Ten Years and Ten Months in Lunatic Asylums in Different States by Moses Swan — Summary & Review

Ten Years and Ten Months in Lunatic Asylums in Different States is Moses Swan’s autobiographical testimony of his prolonged confinement from 1860 to 1871 in the Troy Marshall Lunatic Asylum in New York and earlier stays, including a brief period at the Vermont State Lunatic Asylum. Swan recounts his life from childhood through early adulthood, highlighting his religious upbringing, mechanical skills, and family life before his institutionalization. He portrays himself as a wrongfully confined patient, subjected to brutal and inhumane treatment by attendants who used handcuffs, straps, leather harnesses, and cold water baths as punishment and control. Swan describes forced hair cutting, near-drowning experiences, and the use of physical restraints such as locked chairs and iron bedsteads.

Within the asylum, Swan observes a grim hierarchy where some patients, including attendants who were former inmates, wield power over others, often with cruelty. He names specific attendants, such as Fred, Thomas Haly, Isabel (a female attendant known as the 'magdalen attendant'), and William Anderson, detailing their abusive behaviors. He also shares stories of fellow patients enduring suffering, including John P. Bacon, who was bound and whipped, and Kirk Hull, a young orphan who died after prolonged restraint. Swan’s narrative includes accounts of violence among patients and the failure of institutional oversight despite many governors and medical staff.

Despite the harsh conditions, Swan’s faith remains a cornerstone of his endurance. He frequently reflects on scripture, spiritual struggle, and hope for deliverance. His religious convictions provide both consolation and a framework to interpret his suffering. After his release, Swan maintains contact with some asylum staff and visits the institution to document its conditions, advocating for legal reforms to prevent wrongful confinement and abuse. He critiques the legal process that allowed his and others’ commitments, the profit motives of asylum stockholders, and the neglect by families and society toward the mentally ill.

The book combines personal narrative, detailed descriptions of asylum life, and moral exhortations. It includes an original engraving of the restraining apparatus and a recommendation letter from a local church, underscoring the author’s earnestness and community ties. Swan’s tone varies from sorrowful and indignant when describing abuse, to reflective and hopeful in recalling his faith and family. The narrative is a rare, vivid window into 19th-century asylum conditions, revealing both the human cost of institutionalization and one man’s resilience amid despair.