MySource:MaggieRE/Descendants of Rosa Ratcliff (1)

Date: 7 Feb 2004

Reference number: LET00238

E-Mail: [email protected]

Margaret .. So good to hear from you. I'll try to sketch what I've found on Rosa .... from the Kansas Historical Society, the Kansas City Library, and Parsons State Hospital in Parson, KS. In a letter from the Administrator of the hospital the following: "She was admitted to Parsons State Hospital for Epileptics on 7/3/1924 at the age of 32. She was committed through Wyandotte County as sane with a diagnosis of "grand mal epilepsy" (seizures). She was first diagnosed at the age of 16 of unknown cause. Heredity was denied. Her father was noted to have hereditary alcoholism. She was married and of the protestant faith. (No other information available of family names, etc.)" The latter sentence was explained to me by phone ... the hospital kept copious files on each inmate, keeping every scrap of paper about them, letters from kinfolk, etc. Unfortunately, about two years ago, they needed space, so all the records prior to 1950 were destroyed. WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING????? (or were they????). Conntinuing with the letter: "She died here 4/6/1944. She was buried at the State Cemetery on North 32nd Street, Parsons, KS (I learned later that this is on the grounds of the hospital) on 4/11/1944. The undertaker was Shigley. The cause of death was attributed to "internal hemmorhage." Her grave marker is #443." The grave marker, I have learned is a 6" x 6" metal marker put at the center of the grave with only the number on it. No name is on it. It's only a baby step above being buried in a Potter's Field. I went to the State Offices in Topeka and obtained a copy of her death certificate. It revealed a few things: Her husbands name was "Louis E. Burns" (to this point all I had was the name "Ed" --- Ed deserted her and supposedly went to California -- their middle son was named Louis or Lewis). Immediate cause of death was "Internal hemmorhage" and was said to be Due to "Carcinoma of left breast with metastasis." The attending doctor said he had been treating her for this "for 1 year." The time of her death on the above date was 2:21 a.m. and the doctor noted that he had been with her a half hour prior to that. He also noted that she had been treated for "Chronic epilepsy for 35 years." The certificate states she was 52 years old at the time of her death. I find something interesting here ...... I had always suspected that John Franklin DID HAVE a drinking problem -- too many things pointed to that. Upon kinda intense questioning of one of his granddaughters, she admitted that he did and that he was extremely abusive to Anne and the children when he was drunk. My grandfather and greatgrandfather (John's father) each had driniking problems, and it was the greatgrandfather's drinking that led to Lydia divorcing him a few years before he died. In another document from one of John's step sisters, Jane, she stated that "father always had his whiskey each night." Now I'm trying to find out something about John and Annie's younger son, Martin. He died in a hospital in Wichita Falls after being there for some extended time. I'm wondering if he too might have been epileptic and/or suffering from alcoholism. He was only 23 when he died and was never married. I'll begin that search. Stay in touch ..... and give my greetings to Dick. Wish we could meet again for Indian food. I have returned to that little resturant twice since we were there together. Wayne