Thank you for this very interesting post! This 'Crazy' Henry Baldwin is a 3rd cousin though my Oviatt line.
Andrew, I hope you can add this link to this Henry Baldwin for others to read. It sounds as though Henry may have had a history of schizophrenia, or a like mental illness. I have been a strong proponent of bringing attention to mental health issues in this lifetime and getting people across the globe to recognized that mental illness needs to be treated just as any physical illness, like heart disease, diabetes, or a broken limb.
There is another family line in WikiTree, the Tuttle family, who first settled at New Haven, Connecticut. There were some 10 children in this family and at least 3 of them suffered from mental health issues with serious consequences. One of these Tuttle women is the ancestor to the fire and brimstone preacher, Jonathan Edwards, whose descendant was Aaron Burr. There have been writers and researchers who have documented the Tuttle's and their descendant Jonathan Edwards, who may have suffered from manic-depression.
I specifically mention Jonathan Edwards because we have some 20th and 19th century genealogists who were eugenicists. They believed that negative strains could ultimately be bred out of persons. Once such genealogist (name not mentioned as he is frequently cited as a source on wikitree) left out information in his records of a Tuttle daughter who had murdered her 17 y/o son. The deceased son is also not mentioned in his Tuttle genealogy.
We all need to remember that, positive or negative, we need to include information (with sources) on profiles and best possible to be accurate and thorough genealogists (and with an eye toward compassion for those who came before us with mental health issues). Thank you!
