OUTSIDE THE ASYLUM

Can you help George Marshall Medical Museum with a spot of family history research to find out about some people who were admitted to the Worcester City and County Lunatic Asylum in the 19th century?

Our aim is to share more patients’ stories, and to find out about their lives before admission and (where possible) after discharge.

ada olsen

find out more about ada olsen

Ada Olsen was born in 1876, in Birmingham, to parents Samuel and Eliza Olsen [nee Jones]. Samuel Olsen, a steel pen tool worker, was born and grew up in Ladywood, Birmingham, whilst Ada’s mother Eliza had lived in Coventry.  She had six siblings, named Arthur (born c.1858), Frederick (born c.1860), Eliza (born c.1863), Florence (born c.1865), Harry (born c.1867), and Fawcett (born c.1870).

The 1881 census shows that Ada was living at 12 Albert Road, in Handsworth, Birmingham. Samuel (48) is listed as the head of the household, with his wife Eliza (43), and six children, Frederick (20) Eliza (18), Florence (16), Harry (14) Fawcett (11) and Ada (5).  In the 1891 census, Ada was fifteen years old, and the only child still living with her parents in Handsworth, her occupation listed as ‘scholar’.

Ada was first admitted to Powick Asylum on February 26 1897. Her disorder was listed as mania, and upon admission, her behaviour was described as ‘restless, noisy and excited.’ In the two weeks prior, her father stated that she had attempted to jump from the bedroom window. During the first few months, Ada was described as ‘troublesome’ and unable to sustain a conversation. A photograph of Ada is attached to the case notes on April 17, 1897. By August, her condition had begun to improve, as she came to converse ‘more readily and rationally’. Following trial, she was discharged as recovered on March 7 1898 a little over a year after she was admitted.

Ada was admitted for a second time on the 28th April, 1900, at the age of 23. This time, her condition is listed as melancholia, and the case notes state that ‘since leaving [Powick Asylum] she has lived at home doing nothing but light house work, 6 weeks ago began to get depressed without any apparent cause, has been getting worse and lately refused food.’ Interestingly, in her ‘Family History’, it states that she has a ‘brother at present in this asylum (Harry). It is unclear when/whether she left the asylum. The 1901 census for Powick Asylum only listed the initials of patients, so it isn’t possible to find her in this instance. However, the case notes show that she was still in the asylum in 1904, and at this point, her condition was described as ‘sullen and taciturn.’

The Lunacy Patients Admissions Registers state that Ada left Powick Asylum on 18 July, 1907. It lists an Ada Olsen who was admitted to Barnsley Hall Asylum on 19 July 1907, and it is reasonable to conclude from the dates that this is the same Ada Olsen. Barnsley Hall Asylum was built in 1907 to help alleviate the overcrowding at Powick Asylum. Unfortunately, the registers list that Ada died less than two years later, on 27 April, 1909, which coincides with the death index. Unfortunately, we cannot see Ada’s case notes for the last two years of her life, as she was not at Powick.

Ada’s father Samuel died on 26 April, 1910, and her mother Eliza died in January of 1927.

To view Ada’s patient records, click here.

Go back to find out about more people who were patients at the asylum.

Research by Maddie Hale, 2026