Misuse of Mental Institutions Hits Home

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 It has been a while since I have posted! I have been working many hours to help cover the affects of COVID in our hospital. This story affects me because of the misuse of medical facilities in our country at this time.

First, here is a little background to understand how this individual falls into the family tree. My great grandma's (Evelyn Kuhlenschmidt Stewart) mother was Bertha Wiggers Kuhlenschmidt. Her mother was Emma Thube Wiggers. Her mother was Johanna Tzschoppe Thube.

Johanna's brother was August Julius Tzschoppe. August was born April 5, 1842. He married Mary M. Wiggers. August and Mary are who Emma came to visit when she first arrived to America in 1884. August served in the Civil War. He almost starved to death at a Union Camp for his service. After the end of the war, Julius Sr. was a well honored and decorated hero. He died August 2, 1932 at 90 years old. One of Julius and Mary's children was Julius Jr.

Julius was born November 18, 1870. Julius was an educated man, receiving his teacher's diploma and taught in Warrick County schools. He also was a graduate of Evansville business college. In 1904, Julius' sister, Mrs. James Heilman, was on her deathbed. She confessed to her husband that a neighbor, Charles Weisheimer, had "betrayed" her when she was a young girl. Charles informed Julius of this news. Julius went to Charles' home with a rifle and shot at Charles as he was sitting in his home. Charles grabbed a pistol and fired back several times. Julius was arrested the next day. Julius told authorities that he would kill Charles upon sight as soon as he was released. Other accounts state that Charles greeted Julius at the door and shot at Julius first.

Julius also stated that Charles suspected of his knowledge of the secret and treated him tauntingly. Because of his actions, Charles precipitated the shooting.

Remember, this was in 1904. Using context clues with the wording and actions of those involved, I believe that this implies that Charles raped Julius' sister when she was younger. Julius was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill. Newspaper articles and police accounts state that "They were well prepared in event the man whom they suspected to be violently insane should attempt to kill them, but Tzschoppe was tractable and accompanied them without a murmur."

Julius' father, Julius Sr., asked for the insanity plea. A medical board examined him and found him insane. Paperwork was started for Julius' admission to Woodmere. Woodmere was the name of the insane asylum in Evansville. Today it is called the Evansville State Hospital.

According to census records, Julius remained in the State Hospital until his death on January 28, 1958. Julius was buried in the Lutheran Cemetery on St. Joseph Road in Evansville.

This story leaves me with many thoughts. I honestly do not believe that Julius was insane. I think the grief of his sister's death and her 'betrayal' was weighing heavily on him. Charles tormenting him did not help the situation. Julius knew that Charles had committed this awful crime and would never be punished for it. I'm not agreeing with Julius' actions, but I do not think the State Hospital was the way to go. I think these facilities were abused during this time as a punishment instead of jail time. What is interesting is that Julius Sr. is the one who began proceedings for insanity. The thing to also remember is that in 1904, the death penalty was widely used without any kind of a real trial. I think that Julius Sr. used this as a way to save his son.

Because of his institution, Julius never married. However, Julius is buried in a normal cemetery alongside family. His parents were long gone by the time of Julius' death, so they were not responsible for Julius' burial. So many patients of Woodmere were buried on the property in long forgotten graves. I think that this means Julius must have had family that still looked after him, maybe nieces or nephews or great nieces or nephews.

Since his death was in 1958, I asked different family members if they remember hearing about Julius. My grandfather would have only been 8 years old, and he had never heard of Julius. My great grandma had never heard of him either. I don't know if he was just not talked about or if he was so distantly related that he was forgotten by my branch of the family.

Rest easy, Julius. Your actions may not have been the best choice, but your 54 years in the asylum were not justified.







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