Belle's cremated remains were never taken after her death and are still available at Oregon State Hospital to be claimed by anyone who is related. The ashes of her brother Arthur Covell are also unclaimed at OSH.
Belle was born in Gunnison, Colorado in 1886. She was the daughter and youngest child of Charles E. Covell and Isabelle L. Letts. Her father was born in Ohio and her mother was a native of Kentucky. They married in 1874 when Charles, a Civil War veteran, was about 42 and Isabelle was about 15. Belle's siblings were born in Kansas and included Fred (born in 1876), and Arthur (1879). In 1885, her parents and brothers lived in Hinsdale, Colorado where her father was a miner.
During the 1910 census, Belle was 24 and single. It was reported Belle was able to read and write. She was not working outside the home. She lived in Bandon, Coos County, on the southern coast of Oregon with his parents, her brother Arthur, as well as her niece, Lucille Covell and nephew, Alton Covell (both children of Belle's oldest brother Fred). It seems Arthur supported the family doing odd jobs. Her father was not employed. He died in 1911.
It was said that about 1912 Belle developed partial paralysis of her left side. This condition can be caused by head trauma, stroke, brain tumor, or cerebral palsy. By 1920 it was reported she was no longer able to read or write. It was also reported she was unable to speak English.
At the time of the 1920 census, Belle lived with Arthur south of Bandon in Two Mile, Coos County, where Arthur was the head of the household that included their widowed mother, and their nephew, Alton Covell (age 12). Her brother Fred was a chiropractor living and working in Bandon. Belle's mother died in September 1921 and about 1921 Arthur sustained a broken back from a car accident. On 2/21/1922, Belle was place in the Oregon Institution for the Feeble Minded (OSIFM) in Salem. It was a residential, quasi-educational institution charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home.
While Belle was institutionalized, on 9/5/1923, under instructions from Belle's brother Arthur, her nephew Alton killed his step-mother (Fred’s fourth wife & Belle's sister-in-law). Arthur and Alton were found guilty of murder. Arthur was hanged at the penitentiary on 5/22/1925. Alton was sentenced to life in prison and was pardoned in October 1934 after spending almost 11 years in prison.
After being institutionalized for 5 years, Belle died at the state hospital on 2/17/1927 at the age of 40. The cause of death was "chronic mitral insufficiency," a disorder of the heart in which the mitral valve does not close properly when the heart pumps out blood. She was survived by her brother Fred who died in San Luis Obispo, California in 1956.
More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
Belle was born in Gunnison, Colorado in 1886. She was the daughter and youngest child of Charles E. Covell and Isabelle L. Letts. Her father was born in Ohio and her mother was a native of Kentucky. They married in 1874 when Charles, a Civil War veteran, was about 42 and Isabelle was about 15. Belle's siblings were born in Kansas and included Fred (born in 1876), and Arthur (1879). In 1885, her parents and brothers lived in Hinsdale, Colorado where her father was a miner.
During the 1910 census, Belle was 24 and single. It was reported Belle was able to read and write. She was not working outside the home. She lived in Bandon, Coos County, on the southern coast of Oregon with his parents, her brother Arthur, as well as her niece, Lucille Covell and nephew, Alton Covell (both children of Belle's oldest brother Fred). It seems Arthur supported the family doing odd jobs. Her father was not employed. He died in 1911.
It was said that about 1912 Belle developed partial paralysis of her left side. This condition can be caused by head trauma, stroke, brain tumor, or cerebral palsy. By 1920 it was reported she was no longer able to read or write. It was also reported she was unable to speak English.
At the time of the 1920 census, Belle lived with Arthur south of Bandon in Two Mile, Coos County, where Arthur was the head of the household that included their widowed mother, and their nephew, Alton Covell (age 12). Her brother Fred was a chiropractor living and working in Bandon. Belle's mother died in September 1921 and about 1921 Arthur sustained a broken back from a car accident. On 2/21/1922, Belle was place in the Oregon Institution for the Feeble Minded (OSIFM) in Salem. It was a residential, quasi-educational institution charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home.
While Belle was institutionalized, on 9/5/1923, under instructions from Belle's brother Arthur, her nephew Alton killed his step-mother (Fred’s fourth wife & Belle's sister-in-law). Arthur and Alton were found guilty of murder. Arthur was hanged at the penitentiary on 5/22/1925. Alton was sentenced to life in prison and was pardoned in October 1934 after spending almost 11 years in prison.
After being institutionalized for 5 years, Belle died at the state hospital on 2/17/1927 at the age of 40. The cause of death was "chronic mitral insufficiency," a disorder of the heart in which the mitral valve does not close properly when the heart pumps out blood. She was survived by her brother Fred who died in San Luis Obispo, California in 1956.
More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
Belle's cremated remains were never taken after her death and are still available at Oregon State Hospital to be claimed by anyone who is related. The ashes of her brother Arthur Covell are also unclaimed at OSH.
Belle was born in Gunnison, Colorado in 1886. She was the daughter and youngest child of Charles E. Covell and Isabelle L. Letts. Her father was born in Ohio and her mother was a native of Kentucky. They married in 1874 when Charles, a Civil War veteran, was about 42 and Isabelle was about 15. Belle's siblings were born in Kansas and included Fred (born in 1876), and Arthur (1879). In 1885, her parents and brothers lived in Hinsdale, Colorado where her father was a miner.
During the 1910 census, Belle was 24 and single. It was reported Belle was able to read and write. She was not working outside the home. She lived in Bandon, Coos County, on the southern coast of Oregon with his parents, her brother Arthur, as well as her niece, Lucille Covell and nephew, Alton Covell (both children of Belle's oldest brother Fred). It seems Arthur supported the family doing odd jobs. Her father was not employed. He died in 1911.
It was said that about 1912 Belle developed partial paralysis of her left side. This condition can be caused by head trauma, stroke, brain tumor, or cerebral palsy. By 1920 it was reported she was no longer able to read or write. It was also reported she was unable to speak English.
At the time of the 1920 census, Belle lived with Arthur south of Bandon in Two Mile, Coos County, where Arthur was the head of the household that included their widowed mother, and their nephew, Alton Covell (age 12). Her brother Fred was a chiropractor living and working in Bandon. Belle's mother died in September 1921 and about 1921 Arthur sustained a broken back from a car accident. On 2/21/1922, Belle was place in the Oregon Institution for the Feeble Minded (OSIFM) in Salem. It was a residential, quasi-educational institution charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home.
While Belle was institutionalized, on 9/5/1923, under instructions from Belle's brother Arthur, her nephew Alton killed his step-mother (Fred’s fourth wife & Belle's sister-in-law). Arthur and Alton were found guilty of murder. Arthur was hanged at the penitentiary on 5/22/1925. Alton was sentenced to life in prison and was pardoned in October 1934 after spending almost 11 years in prison.
After being institutionalized for 5 years, Belle died at the state hospital on 2/17/1927 at the age of 40. The cause of death was "chronic mitral insufficiency," a disorder of the heart in which the mitral valve does not close properly when the heart pumps out blood. She was survived by her brother Fred who died in San Luis Obispo, California in 1956.
More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
Belle was born in Gunnison, Colorado in 1886. She was the daughter and youngest child of Charles E. Covell and Isabelle L. Letts. Her father was born in Ohio and her mother was a native of Kentucky. They married in 1874 when Charles, a Civil War veteran, was about 42 and Isabelle was about 15. Belle's siblings were born in Kansas and included Fred (born in 1876), and Arthur (1879). In 1885, her parents and brothers lived in Hinsdale, Colorado where her father was a miner.
During the 1910 census, Belle was 24 and single. It was reported Belle was able to read and write. She was not working outside the home. She lived in Bandon, Coos County, on the southern coast of Oregon with his parents, her brother Arthur, as well as her niece, Lucille Covell and nephew, Alton Covell (both children of Belle's oldest brother Fred). It seems Arthur supported the family doing odd jobs. Her father was not employed. He died in 1911.
It was said that about 1912 Belle developed partial paralysis of her left side. This condition can be caused by head trauma, stroke, brain tumor, or cerebral palsy. By 1920 it was reported she was no longer able to read or write. It was also reported she was unable to speak English.
At the time of the 1920 census, Belle lived with Arthur south of Bandon in Two Mile, Coos County, where Arthur was the head of the household that included their widowed mother, and their nephew, Alton Covell (age 12). Her brother Fred was a chiropractor living and working in Bandon. Belle's mother died in September 1921 and about 1921 Arthur sustained a broken back from a car accident. On 2/21/1922, Belle was place in the Oregon Institution for the Feeble Minded (OSIFM) in Salem. It was a residential, quasi-educational institution charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home.
While Belle was institutionalized, on 9/5/1923, under instructions from Belle's brother Arthur, her nephew Alton killed his step-mother (Fred’s fourth wife & Belle's sister-in-law). Arthur and Alton were found guilty of murder. Arthur was hanged at the penitentiary on 5/22/1925. Alton was sentenced to life in prison and was pardoned in October 1934 after spending almost 11 years in prison.
After being institutionalized for 5 years, Belle died at the state hospital on 2/17/1927 at the age of 40. The cause of death was "chronic mitral insufficiency," a disorder of the heart in which the mitral valve does not close properly when the heart pumps out blood. She was survived by her brother Fred who died in San Luis Obispo, California in 1956.
More information about the 3500 unclaimed cremains at OSH is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
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