Louisa was born in Germany around 1817. She may have immigrated to New York from West Prussia in 1883. It is unclear when she immigrated to the Waterloo Region but she did so some time during the early 1890s. She was living in Berlin, Ontario for two years before she was committed to the Poorhouse on June 2, 1896. She was admitted to the House for being “ Destitute”. She stayed at the House for almost 3 weeks before she was discharged. She remained out of the House for a couple of weeks until she returned to the House on July 3, this time she was committed for being “Insane”. She stayed at the House for 4 days before she was transferred to the County Gaol. Beside her name, it stated: “Committed to Berlin Goal as a Dangerous inmate”.
She remained at the Gaol until September 5, 1896 when she died. Her cause of death was listed as “Insanity” with no further indication as to what happened to her.
Louisa Finkelstein’s Death Certificate; Source: ancestry.ca
