Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Depositions, Transcriptions and Maps



The archival search continues to (slowly) yield interesting details about Patient Number One, George Sprague Barrows. This snippet of map shows the house in which George was born in 1877. It was owned by his paternal grandfather, Rufus Sprague. The larger map from which this was taken paints a good picture of the neighborhood in which George was born and grew up.


Other historical maps have allowed us to pinpoint where George lived in 1905 just before being admitted to the sanatorium. Unfortunately, the site is now a vacant lot on Westminster Street. We're pursuing historical streetscape photos of the area to see whether we can find George's house.

Last night, intern Alex Deciccio and I worked over the phone to transcribe depositions in the divorce case between George's father and stepmother, who was also George's aunt. Below is a not-very-flattering description of George's father, given by his stepmother's sister.

-Paul Parker


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