John Bricker Clemens^{[1, 2]}

1822 - 1879  (57 years)

• Name	John Bricker Clemens
  Born	2 Apr 1822	North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  Gender	Male
  Misfortune	mental condition
  Eby ID Number	00023-1864
  Died	14 Nov 1879	Portsmouth Township, Frontenac Co., Ontario   [1, 3, 5, 6]
  Buried	Cataraqui Cemetery, Kingston, Frontenac, Ontario, Canada   [6]
  Person ID	I17266	Generations
  Last Modified	30 Sep 2024

  
  

  Father	Henry Lederach Clemens,   b. 25 Nov 1802, , Chester Co., Pennsylvania ,   d. 17 Jun 1876, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 73 years)
  Mother	Nancy Bricker,   b. 21 Nov 1802, Blair (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 17 Apr 1846, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 43 years)
  Family ID	F3452	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Nancy Groff,   b. 5 Oct 1822, , Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania ,   d. 8 Nov 1897, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 75 years)
  Married	31 Jan 1843  [1, 3]
  Children	1. Andrew Jackson Clemens,   b. 15 Nov 1843, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 26 Feb 1924, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 80 years)   2. Mary Ann Clemens,   b. 23 May 1845, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   3. Cyrus Clemens,   b. 19 Apr 1846, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 Sep 1846, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 0 years)   4. Sarah Ann Clemens,   b. 22 Sep 1847, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 Dec 1908, Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States  (Age 61 years)   5. Nancy Ann Clemens,   b. 10 Oct 1849, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   6. John Henry Clemens,   b. 6 May 1851, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   7. Susannah Clemens,   b. CALC 15 Jun 1853,   d. 16 Jul 1853  (Age ~ 0 years)
  Last Modified	1 Oct 2024
  Family ID	F1302	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  John B. Clemens, "was born April 2nd, 1822. On January 31st, 1843 he was married to Nancy Groff who was born October 5th, 1822. He died in the Toronto Asylum in November, 1879. To them were born seven children" Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.]. ______________ Nancy Groff was married to John Bricker Clemens, born April 2, 1822, in Waterloo County, Upper Canada, he died at Rockwood Asylum, Portsmouth, Frontenac County, Canada, August 14, 1879. He had been incarcerated for four years there and was previously resident in Kingston Penitentiary. In January 1880 she married the widower, John Eby, 1814-1899. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147500344/nancy-huber-clemens ________________ During the mid 1800's before the construction of the Rockwood Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Kingston Penitentiary was overrun with mentally ill and criminally insane inmates. To solve this problem, The Rockwood Criminal Lunatic Asylum was built on the shores of Lake Ontario, close to the penitentiary and built by the prisoners themselves. Construction began in 1859 and although it was not completed until 1870, men began to occupy portions of the building as early as 1862. Female prisoners were admitted during this time period and lived in the old horse stables that remained from when the property was a private villa. In 1868, the female inmates were also moved inside. Once completed, the asylum housed 300 patients. This was the criteria an inmate had to meet to be transferred to Rockwood Criminal Lunatic Asylum: 1. Convicts in the penitentiary becoming insane while under sentence there. 2. Certain classes of lunatics committed to jail as lunatics dangerous to be at large. 3. Persons charged with some offence of which they had been acquitted on the ground that they were insane at the time such offence was committed. 4. Persons indicted for any offence, and upon arraignment thereof found, by a jury especially impanelled for the purpose, to be insane. Patients wore distinctive canvas uniforms bearing the word LUNATIC. The medical goal in the mid 1800s was not to cure criminal lunatics, but rather to calm them. Chloral hydrate and alcohol were used to pacify patients, and they were also often bled. Dr. Litchfield, the only physician at Rockwood at the time, had a simple treatment plan that relied heavily upon "a pretty free use of alcohol by day and sedative by night." Treatment also involved restraints, blistering, leeching, enemas, and blood-letting. https://www.ontariogenealogy.com/kingstoninsaneasylum.html

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 438. [S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 313. [S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 723. [S131] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo Twp. - 1851. John B. CLEMENS Farmer Birthplace: Canada Age 30 Mennonite b. 9-Apr Nancy CLEMENS Birthplace: USA Age 29 Mennonite b. 18-Oct Anthony CLEMENS Birthplace: Canada Age 9 Mennonite b. 13-Nov Marian CLEMENS Birthplace: Canada Age 7 Mennonite b. 15-May Sarah An CLEMENS Birthplace: Canada Age 5 Mennonite b. 2-Sep Nancy An CLEMENS Birthplace: Canada Age 3 Mennonite b. 10-Oct John Henry CLEMENS Birthplace: Canada Age 1 Mennonite b. 6-May birth date differs from Ezra Eby's book [S116] Vit - ON - Death Registration. John B. Clements, d. 14 Aug 1879 Portsmouth, Frontenac, reported by J. W. Montgomery, MD, asst med supt. Asylum for Insane. [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/162161366/john-bricker-clemens.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 2 Apr 1822 - North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 14 Nov 1879 - Portsmouth Township, Frontenac Co., Ontario Buried - - Cataraqui Cemetery, Kingston, Frontenac, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth