Temporary record

The Richmond papers consist mostly of routine family correspondence, with the exception of some interesting commentary on Oregon from a brother who moved there in the 1870s. There is a fascinating sidelight to the collection, however, for Rowland Richmond was a morphine addict and some of the correspondence documents his attempt to rid himself of the habit through treatment by three different doctors. He received doses of "antidote" through the mail, and two of the letters discuss the treatment. A medical form details his physical condition, the cause and extent of his addiction, and contains a table outlining cost of treatment per amount of laudanum, elixir, opium, or morphine used daily.

M-2869.1

Subjects

Drug abuse--treatment
Migration, Internal--United States
Morphine habit
Opium habit

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