A Place To Call Home: Where Do The Elderly Reside?
In today's world, when the time comes for the elderly to be taken care of, many are placed in nursing homes or taken in by their children or a family member. Sometimes the elderly are left on their own until a fall happens and the office of aging becomes involved. Then, they are either sent to a nursing home or taken in by relatives.
In the 1800's, as the westward movement expanded, many folks left their ageing parents behind in the east while they traveled west. Other folks who traveled with their elderly parents may have settled in the mid-west for awhile, then set out later on to find a place further west since it was harder to travel with older folks. When the Homestead Act of 1862 was enacted, many families forged further west to make their dreams of owning land come true. Mostly, families were scattered because of this movement.
Many elderly women left widowed or unmarried usually lived with their own children. Even though life expectancy wasn't as long as it is today, many women married men who were much older, leaving them alone more often than not.
There were no nursing homes in the 19th century. Poorhouses were available for the poor, elderly folks who had nowhere else to go. Sadly, the treatment in some cases was horrific. Many of the poorhouses were actually farms with outbuildings where the residents were housed. Conditions in some cases were deplorable, causing sickness and even death.
As time went on in the 1800's, many insane asylums were opening up for the mentally ill. Dementia was not understood that well and the distinction between mental illness and dementia or senility was more or less all bundled together. Many elderly with signs of dementia were mistaken for mental illness and locked away in asylums.
Nonprofit organizations realized the problem with the elderly and how the poorhouses took away the respect of the elderly. They began to establish benevolent societies that were affiliated with many different types of groups like the Masons, Knights of Columbus, Irish and German Benevolent Societies and many, many others. In this way a person can join the society when young and healthy, pay dues and when they become old and in need, then the member received help when elderly or in ill health. The societies built homes for the aged where their members could live, paid for by the members of the society.
There were also a few elderly men and women who were able to live in rest homes. These were basically rented rooms in private family homes. Because they were privately owned, many times they were called convalescent homes or medical boardinghouses.
In my book, A Bride for Samuel, is the story of a young bride who was trying to rescue her uncle who was sent to the poorhouse. Luckily, she had a groom who was willing to help her and their adventure shows how a person was treated in those days. Even though her relative was well-off, all it took was one person claiming he was unable to care for himself and the man was legally sent away.
If you get a chance, read A Bride for Samuel for some adventure and romance. You can find it here on Amazon.
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