Betty Blane Phelps

Female 1934 - 1981  (46 years)


Personal Information    |    PDF

  • Name Betty Blane Phelps 
    Born 26 Mar 1934  Washington Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Virginia, Births, 1864-2014. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia.
      Name: Betty Blane Phelps
      Birth Date: 26 Mar 1934
      Birth Place: Washington Co. VA

    Gender Female 
    Died 08 Feb 1981  Amherst Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Virginia, Deaths, 1912-2014. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia.
      Name: Betty Blane Phelps
      Gender: Female
      Race: White
      Age at Death: 46
      Birth Date: 26 Mar 1934
      Death Date: 8 Feb 1981
      Cause of Death: severe generalized perotinitis, intestinal perforation; possible ulcerative colitis
      Death Place: Madison Heights, Amherst, Virginia, Lynchburg Training School and Hospital.
      Registration Date: 20 Feb 1981
      Father: Frank B Phelps
      Mother: Dora Pendleton
    Buried Phelps Cemetery, Washington Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • CENSUS RECORDS

      1940 Census
      Name: Bettey Phelps
      Age: 6
      Estimated birth year: abt 1934
      Gender: Female
      Race: White
      Birthplace: Virginia
      Marital Status: Single
      Relation to Head of House: Daughter
      Home in 1940: North Fork, Washington, Virginia
      Street: East At Highway No 19 In Moccasin Gap
      Inferred Residence in 1935: Rural, Washington, Virginia
      Residence in 1935: Rural, Washington, Virginia
      Resident on farm in 1935: Yes
      Attended School or College: No
      Highest Grade Completed: None
      Household Members:
      Name Age
      Frank B Phelps 45
      Dora Phelps 50
      Irene Phelps 13
      Bettey Phelps 6

      She died at the Lynchburg Training Center and Hospital, which informant is listed as the records of the Lynchburg Training Center and Hospital. The facility's original name was the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded, and during the 1920's was the center for the eugenics movement and force sterilizations. In the 1950's the facility embraced the national movement of training for persons having intellectual disabilities, and the name was changed to the Lynchburg Training Center. The center also had a large operational farm, providing food for the center and employment for the residents.

      In 1972 the facility was reorganized into seven divisions based on function: Pediatrics, Independent Living, Severely Retarded and Infirm, Intensive Social Rehabilitation, Psychiatric, Ambulatory and Hospital (Medical-Surgical). Overcrowding was a continuous problem with residents ranging in age from 3 to 83, and were in the severe to profound range of mental/intellectual impairments. Many also had severe physical disabilities.

      No doubt Betty had a cognitive disability of some sort. We have no idea when she was admitted to the facility. Since her father died in 1947, when she was a child, and her mother died in 1966, she most likely was placed there either before or after her mother's death. I wonder if the overcrowding led to her intestinal difficulties lead to her death because it wasn't diagnosed in time.
    Person ID I33059  Master File
    Last Modified 18 Mar 2016 

    Father Frank Blane Phelps,   b. 25 Jul 1895, Washington Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 14 Jun 1947, Abingdon, Washington Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 51 years) 
    Mother Dora Elizabeth Pendleton,   b. 30 Jan 1890, Washington Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 26 Sep 1966, Abingdon, Washington Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 76 years) 
    Family ID F13826  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart