Toledo State Hospital
Memory Project
Hints for Research on the People of
Toledo State Hospital
Nearly all Toledo State Hospital patients came from one of the counties in the official TSH Service Area. This will help narrow the search significantly.
To determine whether someone is buried in the Toledo State Hospital Cemeteries, go to the Burial Log Page.
Most patients who died at Toledo State Hospital were not buried in the TSH Hospital Cemetery. Death certificates usually give the place of burial.
Most patients admitted before 1890 were transfers from other institutions. You are likely to find them in other hospitals and asylums, Ohio county Infirmaries, county probate records, and newspapers.
In general, patients were not good historians, so expect differences between records. For a number of reasons, names or name spelling in records were incorrect. Patients were often not aware of time passing and did not accurately report their age. They often reported deceased relatives as living next of kin. Marital status was often reported incorrectly. Many patients were not aware that they had been divorced or their spouse had died. Often spouses of patients in the state hospital reported they were widowed, and even applied for military pensions as widows.
These are excellent resources available on-line, most of them free. For sources that charge a subscription fee, check with your local library. Many libraries have subscriptions which cardholders can use for free. Here is a list that we use frequently: On-line Genealogical sources