Eugene Grissom papers, 1875-1887

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Summary

Abstract:
Register of admissions and scrapbooks of the North Carolina State Hospital for the Insane, Raleigh, N.C., of which Grissom was superintendent.
Extent:
4 Volumes (4 bound volumes)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11163

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of four volumes connected with Dr. Eugene Grissom, related to his superintendentship of the North Carolina Insane Asylum in Raleigh.

Volume 1 is a register of admissions, 1883-1887, including information about white patients admitted to the Raleigh Insane Asylum including names, NC county of residence, and occasionally the outcome of their admission (typically either their cause of death or the note that they had left the hospital, cured). This register tracked only admissions for the Eastern Division of white patients in North Carolina; patients residing in the Western Division were treated at an insane asylum in Morganton.

The other three volumes are scrapbooks, largely consisting of clippings about Grissom or the asylum. All of these scrapbooks include coverage of Grissom's medical lectures and papers on the treatment of the insane, his roles in various medical organizations, the work of the insane asylum as a progressive institution, and the political turmoil Grissom occasionally faced.

In addition to clippings relating to Grissom's medical career and his work at the Insane Asylum, Volume 2 (a scrapbook dated 1875-1877) includes clippings from various newspapers covering a controversy about whether Grissom (a Republican) should be removed from his position as superintendent during the fallout of the 1877 election in North Carolina.

Volume 3 is a scrapbook assembled by A. Watkins Verith (sp?) on Grissom's behalf, dating from circa 1877-1880. It includes clippings and notations (by Verith) about Grissom's political career, including debates about his potential run for North Carolina governor in 1879; coverage of a controversy with Dr. William A. Hammond over Grissom's treatment methods (including Grissom's proponency of mechanical restraints for violent patients, such as handcuffs and straightjackets); his expert testimony in a Danville murder case that the accused, Justin Thomas Dejarnette, was clinically insane; as well as public notices about his various lectures and appearances.

Volume 4 (1877-1880) contains clippings and some annotations about Grissom's service as superintendent for the Insane Asylum, including a published letter from Dorothea Dix praising the work of the hospital. There are additional clippings covering the Dejarnette murder case (1880), Grissom's involvement in Masonic ceremonies in 1880, and Grissom's potential runs for governor.

Biographical / historical:

Eugene Grissom (1831-1902) was a North Carolina physician who served as superintendent of the North Carolina insane asylum in Raleigh from 1868 until 1889.

Acquisition information:

The Eugene Grissom Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1935.

Accession numbers represented in this guide include: 35-631

Processing information:

Processed by Meghan Lyon, March 2016

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Eugene Grissom Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.