ANTHONY

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Anthony or Antny, as he was known to family and friends, was the 5th child of Isaac and Elizabeth who had a pretty tough life as you will see. In spite of his challenges he married Theodisia "Docie" Shanks and was blessed with 11 children, 70 grandchildren...

Can't seem to locate Anthony in the 1870 Census - he was not listed with the family.

In the 1880 Census Anthony, his wife and their 8-month-old daughter, Rose C.E., were living with his parents in Tangipahoa Parish and working on the family farm.   Looks like Anthony was the only adult in the family who could read and write. Notice who resides on the adjacent farm.  
 
By the 1900 Census, Anthony and Docie's family had grown to 11 children after 23 years of marriage.  Anthony was still farming in Ward 2 of Tangipahoa Parish with his 15-year-old son, Joseph L. This is the first and last mention of Joseph.  Living next door was his daughter, Rebecca, age 19,  her husband Dewitt Briggs, and their 2 sons, Emerson and Lisso.  Just so happens, Anthony's son, Arthur, was visiting his big sister when the census was recorded.  Since Rebecca was born after 1880 and married before 1900,  it's unlikely that she would have been recognized as Anthony and Docie's daughter had it not been for Arthur's presence in her home and Arthur being listed as brother-n-law to her husband, the head of the family.

Again, Anthony was listed as the only member of the family who could read and write.  Hum, let's visit this for a minute.  Could Anthony have, in prior years, been away at school or maybe working for a teacher or someone of prominence who taught him to read and write?   During a hospital interview, Anthony was asked what his name was. He replied, "Mark Anthony Dyson".  Is it possible that Anthony was familiar with the Roman, Mark Antony?

It was noted by several that Anthony's behavior was a bit peculiar starting at a young age.  He made up weird songs, frequently become agitated, had "running spells" and was sometimes physically constrained to home by family in later years.   He was sent to the parish jail when his behavior became severely out of control. In December of 1903, Anthony became a patient at East Louisiana Hospital for the Insane (ELHI) where he stayed for the next couple years until his condition improved.

Check out the last entry on the page of the 1910 Census. Yes, Anthony was again a prisoner in the Washington Parish Jail listed as a 50-year-old mulatto. Interesting, it states that he could not read or write. A couple months later, on June 30th, Anthony became a patient at ELHI for the second time, there he remained for the next 4 years.

Per ELHI records, below is the doctor's summary of Anthony's condition in 1910.

SUMMARY:

A Psychosis in a colored male, 45 years old, duration about six months previous to admission, with a history of several previous attacks of a like character occurring at irregular intervals and with long periods of perfect lucidity between attacks.  At present, the patient is in a condition of great mental excitement, stream thought broken.  Patient has an extravagant flight of ideas with absolutely no concentration and jumps from one subject to another with startling rapidity.  His talk is rapid, continuous, disconnected and unintelligible.  Emotional attitude is very happy.  He is not orientated for time, place or person.  Memory for remote and recent events both poor.  Insight and judgment nil.

DIAGNOSIS: Maniacal Depressive Insanity.

For the next 3 years after his release, Anthony was under the supervision of his brother, Moses, until once again he became unmanageable.

On January 25, 1917, Anthony was transported from the Washington Parish Jail to ELHI in handcuffs because he was in a very disturbed state. It was noted in hospital records that he had bruises on his head, shoulders and legs. His weight and height were recorded at 110 pounds and 5 feet, 4 1/4 inches. 

The doctor, being perplexed by Anthony's very bad state, requested information from Moses concerning his actions prior to readmission in the hospital.  Portions of Moses' reply are not readable.
 
On the morning of March 22, 1917, Anthony suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died at 6 pm. He was buried on March 24, at 6 pm in the colored cemetery located on hospital grounds...finally at peace. 

The death certificate listed his age as 52 but should have been 5+ years older.  Take a look at Anthony's genealogy and some of his children,  grands and military heroes.