Frances Alice Boatright was born on 10 May 1890 near Farmerville, Union Parish Louisiana, the daughter of William Pinkney Boatright and Mary Anna T. Ham. According to family tradition, Alice Boatright contracted measles at the age of two years along with other children in the family. "Aunt Alice" reportedly slipped out of bed, went outside, and fell into a puddle of water. She relapsed with the measles, which left her, in the indelicate lingo of her day, "deaf and dumb."
Alice's parents worked as sharecroppers, and they suffered greatly during the famine and financial devastation caused by the drought of 1896-1897. Two successive years of crop failures caused her parents to move to the Town of Hamburg, in Ashley County, Arkansas during the winter of 1897-1898. Her father obtained employment at a sawmill and as a night watchman. Between December 1900 and February 1901, The family suffered from a malady that turned into pneumonia for both of Alice's parents. Alice's mother died on 13 December 1900 and her father on 8 February 1901. Alice's uncle, John H. Ham, went to Hamburg to retrieve the Boatright children. They made the journey from Hamburg to Farmerville traveling by steamboat down the Ouachita River to the mouth of Bayou D'Arbonne, then up the D'Arbonne to Farmerville.
As a disabled orphan, Alice received charity funds to help with her support from the Union Parish Police Jury between 1906 and 1916. They paid $7.50-$10 quarterly towards her upkeep. She lived with various cousins until the 1920s, able to perform basic kitchen and household tasks. However, relatives kept her hidden away, as mental illness was ill understood and regarded as shameful by most.
In the early 1920s, Alice Boatright went to live in the Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville, Louisiana. She made occasional trips home to Union Parish, for in 1930 she lived with her first cousin, Mary Purdy Dean. At the hospital, Alice continued to perform basic duties, such as setting the table for other patients every day.
Alice Boatright died at Pineville's Louisiana State Hospital of epilepsy and is buried in an unmarked grave.
Alice's parents worked as sharecroppers, and they suffered greatly during the famine and financial devastation caused by the drought of 1896-1897. Two successive years of crop failures caused her parents to move to the Town of Hamburg, in Ashley County, Arkansas during the winter of 1897-1898. Her father obtained employment at a sawmill and as a night watchman. Between December 1900 and February 1901, The family suffered from a malady that turned into pneumonia for both of Alice's parents. Alice's mother died on 13 December 1900 and her father on 8 February 1901. Alice's uncle, John H. Ham, went to Hamburg to retrieve the Boatright children. They made the journey from Hamburg to Farmerville traveling by steamboat down the Ouachita River to the mouth of Bayou D'Arbonne, then up the D'Arbonne to Farmerville.
As a disabled orphan, Alice received charity funds to help with her support from the Union Parish Police Jury between 1906 and 1916. They paid $7.50-$10 quarterly towards her upkeep. She lived with various cousins until the 1920s, able to perform basic kitchen and household tasks. However, relatives kept her hidden away, as mental illness was ill understood and regarded as shameful by most.
In the early 1920s, Alice Boatright went to live in the Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville, Louisiana. She made occasional trips home to Union Parish, for in 1930 she lived with her first cousin, Mary Purdy Dean. At the hospital, Alice continued to perform basic duties, such as setting the table for other patients every day.
Alice Boatright died at Pineville's Louisiana State Hospital of epilepsy and is buried in an unmarked grave.
Frances Alice Boatright was born on 10 May 1890 near Farmerville, Union Parish Louisiana, the daughter of William Pinkney Boatright and Mary Anna T. Ham. According to family tradition, Alice Boatright contracted measles at the age of two years along with other children in the family. "Aunt Alice" reportedly slipped out of bed, went outside, and fell into a puddle of water. She relapsed with the measles, which left her, in the indelicate lingo of her day, "deaf and dumb."
Alice's parents worked as sharecroppers, and they suffered greatly during the famine and financial devastation caused by the drought of 1896-1897. Two successive years of crop failures caused her parents to move to the Town of Hamburg, in Ashley County, Arkansas during the winter of 1897-1898. Her father obtained employment at a sawmill and as a night watchman. Between December 1900 and February 1901, The family suffered from a malady that turned into pneumonia for both of Alice's parents. Alice's mother died on 13 December 1900 and her father on 8 February 1901. Alice's uncle, John H. Ham, went to Hamburg to retrieve the Boatright children. They made the journey from Hamburg to Farmerville traveling by steamboat down the Ouachita River to the mouth of Bayou D'Arbonne, then up the D'Arbonne to Farmerville.
As a disabled orphan, Alice received charity funds to help with her support from the Union Parish Police Jury between 1906 and 1916. They paid $7.50-$10 quarterly towards her upkeep. She lived with various cousins until the 1920s, able to perform basic kitchen and household tasks. However, relatives kept her hidden away, as mental illness was ill understood and regarded as shameful by most.
In the early 1920s, Alice Boatright went to live in the Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville, Louisiana. She made occasional trips home to Union Parish, for in 1930 she lived with her first cousin, Mary Purdy Dean. At the hospital, Alice continued to perform basic duties, such as setting the table for other patients every day.
Alice Boatright died at Pineville's Louisiana State Hospital of epilepsy and is buried in an unmarked grave.
Alice's parents worked as sharecroppers, and they suffered greatly during the famine and financial devastation caused by the drought of 1896-1897. Two successive years of crop failures caused her parents to move to the Town of Hamburg, in Ashley County, Arkansas during the winter of 1897-1898. Her father obtained employment at a sawmill and as a night watchman. Between December 1900 and February 1901, The family suffered from a malady that turned into pneumonia for both of Alice's parents. Alice's mother died on 13 December 1900 and her father on 8 February 1901. Alice's uncle, John H. Ham, went to Hamburg to retrieve the Boatright children. They made the journey from Hamburg to Farmerville traveling by steamboat down the Ouachita River to the mouth of Bayou D'Arbonne, then up the D'Arbonne to Farmerville.
As a disabled orphan, Alice received charity funds to help with her support from the Union Parish Police Jury between 1906 and 1916. They paid $7.50-$10 quarterly towards her upkeep. She lived with various cousins until the 1920s, able to perform basic kitchen and household tasks. However, relatives kept her hidden away, as mental illness was ill understood and regarded as shameful by most.
In the early 1920s, Alice Boatright went to live in the Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville, Louisiana. She made occasional trips home to Union Parish, for in 1930 she lived with her first cousin, Mary Purdy Dean. At the hospital, Alice continued to perform basic duties, such as setting the table for other patients every day.
Alice Boatright died at Pineville's Louisiana State Hospital of epilepsy and is buried in an unmarked grave.
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Buried in an unmarked grave
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