Albert D. Finch was a familiar figure in Spokane, where he worked as a conductor for the Great Northern Railway. When the 58-year-old husband and father suddenly became ill in the spring of 1905, his friends could scarcely have anticipated how quickly his mind would begin to unravel.
Finch became consumed by a series of bizarre and frightening delusions. He claimed that he had hatched nine children in a single night, that electricity had been placed in his room to kill him, and that portions of his body had been stolen or replaced. At other times, he believed himself to be a captain in the United States Army.
After only a few weeks of increasingly disturbed behavior, Finch was brought before the superior court and declared insane, a development that shocked those who had known him throughout his years in Spokane.
Well Known Conductor is Pronounced Insane
Albert D. Finch, a conductor on the Great Northern and well known in the city, was pronounced insane this morning by the superior court.
Mr. Finch has been sick but a short time and the news of his mind failing I’m came as a great surprise to his many friends.
Mr. Finch was taken sick with the present spell about April 8 and for the past month has had some very peculiar delusions.
He thinks he hatched out nine children in one night and is looking for them.
Another delusion is that his nephew has put electricity in his room and if he had awakened he would be killed.
He says his legs are wooden, his body is his father’s, his head belongs to someone else, his eyes were taken out and carried away in a wagon.
Mr. Finch imagines that he is a captain in the United States Army and that someone stole his legs and gave him another pair that do not fit.
Mr. FInch is 58 years old and has lived in Spokane for some years. He is a married man and has one child.
Source: The Spokane Press. Spokane, Wash. May 16, 1905.
