“July 5th, 1910. Kid, Addison. Colored. Number 1681. Sits all day with head down. If spoken to, answers only… in whispers.” This was the description from a doctor’s evaluation of Addison Kidd, one of the few Black patients at Oregon State Hospital around the turn of the 20th century. Kidd’s story has largely been lost to time… until now.
Kidd lived at OSH from 1904 to 1931. He was transferred there from the Oregon State Penitentiary, after being subjected to brutally inhumane treatment and accused by officials of “playing crazy”. Born right around the end of the Civil War as the child of formerly enslaved parents, he and his siblings were likely the first generation in their family born with the freedom to leave the South. Addison went west, where he would make front page headlines and ultimately lose his freedom altogether.
Kidd’s story, including his criminal record, brutal treatment at the penitentiary, and his controversial diagnosis as mentally ill, is surprisingly well-documented in newspapers from the time. Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.(host of Finding Your Roots on PBS), regional experts at Ancestry like Nicka Sewell-Smith, and volunteer genealogist Phyllis Zegers reconstruct Kidd’s biography, filling in missing chapters in historical records. While detailing the significance of genealogical research and the particular challenges historians face when researching African American history, they give dignity and understanding to an otherwise forgotten man. Ultimately locating a living descendant, these discoveries restore the humanity of a man who was silenced by history.
