Fritz Newhouse was born on February 14, 1880, in Pine Island, Minnesota. After graduating from high school—and thanks to a loan from his uncle William Paul Duerre (1869-1961) [also a dentist]—Fritz was able to attend and graduate from the Chicago School of Dental Surgery, Chicago, Illinois.
At the time of his death, Fritz was of medium build and height. He had gray eyes and dark hair. Aside from wearing glasses, his only other distinguishing trait was that he had become bald. According to his daughter, Elizabeth Esther Newhouse Harman (1916-2006), her father was deeply bothered about being bald. And, as the Mazzepa Tribune reported, “he suffered from the delusion that someone was after him.” Perhaps his baldness, of which he was very self-conscious, made him feel that people were looking at him and thus, “after him.”
Over the years we have become familiar with celebrities hiding their pain on the inside while smiling on the outside: Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, Naomi Judd, to name a few. Apparently, Fritz Newhouse was doing the same as this quote shows: “When in normal condition he was the person who kept the crowd smiling and was quick with jests and humorous stories.” [2] The Mazeppa Tribune went on to say that “For years he has suffered from periods of ill-health and despondency, and has had several attacks of nervous prostration.” While we understand the general meaning of such words as “ill-health” and “despondency,” what exactly is “nervous prostration”?
At the time of his death, nervous prostration was thought to be “a state of debility, in which nervous derangements predominate.” [3] What does this mean for my grandfather's life? According to the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, this would have been his life:
“A man actively engaged in business or in public life presently finds himself unequal to his daily tasks; he suffers odd sensations in his head; his digestion is disordered; he is weak; wakefulness, mental depression, and a thousand and one new sensations of strange character and fearful portent are superadded. The unfortunate subject of these ills now recoils from his work, gives himself up to the consideration of his symptoms, and relaxes his hold on the interests and occupations of his life. . .” [4]
Unlike today, mental health treatments at the time of Fritz’s life were not good enough to give patients any type of useful help. [5] In fact, the only real treatment available at this time was a lobotomy. Those with mental illness and desperate for relief, turned to lobotomies. A lobotomy is a surgery to destroy the brain's prefrontal lobe. Though it’s supposed to have a "calming" effect, lobotomies often cause personality changes, a loss of decision-making ability, poor judgment, and sometimes even death. I don’t know if Fritz thought about having a lobotomy or not, but with the side effects, I can certainly understand if he chose not to have one.
As he had a family, a successful dental practice, and wealth, it's unfortunate my paternal grandfather chose to end his life. However, based on the newspaper article (see below), he suffered from depression, paranoia, anxiety, and was probably schizophrenic. And, it most probably became too much for him to handle.
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Sources:
[1] Dr. F. V. Newhouse Ends Life Tuesday/Sad Event Comes as a Terrible
Shock To Many Friends of Popular Rochester Dentist (1923, February). The
Tribune, Mazeppa, Minnesota.
[2] The Tribune newspaper, Mazeppa, Minnesota, Feb 1923.
[3] 1884. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, CX(3). https://doi.org.DOI:
10.1056/NEJM188401171100302
[4] 1884. op. cit
[5]
Schimelpfening, N. (2022, April 19). The History of Depression: Accounts,
Treatments and Beliefs Through the Ages. Verywell Mind. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/who-discovered-depression-1066770
[6] Ibid.
