Because she was born out of wedlock, Alice was kept secluded by family members, first in an attic, then in a storage room, for nearly all of the first six years of her life.
In early February 1938, Alice was rescued by authorities, apparently after tips from neighbors. According to Chief Inspector E.M. Smith, she was found wedged into a broken rocking chair (see photo) with her frail arms tied above her head. She was crippled with rickets and emaciated.
Dr. John Kerr found that Alice’s bones were all abnormal, with practically no muscle on any of the limbs, all joints mostly immovable, and foot-drop. Pin pricks to Alice’s feet and most of the rest of her body produced no response. She essentially could not see or hear. When found, she weighed 31 pounds, 21 pounds below normal. Her abdomen was distended. The doctor further stated his belief that Alice’s debility was due entirely to improper nourishment and exercise, and that she had had only just enough food to keep her alive. The physician, who had practiced for 37 years, said, "It was about the most deplorable condition I have ever seen in all those years.” She had sores at the base of her spine. A family member stated Alice had never cried, indicating she had no use of her vocal chords. Having never been fed solid food, Alice did not know how to chew.
Charges of cruelty to an infant were brought and dismissed, Judge W. Russell Carr finding the testimony to convict “not sufficient.”
By the end of the summer of 1938, Alice, now a ward of the county and a resident of the Fayette County Home, had put on seven pounds, but continued unable to talk intelligibly or walk, and according to matron A. M. Mead, had the mental age of an eight-month-old. The nurses at the home called her “Brick” because of her red hair. Gifts of toys and clothing from across Canada and the U.S., and offers of adoption, came in for Alice, as well as so many visitors that rehabilitation was impeded and visiting was therefore restricted.
In autumn of that year, Alice was placed as a ward with Mrs. Jennie Rowan, a 60-year-old widow who had had five children of her own. Mrs. Rowan nurtured Alice so well, that by the end of a year with her, Alice could dress and feed herself, play with toys and other children, walk 75 yards unassisted, go up and down stairs, and was just beginning to talk. She weighed 60 pounds, had chubby and tanned cheeks, and a ready smile. Still, Dr. Kingsley Davis, a psychiatrist and Penn State associate professor of sociology, found during this time that, while Alice was physically better, her mental development had been seriously impaired by her experience, that she had little desire to learn, and was mentally like a 13-month-old baby.
Alice had a tonsillectomy in August of 1939. After a few days’ rest she was taken to the Margaret Duer Judge School, a boarding school for mentally challenged children in Scranton, Penna. After Margaret Duer Judge opened a second school in Milford, Penna., in 1941 (see photo), Alice was transferred there and continued to make progress. She now could bathe herself, brush her teeth, knew her colors, and had a good sense of rhythm.
On August 6, 1942, Alice died quietly, having developed jaundice and subsequent pneumonia. Her family refused to receive the body, so the Fayette County commissioners paid for the funeral and burial in Delaware Cemetery, not far from the Judge School in Milford, where Alice had last lived. Mrs. Jennie Rowan sent a floral arrangement. Alice was ten.
In early February 1938, Alice was rescued by authorities, apparently after tips from neighbors. According to Chief Inspector E.M. Smith, she was found wedged into a broken rocking chair (see photo) with her frail arms tied above her head. She was crippled with rickets and emaciated.
Dr. John Kerr found that Alice’s bones were all abnormal, with practically no muscle on any of the limbs, all joints mostly immovable, and foot-drop. Pin pricks to Alice’s feet and most of the rest of her body produced no response. She essentially could not see or hear. When found, she weighed 31 pounds, 21 pounds below normal. Her abdomen was distended. The doctor further stated his belief that Alice’s debility was due entirely to improper nourishment and exercise, and that she had had only just enough food to keep her alive. The physician, who had practiced for 37 years, said, "It was about the most deplorable condition I have ever seen in all those years.” She had sores at the base of her spine. A family member stated Alice had never cried, indicating she had no use of her vocal chords. Having never been fed solid food, Alice did not know how to chew.
Charges of cruelty to an infant were brought and dismissed, Judge W. Russell Carr finding the testimony to convict “not sufficient.”
By the end of the summer of 1938, Alice, now a ward of the county and a resident of the Fayette County Home, had put on seven pounds, but continued unable to talk intelligibly or walk, and according to matron A. M. Mead, had the mental age of an eight-month-old. The nurses at the home called her “Brick” because of her red hair. Gifts of toys and clothing from across Canada and the U.S., and offers of adoption, came in for Alice, as well as so many visitors that rehabilitation was impeded and visiting was therefore restricted.
In autumn of that year, Alice was placed as a ward with Mrs. Jennie Rowan, a 60-year-old widow who had had five children of her own. Mrs. Rowan nurtured Alice so well, that by the end of a year with her, Alice could dress and feed herself, play with toys and other children, walk 75 yards unassisted, go up and down stairs, and was just beginning to talk. She weighed 60 pounds, had chubby and tanned cheeks, and a ready smile. Still, Dr. Kingsley Davis, a psychiatrist and Penn State associate professor of sociology, found during this time that, while Alice was physically better, her mental development had been seriously impaired by her experience, that she had little desire to learn, and was mentally like a 13-month-old baby.
Alice had a tonsillectomy in August of 1939. After a few days’ rest she was taken to the Margaret Duer Judge School, a boarding school for mentally challenged children in Scranton, Penna. After Margaret Duer Judge opened a second school in Milford, Penna., in 1941 (see photo), Alice was transferred there and continued to make progress. She now could bathe herself, brush her teeth, knew her colors, and had a good sense of rhythm.
On August 6, 1942, Alice died quietly, having developed jaundice and subsequent pneumonia. Her family refused to receive the body, so the Fayette County commissioners paid for the funeral and burial in Delaware Cemetery, not far from the Judge School in Milford, where Alice had last lived. Mrs. Jennie Rowan sent a floral arrangement. Alice was ten.
Because she was born out of wedlock, Alice was kept secluded by family members, first in an attic, then in a storage room, for nearly all of the first six years of her life.
In early February 1938, Alice was rescued by authorities, apparently after tips from neighbors. According to Chief Inspector E.M. Smith, she was found wedged into a broken rocking chair (see photo) with her frail arms tied above her head. She was crippled with rickets and emaciated.
Dr. John Kerr found that Alice’s bones were all abnormal, with practically no muscle on any of the limbs, all joints mostly immovable, and foot-drop. Pin pricks to Alice’s feet and most of the rest of her body produced no response. She essentially could not see or hear. When found, she weighed 31 pounds, 21 pounds below normal. Her abdomen was distended. The doctor further stated his belief that Alice’s debility was due entirely to improper nourishment and exercise, and that she had had only just enough food to keep her alive. The physician, who had practiced for 37 years, said, "It was about the most deplorable condition I have ever seen in all those years.” She had sores at the base of her spine. A family member stated Alice had never cried, indicating she had no use of her vocal chords. Having never been fed solid food, Alice did not know how to chew.
Charges of cruelty to an infant were brought and dismissed, Judge W. Russell Carr finding the testimony to convict “not sufficient.”
By the end of the summer of 1938, Alice, now a ward of the county and a resident of the Fayette County Home, had put on seven pounds, but continued unable to talk intelligibly or walk, and according to matron A. M. Mead, had the mental age of an eight-month-old. The nurses at the home called her “Brick” because of her red hair. Gifts of toys and clothing from across Canada and the U.S., and offers of adoption, came in for Alice, as well as so many visitors that rehabilitation was impeded and visiting was therefore restricted.
In autumn of that year, Alice was placed as a ward with Mrs. Jennie Rowan, a 60-year-old widow who had had five children of her own. Mrs. Rowan nurtured Alice so well, that by the end of a year with her, Alice could dress and feed herself, play with toys and other children, walk 75 yards unassisted, go up and down stairs, and was just beginning to talk. She weighed 60 pounds, had chubby and tanned cheeks, and a ready smile. Still, Dr. Kingsley Davis, a psychiatrist and Penn State associate professor of sociology, found during this time that, while Alice was physically better, her mental development had been seriously impaired by her experience, that she had little desire to learn, and was mentally like a 13-month-old baby.
Alice had a tonsillectomy in August of 1939. After a few days’ rest she was taken to the Margaret Duer Judge School, a boarding school for mentally challenged children in Scranton, Penna. After Margaret Duer Judge opened a second school in Milford, Penna., in 1941 (see photo), Alice was transferred there and continued to make progress. She now could bathe herself, brush her teeth, knew her colors, and had a good sense of rhythm.
On August 6, 1942, Alice died quietly, having developed jaundice and subsequent pneumonia. Her family refused to receive the body, so the Fayette County commissioners paid for the funeral and burial in Delaware Cemetery, not far from the Judge School in Milford, where Alice had last lived. Mrs. Jennie Rowan sent a floral arrangement. Alice was ten.
In early February 1938, Alice was rescued by authorities, apparently after tips from neighbors. According to Chief Inspector E.M. Smith, she was found wedged into a broken rocking chair (see photo) with her frail arms tied above her head. She was crippled with rickets and emaciated.
Dr. John Kerr found that Alice’s bones were all abnormal, with practically no muscle on any of the limbs, all joints mostly immovable, and foot-drop. Pin pricks to Alice’s feet and most of the rest of her body produced no response. She essentially could not see or hear. When found, she weighed 31 pounds, 21 pounds below normal. Her abdomen was distended. The doctor further stated his belief that Alice’s debility was due entirely to improper nourishment and exercise, and that she had had only just enough food to keep her alive. The physician, who had practiced for 37 years, said, "It was about the most deplorable condition I have ever seen in all those years.” She had sores at the base of her spine. A family member stated Alice had never cried, indicating she had no use of her vocal chords. Having never been fed solid food, Alice did not know how to chew.
Charges of cruelty to an infant were brought and dismissed, Judge W. Russell Carr finding the testimony to convict “not sufficient.”
By the end of the summer of 1938, Alice, now a ward of the county and a resident of the Fayette County Home, had put on seven pounds, but continued unable to talk intelligibly or walk, and according to matron A. M. Mead, had the mental age of an eight-month-old. The nurses at the home called her “Brick” because of her red hair. Gifts of toys and clothing from across Canada and the U.S., and offers of adoption, came in for Alice, as well as so many visitors that rehabilitation was impeded and visiting was therefore restricted.
In autumn of that year, Alice was placed as a ward with Mrs. Jennie Rowan, a 60-year-old widow who had had five children of her own. Mrs. Rowan nurtured Alice so well, that by the end of a year with her, Alice could dress and feed herself, play with toys and other children, walk 75 yards unassisted, go up and down stairs, and was just beginning to talk. She weighed 60 pounds, had chubby and tanned cheeks, and a ready smile. Still, Dr. Kingsley Davis, a psychiatrist and Penn State associate professor of sociology, found during this time that, while Alice was physically better, her mental development had been seriously impaired by her experience, that she had little desire to learn, and was mentally like a 13-month-old baby.
Alice had a tonsillectomy in August of 1939. After a few days’ rest she was taken to the Margaret Duer Judge School, a boarding school for mentally challenged children in Scranton, Penna. After Margaret Duer Judge opened a second school in Milford, Penna., in 1941 (see photo), Alice was transferred there and continued to make progress. She now could bathe herself, brush her teeth, knew her colors, and had a good sense of rhythm.
On August 6, 1942, Alice died quietly, having developed jaundice and subsequent pneumonia. Her family refused to receive the body, so the Fayette County commissioners paid for the funeral and burial in Delaware Cemetery, not far from the Judge School in Milford, where Alice had last lived. Mrs. Jennie Rowan sent a floral arrangement. Alice was ten.
Gravesite Details
There is no headstone or other marker (see photo).
Family Members
Siblings
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