there are times
by tobymarx
. . . when I think it’s just too damn bad that abortions weren’t legal in 1949.
The peculiar document that passes for my birth certificate.
Then again, I sometimes wonder what happened to the two children by presumably different and also unnamed fathers my mother gave birth to before me. Poor Edith, that home for unwed mothers must have been a dreadful place. When I was a child, single mothers were either widows or divorcees and “unwed mothers” were social outcasts commonly labeled as sluts or whores. I remember it well as an object lesson in hypocrisy.
Even though I have no way of proving it, it’s very likely my mother was also manic-depressive. While not conclusive, the details on my birth certificate—three children born out of wedlock by the age of twenty-four—strongly suggest sexual promiscuity, a symptom of bipolar disorder circumstantiated by numerous psychiatric annals, not to mention my own experience. What is certain is that in the ’40s and ’50s, manic-depressives were sometimes surgically “cured” by prefrontal leucotomies (the tragedy of Rosemary Kennedy is probably the most famous example of this).
Inasmuch as I’ve been unable to unearth any record beyond my birth certificate of Edith Yearwood’s existence, including a search of the Social Security Death Index, I fear she may have been institutionalized only to die an anonymous death. I hope I am wrong. If by chance you know an eighty-five-year-old woman named Edith Yearwood, originally from the state of Washington, please tell her James Lee sincerely wishes her well.
Yearwood is a great name
So nice to hear from you, Rocky! Thanks for dropping in to the asylum.
Mark
I am a genealogist researching the Yearwood family and ran across your website. This is no proof but a lot of coincidences.
Fred Yearwood was born 15 Jan, 1899 and died Apr 22 1958. He married Edith (last name unknown) about 1924. They had a daughter whose name was listed as Waneda in the 1930 census. Waneda may have had a middle name of Edith as it was common practive to repeat the parent’s names in the children. Waneda was 5 years old in the 1930 census making her born about 1924-25. The family was living in Cook County Ill in 1930 and were from MO. It is possible that they lived in WA at some time as I have been unable to find them before they returned to MO 8 years before the death of Fred. See the death record for Fred at:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/ Fred, Edith and their son Fred Jr are buried together in the Mount Zion Cemetery in Winona, Shannon County, MO See Findagrave.com The death reocrds for MO covers the years 1910-1959 and Fred JR is not listed. He may have died elsewhere and the body returned to Shannon Co. Waneda seems to have vanished. As I said no proof but interesting. Have a great day!
Very interesting indeed. Thanks so much for your comment, Elta.
Mark
This mirrors my own story. My own bio mother was diagnosed schizophrenic and endured ECT shock therapy before being mandated to give up me and her two other children, one at a time. Thank goodness unwed mothers are not vilified today.