This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: jeremy5848 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.california.counties.sonoma/6127.1.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: This [confirming all information] is especially true of institutions like the Feeble-minded Home at Glen Ellen. Because some people were embarrassed to have a relative in any kind of mental institution, the State of California [and other states] imposed severe privacy restrictions on information. At Glen Ellen they went so far as to remove all of the tombstones from the cemetery. If there is a burial list for that cemetery, it has never been released to the public. When people need information and can't get it, they tend to make guesses or estimates, which are unfortunately taken as fact by others. The Internet has caused this process to go faster and farther. This is why caution is advised. Since the state has rarely (if ever) released information about the patients at state hospitals, you must question any information you see. The three sources I know of to be usually accurate are the US Censuses (and possibly the individual state censuses, the county death records, and the local newspapers. Access to death records has been restricted in recent years and the census is only every ten years. Newspaper records mentioning people in state institutions are relatively rare and most newspapers are not indexed. Jeremy Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.