In and Out of the Asylum

One hundred and fifty years ago today Janet Mellis Mather was admitted to the Edinburgh Poorhouse as a "lunatic pauper". This was not her first admission to an asylum. She had first been admitted to the Poorhouse on 16 August 1859, before being removed from the poor roll and released into the care of her son, William, 5 weeks later.

Before being admitted to the Poorhouse, she had been living with William at the 101 Rose Street, Edinburgh.

Name	Occupation	Relationship to head	Age	Birthplace
​William Mather	Bookseller master	​Son	​27	Edinburgh
​Janet Mather	Supported by her son	Head	58	Edinburgh

William had been a bookseller and stationer since at least 1848, and continued in that trade until about 1864. He was still living at 101 Rose Street with his mother in 1861:

Name	Occupation	Relationship to head	Age	Birthplace
​Janet Mather	Stationer	​Head	​65	Edinburgh
​William Mather	Stationer	Son	40	Edinburgh

This didn't last, for just over a year later, on 21 August 1862, Janet was readmitted to the City Poorhouse

This time she was in the poorhouse for 7 months. Less than 3 months after she had been admitted, on 14 November 1862, her son married Elizabeth Letheney in Edinburgh. She was released into the care of her son on 25 March 1863, before being readmitted on 15 June 1864

Her stay was much longer. On 9 October 1866, she was one of 24 patients transferred to St Cuthberts Poorhouse. It would appear that this was a temporary measure, as 13 of these patients were transferred back to the City Poorhouse just over three months later, on 21 January 1867. Conditions in the Edinburgh Poorhouse at this time were highly unsatisfactory, and the Parochial Board had decided to reorganise their arrangements. In August 1866, the Board decided to introduce so-called probationary wards for newly admitted inmates (paupers as well as "lunatics"), and plans were afoot to build a new Poorhouse at Craiglockhart, which would eventually open in 1867. It seems likely that Janet was moved as part of these new arrangements.

Four months later, Janet was on the move again when she was released from the City Poorhouse:

Her brother, William Ferrier Mather, was a grocer, as recorded in the Edinburgh Post Office Directory for 1865-66:

Janet lived on for a couple more years, before dying aged 88 in 1869 in the Canongate. We can only speculate why she was taken in by her brother this time, and not her son, but it may have had something to do with William struggling to support his young family. Some time around 1865 he gave up his bookshop/stationery business. In 1871, he was a shop porter living at 93 North Bridge

Name	Occupation	Relationship to head	Age	Birthplace
​William Mather	Shop porter	​Head	​50	Edinburgh
​Elizabeth Mather		Wife	29	Edinburgh
William Mather	Scholar	Son	7	Edinburgh
Janet Mather		Daughter	4	Edinburgh
Elizabeth​ Mather		Daughter	3	​Edinburgh
Margaret Mather		Daughter	8 months	Edinburgh

By 1881, William was back in Rose Street, living at number 162. His children were no longer living with him. At this point, it's not clear if they had died or were living elsewhere.

Name	Occupation	Relationship to head	Age	Birthplace
​William Mather	General porter	​Head	​61	Edinburgh
​Elizabeth Mather	​	Wife	38	Edinburgh

William's fortunes continued to decline. By 1891, he and his wife were in the City Poorhouse at Craiglockhart. William was described as having formerly been a jobbing labourer. In 1893 his death was recorded aged 74 in the Colinton district - it seems likely he died in the poorhouse, which was in the Colinton area. His wife died in 1925, again in Colinton. She too may have spent the rest of her days in the Poorhouse, although without checking her death record or the City Poorhouse records at Edinburgh City Archives that cannot be confirmed.

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Sources:

1. General Register of Lunatics in Asylum 1858-1862, National Records of Scotland, MC7/1
2. General Register of Lunatics in Asylum 1862-1870, National Records of Scotland, MC7/2
3. Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1865-1866
4. Census 1851-1881
5. Scotland's People
6. Minute Books of the Board of Supervision for Relief of the Poor, National Records of Scotland, HH23/12 [Minutes dated 16 August 1866, 23 August 1866, 29 November 1866, 3 January 1867]
7. Scottish Book Trade Index