry.com. Kansas, Wills and Probate Records.]

I was glad to hear that Greenwood officialdom didn't believe this poor man's neighbors were witches. After being examined by a doctor he was judged insane and sent to Osawatomie State Hospital.

[Ancestry.com. Kansas, Wills and Probate Records.]

[Source: Miami County Historical Museum]

It's impossible to know what my ancestor's symptoms were without his file; he could have been suffering from some form of dementia. From the newspaper report we know he was adjudged insane on September 19, 1899, and died less than a month later.

[13 Oct 1899, Page 3 - The Eureka Herald and Greenwood County Republican at Newspapers.com]

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