Longview State Hospital (Cincinnati, Ohio), and how I can contribute more to Places
Hey everybody! Newish member, first time commenter, with a two-parter: a correction request and a question about contributing to Places.
The correction request is for the Longview State Hospital in Cincinnati, OH, which currently has two linked entries in the Places database. This entry is incorrect; the earliest arguable date for when Longview opened was 1823, 20 years after the Northwest Territory became Ohio. The other entry is basically right, though it could use some work.
And I volunteer to do it, and even some other stuff too! However, to my understanding directly editing/contributing to the Database is off-limits to the public (completely understandable). I know this group is where requests for corrections, edits, and such go, but for the sake of the other users I'd rather not hog the group feed with my suggestions.
(I know there's also the "Suggest New Place" button on Places itself, but I don't know how often those are checked; I'm pretty sure I submitted a couple of places a few months back and haven't heard anything.)
So, what can I do, what other options are there? Is there a way I can submit edits, sources, research materials, etc., more directly for places? Or should I just make a post about a specific place on here (say, Longview), and include with it all of my suggestions, facts, and sources?
Please let me know! Of all the tools/features/projects on FS, Places might actually be my favorite. And as a volunteer with a local historical society, I know how important it is that these old/extinct places and place names are digitally curated, and how there's just tons of work left to do toward that.
Answers
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I'm just a volunteer, so I'll let staff answer the questions about volunteering, but I did remove the entry referencing Northwest Territory. Hope this helps. Thanks. -MAC
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Hey MAC, thanks! I certainly do appreciate it! 😀
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Mark, we appreciate the time you spend in answering patron questions.
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Good job, Caesar 1987 and Mark. I followed up by adding more historical data, variant names, etc. Working together, we make a great team!
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Very good, Jeanine, thank you!
I planned on getting in touch with the Cincinnati History Library and Archives at some point, once I had enough questions about researching my roots up there. But I may shoot them an email just about Longview Hospital sources, histories, etc., before that instead. In fact, my interest in Longview comes from an ancestral relative who died there, having been committed for "epileptic insanity"; I myself had epilepsy, and while not nearly as severe as his (mine was non-convulsive), learning about him really hit close to home.
The Asylum Projects link is okay for now I suppose, though based on some other sources I'm wondering if 1821 could/would still apply to it: that was when the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum was commissioned, and though Longview continued on in the asylum role, it appears to have also moved since the "original" 1820s dates. I actually wanted to ask in my original post: "When does a place stop being a Place?" Longview makes a pretty decent example for that kind of question. But I'm terribly wordy as it is, and figured that point could wait til later!
Anyway, I'll keep finding sources and keep providing them here or wherever else works. Who knows—when all's said and done, maybe I'll be able to provide nauseating amounts of detail for other Places, too! 😅
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Longview State Hospital
https://www.familysearch.org/research/places/?focusedId=8461458
has been further updated with variant names and a new history period reflecting it's demolition in 1984 and creation of the new Pauline Warfield Lewis Center on that site.
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Thank you, Tim! Goodness me, I wasn't expecting my request to receive so much collaboration, but I certainly do appreciate it! 🙂
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