I spoke with my remaining first cousin in Norwich Sunday night. I'd not had communication with her since May, always 'intending to' get back with her. This evening occasion brought her to mind again and having had the sad experience more than once of not communicating with a relative until too late, I picked up the phone and made that connection. While things are going fairly well in my core family, my parents health is starting to fail and with that responsibility falls now to the children to take care of the parents. How different it is now than a few decades ago how the elders are cared for. Families took care of family members. Now with families scattered to the winds, it seems many opt for others caring for ones loved ones. Of course even way back when, some folks were put in institutions of one sort or another. I know that in the instance of my grandmother, there came a point in time when my grandfather could no longer care for her, has she was a heavyset person, that was beyond the capacity of my grandfather to lift. I know that in census records that in days past, people staying in what were termed hotels, but were most likely boarding houses, were counted where they were. The poor farm also had folks listed. My grandmother was not in institutions around the time of a census but I do wonder, when there was one, how patients there or in hospital were counted. Tim

They were counted as inmates. They would have a list and that word would sometimes take up the whole page, written sideways. The death records I have from my grandparents, great grandparents, etc., had grown children or the daughter's in law listed as being there as the informant. Family stories tell of who stayed with who to help out. My family lived right in New Berlin so there wasn't much traveling to do to help out. Be nice to your children. They are the ones that pick out your nursing home....... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Timothy Stowell" <tstowell@chattanooga.net> To: <nychenan@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 1:12 AM Subject: [NYCHENAN] other thoughts >I spoke with my remaining first cousin in Norwich Sunday night. I'd not > had communication with her since May, always 'intending to' get back > with her. This evening occasion brought her to mind again and having had > the > sad experience more than once of not communicating with a relative until > too > late, I picked up the phone and made that connection. > > While things are going fairly well in my core family, my parents health is > starting to fail and with that responsibility falls now to the children to > take > care of the parents. > > How different it is now than a few decades ago how the elders are cared > for. > Families took care of family members. Now with families scattered to the > winds, it seems many opt for others caring for ones loved ones. Of course > even way back when, some folks were put in institutions of one sort or > another. > > I know that in the instance of my grandmother, there came a point in time > when > my grandfather could no longer care for her, has she was a heavyset > person, > that was beyond the capacity of my grandfather to lift. > > I know that in census records that in days past, people staying in what > were > termed hotels, but were most likely boarding houses, were counted where > they > were. The poor farm also had folks listed. > > My grandmother was not in institutions around the time of a census but I > do > wonder, when there was one, how patients there or in hospital were > counted. > > Tim > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NYCHENAN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message