Researching Robert

 

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Widower and Widow Wed

by Jim Potter

Martha Elizabeth Zimmerman and Robert Borchert married in Hutchinson, Reno County, Kansas, in 1885. The following year they moved to Haven, Kansas, where they raised five children.

In January 1900, Martha became sick and was confined to bed for seven months until her death. During this time, Robert conducted an exhaustive search for doctors who could help save her life. Martha visited hospitals, and the best physicians from Hutchinson and Wichita visited her at home, but they were unable to prevent her premature death. Martha, thirty-seven, died July 11, 1900, of stomach cancer.

At the time of her death, the Borchert children, three boys and two girls, ranged in age from four to thirteen.

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On February 15, 1900, about eleven months after Anna Borchart’s husband, Richard, died, she was taken from Inman to the asylum at Topeka, not knowing if she would ever regain her freedom, or see her children again.

Anna’s prayers were answered one year, nine months later, during the first week of November 1901, when she was released, returning to Inman. Her boys, Arthur, six; Robert, four; and Willie, nearly three, remained, at least temporarily, in the care of the Mennonite orphanage outside Hillsboro.

It’s intriguing for me to consider the circumstances of Anna’s release from the asylum. She may have been deemed “cured” by the medical staff, even though I’ve questioned how much therapy was available to inmates during their incarceration. At times, conditions at asylums could be detrimental to a patient’s mental health. The longer people remained in a mad house, the less likely they would ever regain freedom.

Inmates were released after being cured, but some may have gained their freedom by being manageable. At times, when asylums were dangerously overcrowded, law enforcement officials around the state were notified that due to a lack of space, no additional inmates would be admitted. This drastic action makes me wonder if early releases of less problematic patients ever occurred to make room for the more dangerous individuals locked up in county jails.

Whether Anna was cured or released due to overcrowding, she became a free woman, given a second chance to live in Inman, and at least visit her children in the orphanage.

For Anna to stay off the poor farm, she would have had to improve her economic condition. Her children may have remained in the care of the orphanage due to legal circumstances, but as a widow, Anna would have had day-to-day expenses that required employment.

It may sound crazy, but I wonder if a relative of a patient ever wielded enough influence to have an inmate released. Could Anna’s brother-in-law, Robert Borchert, have requested she be released on the condition he care for her? I doubt it. Without additional information, it’s fair to assume Anna was set free due to improvement in her mental health.

Robert, forty-four, a widower; and Anna, twenty-seven, a widow; didn’t waste time before getting married. A month after her return, they applied for a marriage license in Hutchinson, Reno County. On the license, they both listed Haven as their home The romance might sound hurried, but they were extended family, in-laws, having met in 1894 when Anna and Richard arrived as new immigrants to America.

Robert and Anna married almost a year-and-a-half after Martha’s death in Haven, and two-and-a-half years after Richard was killed outside of Inman.

Of course, it’s impossible to know how much marriage was one of love &/or convenience. Whether the newlyweds were raising five children or raising eight, the household dynamics must have been interesting, especially with the in-laws’ becoming spouses, and the children adapting to a new parent.

Until next time, happy researching and writing,