"He frequently talks of pistols, killing people, putting them under ground and other deeds of violence." (Image by Guillaume Duchenne.)

George Alger was an elderly Brooklyn landowner in the 1890s who was apparently a danger to himself and others. His household help was also quite unusual. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle painted a picture of the odd arrangement in the September 14, 1897 issue. An excerpt:

“With only a little girl 6 or 7 years of age and a one armed boy to look after him, George Alger, an old man and the owner of several pieces of real estate in Brooklyn and elsewhere. is living to-day at 184 Seventeenth street, despite the fact that there is a committee of his person who is supposed to look after him and see that he is properly cared for. Alger is an incompetent person, subject at times to fits of violence, and in the opinion of a referee who has recommended the sale of a portion of his property, should be confined in an institution.

Judge Hurd of the County Court handed down a decision to-day in which he severely condemns the manner in which Alger is allowed to live and points out the duties which ought to have been performed by the committee of his person.

Alger is a widower, his wife having died last April. The only relative he has is a sister, Mrs. Calista C. Gilbert, who resides in New Haven, Conn. Shortly after the death of Mrs. Alger, John Muir of 318 Twelfth street, was appointed a committee of the person and estate of the old man and since that time has administered his affairs.

Referee Elder in his report, recommended the sale for not less than $3,000 of a certain piece of property on Twelfth street, and the confinement of Alger in an institution, saying:

‘Mr. Muir’s committeeship, while careful, is necessarily one of almost an exclusive financial character. I learn that Mr. Alger at certain seasons of the year is a violent man and during all seasons of the year he frequently talks of pistols, killing people, putting them under ground and other deeds of violence. I do not think an insane man who indulges in such notions is safe at large. In passing upon the report of the referee, Justice Hurd said to-day:

‘There is sufficient shown to warrant the sale of the incompetent’s real estate. The committee is the committee of the person and estate; he is as much bound to provide suitable and proper support for the incompetent as he is to preserve his estate. He is bound to restrain Mr. Alger, if he is dangerous, as the referee reports, without the instruction of the court. The way in which the incompetent man is living–his meals cooked by a girl between 6 and 7 years of age, with a one-armed boy as attendant and messenger–is manifestly improper. The committee should correct it and see to it that a proper style of living is afforded. However disagreeable the committee may find his duties, he must nevertheless perform them for the best interest of his ward.'”