Hansford: Mental Defectives in County H., Indiana 97 
far as we know, but John came to Indiana along with his 
halfrbrother and sister, James and Catherine McCormack. 
John was born in 1853 according to his own statement. 
The first thing we know about him is that he enlisted for the 
Civil War (this makes him older than the age he gave) and 
served 5 months. He deserted and 1 year later suffered from, 
sunstroke which was followed by epileptic seizures. He ad- 
mits having gonorrhea about this time. He married Mabel 
Moser, of Indiana, in 1888. By her he had 1 child, Fred. 
He next married Nora Hendricks, of County H., by whom he 
had the following children: Anna, Raymond, Helen, Lena, 
John, and George. In 1891 John was committed to the Cen- 
tral Insane Hospital. The county record of his case reads: 
Always weak-minded — epileptic — his father was weak- 
minded. His fifth commitment was to the Southeastern Hos- 
pital October 9, 1913. His diagnosis there was Insane Feeble- 
minded. His wife, Nora, is considered one of the most 
licentious women in her part of town. 
Fred, the son of John Briscoe by his first wife, is a men- 
tal and moral degenerate. He has always shown criminal 
tendencies. He is quite a fighter and before he was out of 
his teens was noted as a bootlegger. He married Edna Frank- 
lin, of the McHaley-Johnson-Ross-Franklin group. They lived 
a cat and dog life for several years and are now separated. 
He remarried. He is now serving a sentence for keeping a 
^^lind tiger”. 
Anna, the second child, was not seen. Raymond, the third, 
is 16 years old. He smokes, steals, lies, and runs away from 
home. He was never able to get beyond the fourth grade in 
school. 
Helen, the fourth child, is a feeble-minded imp born in 
1904. She is undersized and physically inferior in every way. 
She is licentious. In the spring of 1918 she was arrested 
for immoral relations with a married man. In August of the 
same year, she married John Preston, a member of the Ross 
family. She should undoubtedly be segregated. 
Lena, the fifth child of John Briscoe, is a smaller edition 
of Helen. She has the same undersized, rat-like appearance. 
Both of them have an ''old look” out of their eyes. She has 
been attending school for 6 years and has accomplished noth- 
ing. She is already accused of being immoral. John, born 
7—26177 
