She was the daughter of an Episcopalian minister, was born in 1848 and spent her early years in Philadelphia. Her father died when she was a child and her family was subjected to poverty in an age when there were no social services to provide a safety net. She had a short career as an actress and then went into nursing. She was the nurse of Mary Harkness Flagler, Henry Flagler's first wife. Two years after Mary Flagler's death On June 5, 1883, a small gathering of family and friends made their way to the Madison Avenue Methodist Church to witness the marriage Ida Alice Shourds, 35, and 53-year-old widower Henry M. Flagler. That December the couple departed for a belated honeymoon in Jacksonville and St. Augustine. It was this visit and later stays that inspired Flagler's railroad acquisitions and eventually settling in St. Augustine where he built the Ponce De Leon Hotel opened in 1888. For Alice Flagler, St. Augustine was idyllic as she became the center of the social swirl. Her dinner dances were RSVP'd by Astors and Vanderbilts.
According to a Flagler biographer, it was at one of Alice's soirées that her husband caught the eye of Miss Mary Lilly Kenan. Flagler and his wife visited Palm Beach in 1893 aboard the yacht Alicia. Just as Alice had promoted her husband's interest in St Augustine, she most likely encouraged his Palm Beach acquisitions and plans, never aware she would never become a part of them. Like many others of her clique during the 1890s, Alice dabbled in Spiritualism, speaking to reincarnated historical figures from century's past as if they were sitting next to her. By 1894, her Ouija consultations, as well as her open talk of her husband's infidelity, led Flagler to share his concerns about her conduct with friends and staff. Flagler's doctor George G. Shelton, a nose and throat specialist, was consulted. "Because of her glib tongue, Dr. Shelton made it a point to place himself in her presence" taking note of what she said, according to Sidney Walter Martin in his book Florida's Flagler.
During the fall of 1895, Dr. Shelton, author of Therapeutics of Cough, brought two alienists with him to 685 Fifth Avenue, the Flaglers' New York apartment, for their opinion on Alice's continued unruly behavior. Their presence upset her; she became frantic. According to reports, they advised "she be removed from the home and taken immediately to Choate House, Dr. George C. S. Choate's sanitarium in Pleasantville, located in New York's Central Valley. Built in the mid-1800s, Dr. Choate had added a 10-room wing to his private residence as an exclusive sanitarium for wealthy patients who suffered mental and nervous disorders. His most famous patient had been Horace Greeley who checked-in after losing the 1872 presidential election.
When Choate died in 1896, the facility was operated by Dr. Carlos MacDonald who had resigned his position as president of New York's Lunacy Commission in order to open a "high-class sanitarium for the treatment of select cases of mental disease." Mrs. Flagler was among his first patients, diagnosed by MacDonald as having "incurable delusional insanity." Several months later during the spring and summer of 1896, "much improved and almost well," she underwent a "rest cure" at Satan's Toe, the Flaglers' Orienta Point mansion where she would be watched by a nurse. At Mamaroneck, there was a household staff of ten — porters, waiter men, upstairs maids, parlor maids, cooks, and kitchen men — for the most part, longtime Flagler loyalists. Soon after, Dr. Shelton believed her reason began to fail; she became "crazed beyond hope." His affidavit stated Mrs. Flagler believed she was persecuted. She was "highly excitable, had a nervous temperament, and irrational spiritual beliefs." Later, three insanity experts diagnosed her as a "violent paranoid" when they testified during the Florida Supreme Court hearings.
Alice's confinement was a stealth undertaking as "the fact she was insane had been carefully concealed from the public as well as her intimate friends for whom the news will be of shock" reported the Buffalo Review in 1899. Imagine, Alice's friends never knew she was crazy. Instead, those who asked were told she was experiencing ill health. Henry Flagler never saw his wife again. In May 1899 Flagler changed his residency from New York to Florida with the New York Supreme Court set to declare Alice insane in the coming weeks. A committee was appointed "for her person and estate." Once she was declared legally insane, Flagler's Florida campaign began. His divorce lawyer, Eugene Ashley took over Alice's guardianship. Insanity became a part of Florida's divorce law, allowing him to divorce her August 14, 1901. less than two weeks later on August 24, 1901, Flagler, 71, married 36-year-old Mary Lily Kenan, in Wilmington. Ida spent the rest of her life locked away, Alice Flagler died July 12, 1930 at the Dr. MacDonald House. For Ida Flagler, it was the end of more than 12,775 days of solitary isolation. Family members, however few and distant, were notified. A service was held at the sanitarium before burial at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn.
According to a Flagler biographer, it was at one of Alice's soirées that her husband caught the eye of Miss Mary Lilly Kenan. Flagler and his wife visited Palm Beach in 1893 aboard the yacht Alicia. Just as Alice had promoted her husband's interest in St Augustine, she most likely encouraged his Palm Beach acquisitions and plans, never aware she would never become a part of them. Like many others of her clique during the 1890s, Alice dabbled in Spiritualism, speaking to reincarnated historical figures from century's past as if they were sitting next to her. By 1894, her Ouija consultations, as well as her open talk of her husband's infidelity, led Flagler to share his concerns about her conduct with friends and staff. Flagler's doctor George G. Shelton, a nose and throat specialist, was consulted. "Because of her glib tongue, Dr. Shelton made it a point to place himself in her presence" taking note of what she said, according to Sidney Walter Martin in his book Florida's Flagler.
During the fall of 1895, Dr. Shelton, author of Therapeutics of Cough, brought two alienists with him to 685 Fifth Avenue, the Flaglers' New York apartment, for their opinion on Alice's continued unruly behavior. Their presence upset her; she became frantic. According to reports, they advised "she be removed from the home and taken immediately to Choate House, Dr. George C. S. Choate's sanitarium in Pleasantville, located in New York's Central Valley. Built in the mid-1800s, Dr. Choate had added a 10-room wing to his private residence as an exclusive sanitarium for wealthy patients who suffered mental and nervous disorders. His most famous patient had been Horace Greeley who checked-in after losing the 1872 presidential election.
When Choate died in 1896, the facility was operated by Dr. Carlos MacDonald who had resigned his position as president of New York's Lunacy Commission in order to open a "high-class sanitarium for the treatment of select cases of mental disease." Mrs. Flagler was among his first patients, diagnosed by MacDonald as having "incurable delusional insanity." Several months later during the spring and summer of 1896, "much improved and almost well," she underwent a "rest cure" at Satan's Toe, the Flaglers' Orienta Point mansion where she would be watched by a nurse. At Mamaroneck, there was a household staff of ten — porters, waiter men, upstairs maids, parlor maids, cooks, and kitchen men — for the most part, longtime Flagler loyalists. Soon after, Dr. Shelton believed her reason began to fail; she became "crazed beyond hope." His affidavit stated Mrs. Flagler believed she was persecuted. She was "highly excitable, had a nervous temperament, and irrational spiritual beliefs." Later, three insanity experts diagnosed her as a "violent paranoid" when they testified during the Florida Supreme Court hearings.
Alice's confinement was a stealth undertaking as "the fact she was insane had been carefully concealed from the public as well as her intimate friends for whom the news will be of shock" reported the Buffalo Review in 1899. Imagine, Alice's friends never knew she was crazy. Instead, those who asked were told she was experiencing ill health. Henry Flagler never saw his wife again. In May 1899 Flagler changed his residency from New York to Florida with the New York Supreme Court set to declare Alice insane in the coming weeks. A committee was appointed "for her person and estate." Once she was declared legally insane, Flagler's Florida campaign began. His divorce lawyer, Eugene Ashley took over Alice's guardianship. Insanity became a part of Florida's divorce law, allowing him to divorce her August 14, 1901. less than two weeks later on August 24, 1901, Flagler, 71, married 36-year-old Mary Lily Kenan, in Wilmington. Ida spent the rest of her life locked away, Alice Flagler died July 12, 1930 at the Dr. MacDonald House. For Ida Flagler, it was the end of more than 12,775 days of solitary isolation. Family members, however few and distant, were notified. A service was held at the sanitarium before burial at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn.
She was the daughter of an Episcopalian minister, was born in 1848 and spent her early years in Philadelphia. Her father died when she was a child and her family was subjected to poverty in an age when there were no social services to provide a safety net. She had a short career as an actress and then went into nursing. She was the nurse of Mary Harkness Flagler, Henry Flagler's first wife. Two years after Mary Flagler's death On June 5, 1883, a small gathering of family and friends made their way to the Madison Avenue Methodist Church to witness the marriage Ida Alice Shourds, 35, and 53-year-old widower Henry M. Flagler. That December the couple departed for a belated honeymoon in Jacksonville and St. Augustine. It was this visit and later stays that inspired Flagler's railroad acquisitions and eventually settling in St. Augustine where he built the Ponce De Leon Hotel opened in 1888. For Alice Flagler, St. Augustine was idyllic as she became the center of the social swirl. Her dinner dances were RSVP'd by Astors and Vanderbilts.
According to a Flagler biographer, it was at one of Alice's soirées that her husband caught the eye of Miss Mary Lilly Kenan. Flagler and his wife visited Palm Beach in 1893 aboard the yacht Alicia. Just as Alice had promoted her husband's interest in St Augustine, she most likely encouraged his Palm Beach acquisitions and plans, never aware she would never become a part of them. Like many others of her clique during the 1890s, Alice dabbled in Spiritualism, speaking to reincarnated historical figures from century's past as if they were sitting next to her. By 1894, her Ouija consultations, as well as her open talk of her husband's infidelity, led Flagler to share his concerns about her conduct with friends and staff. Flagler's doctor George G. Shelton, a nose and throat specialist, was consulted. "Because of her glib tongue, Dr. Shelton made it a point to place himself in her presence" taking note of what she said, according to Sidney Walter Martin in his book Florida's Flagler.
During the fall of 1895, Dr. Shelton, author of Therapeutics of Cough, brought two alienists with him to 685 Fifth Avenue, the Flaglers' New York apartment, for their opinion on Alice's continued unruly behavior. Their presence upset her; she became frantic. According to reports, they advised "she be removed from the home and taken immediately to Choate House, Dr. George C. S. Choate's sanitarium in Pleasantville, located in New York's Central Valley. Built in the mid-1800s, Dr. Choate had added a 10-room wing to his private residence as an exclusive sanitarium for wealthy patients who suffered mental and nervous disorders. His most famous patient had been Horace Greeley who checked-in after losing the 1872 presidential election.
When Choate died in 1896, the facility was operated by Dr. Carlos MacDonald who had resigned his position as president of New York's Lunacy Commission in order to open a "high-class sanitarium for the treatment of select cases of mental disease." Mrs. Flagler was among his first patients, diagnosed by MacDonald as having "incurable delusional insanity." Several months later during the spring and summer of 1896, "much improved and almost well," she underwent a "rest cure" at Satan's Toe, the Flaglers' Orienta Point mansion where she would be watched by a nurse. At Mamaroneck, there was a household staff of ten — porters, waiter men, upstairs maids, parlor maids, cooks, and kitchen men — for the most part, longtime Flagler loyalists. Soon after, Dr. Shelton believed her reason began to fail; she became "crazed beyond hope." His affidavit stated Mrs. Flagler believed she was persecuted. She was "highly excitable, had a nervous temperament, and irrational spiritual beliefs." Later, three insanity experts diagnosed her as a "violent paranoid" when they testified during the Florida Supreme Court hearings.
Alice's confinement was a stealth undertaking as "the fact she was insane had been carefully concealed from the public as well as her intimate friends for whom the news will be of shock" reported the Buffalo Review in 1899. Imagine, Alice's friends never knew she was crazy. Instead, those who asked were told she was experiencing ill health. Henry Flagler never saw his wife again. In May 1899 Flagler changed his residency from New York to Florida with the New York Supreme Court set to declare Alice insane in the coming weeks. A committee was appointed "for her person and estate." Once she was declared legally insane, Flagler's Florida campaign began. His divorce lawyer, Eugene Ashley took over Alice's guardianship. Insanity became a part of Florida's divorce law, allowing him to divorce her August 14, 1901. less than two weeks later on August 24, 1901, Flagler, 71, married 36-year-old Mary Lily Kenan, in Wilmington. Ida spent the rest of her life locked away, Alice Flagler died July 12, 1930 at the Dr. MacDonald House. For Ida Flagler, it was the end of more than 12,775 days of solitary isolation. Family members, however few and distant, were notified. A service was held at the sanitarium before burial at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn.
According to a Flagler biographer, it was at one of Alice's soirées that her husband caught the eye of Miss Mary Lilly Kenan. Flagler and his wife visited Palm Beach in 1893 aboard the yacht Alicia. Just as Alice had promoted her husband's interest in St Augustine, she most likely encouraged his Palm Beach acquisitions and plans, never aware she would never become a part of them. Like many others of her clique during the 1890s, Alice dabbled in Spiritualism, speaking to reincarnated historical figures from century's past as if they were sitting next to her. By 1894, her Ouija consultations, as well as her open talk of her husband's infidelity, led Flagler to share his concerns about her conduct with friends and staff. Flagler's doctor George G. Shelton, a nose and throat specialist, was consulted. "Because of her glib tongue, Dr. Shelton made it a point to place himself in her presence" taking note of what she said, according to Sidney Walter Martin in his book Florida's Flagler.
During the fall of 1895, Dr. Shelton, author of Therapeutics of Cough, brought two alienists with him to 685 Fifth Avenue, the Flaglers' New York apartment, for their opinion on Alice's continued unruly behavior. Their presence upset her; she became frantic. According to reports, they advised "she be removed from the home and taken immediately to Choate House, Dr. George C. S. Choate's sanitarium in Pleasantville, located in New York's Central Valley. Built in the mid-1800s, Dr. Choate had added a 10-room wing to his private residence as an exclusive sanitarium for wealthy patients who suffered mental and nervous disorders. His most famous patient had been Horace Greeley who checked-in after losing the 1872 presidential election.
When Choate died in 1896, the facility was operated by Dr. Carlos MacDonald who had resigned his position as president of New York's Lunacy Commission in order to open a "high-class sanitarium for the treatment of select cases of mental disease." Mrs. Flagler was among his first patients, diagnosed by MacDonald as having "incurable delusional insanity." Several months later during the spring and summer of 1896, "much improved and almost well," she underwent a "rest cure" at Satan's Toe, the Flaglers' Orienta Point mansion where she would be watched by a nurse. At Mamaroneck, there was a household staff of ten — porters, waiter men, upstairs maids, parlor maids, cooks, and kitchen men — for the most part, longtime Flagler loyalists. Soon after, Dr. Shelton believed her reason began to fail; she became "crazed beyond hope." His affidavit stated Mrs. Flagler believed she was persecuted. She was "highly excitable, had a nervous temperament, and irrational spiritual beliefs." Later, three insanity experts diagnosed her as a "violent paranoid" when they testified during the Florida Supreme Court hearings.
Alice's confinement was a stealth undertaking as "the fact she was insane had been carefully concealed from the public as well as her intimate friends for whom the news will be of shock" reported the Buffalo Review in 1899. Imagine, Alice's friends never knew she was crazy. Instead, those who asked were told she was experiencing ill health. Henry Flagler never saw his wife again. In May 1899 Flagler changed his residency from New York to Florida with the New York Supreme Court set to declare Alice insane in the coming weeks. A committee was appointed "for her person and estate." Once she was declared legally insane, Flagler's Florida campaign began. His divorce lawyer, Eugene Ashley took over Alice's guardianship. Insanity became a part of Florida's divorce law, allowing him to divorce her August 14, 1901. less than two weeks later on August 24, 1901, Flagler, 71, married 36-year-old Mary Lily Kenan, in Wilmington. Ida spent the rest of her life locked away, Alice Flagler died July 12, 1930 at the Dr. MacDonald House. For Ida Flagler, it was the end of more than 12,775 days of solitary isolation. Family members, however few and distant, were notified. A service was held at the sanitarium before burial at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn.
