Linda - it was not until 1866 that the English doctor, John Langdon Down published a description of the condition, which subsequently took his name so I doubt there would be any records dating back that far. Susan Original Message: ----------------- From: [email protected] (Linda Holley) Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:52:55 +0000 To: [email protected] (County Down Mailing List), [email protected] (Co. Antrim, N. Ireland) Subject: [IRL-ANTRIM] Mental Records Were there any records kept in Co. Down or Co. Antrim concerning mental handicaps in the time frame of 1790-1820? I have just realized I have not turned over this particular stone. My gggg grandfather Robert Burnside had one son who had some type of mental problem. I know he lived with at least 3 families with small children so I am thinking it was probably Down's Syndrome or perhaps he was just "slow thinking". Robert, his father, specifies in his will that he be taken care of in a home environment and in 1850 he is living with my gg grandfather, James and his new wife Catherine. Of course there is always the possibility that he was involved in an accident later in life which left him with mental problems but thought it was worth a try to ask. Thank you so much, Linda ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com – What can On Demand Business Solutions do for you? http://link.mail2web.com/Business/SharePoint