Call Number:

MSS 428

Repository:

Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Extent:

1.4 linear feet (3 document boxes and 1 half document box)

Language:

English

Date:

circa 1928; undated

Creator:

Scheller, Otto

Form:

Petitions and Patient records

Abstract:

Otto Scheller was born in Bohemia/Czechoslovaka/Austria on 29 June 1881, and immigrated to the United States in 1911. On 14 December 1928, he was admitted to Philadelphia State Hospital (locally known as "Byberry") against his wishes. Doctors Irving and Burr diagnosed Scheller as having "true paranoia" after interviewing him and his sister-in-law, with whom he lived; and inspecting the packages of petitions and correspondence, presumably copies of what Scheller had sent to the various courts. He died of heart disease on 2 December 1948 at Philadelphia State Hospital. The Otto Scheller records consist mostly of manuscript copies of petitions and correspondence sent by Scheller to the Czechoslovak Republic. The petitions ask for the Republic's assistance in obtaining property that Scheller believed he inherited from his grandfather and that was subsequently stolen by the State of Pennsylvania. This collection is divided into three series.

Otto Scheller was born in Bohemia/Czechoslovaka/Austria on 29 June 1881, and immigrated to the United States in 1911. Scheller lived in Philadelphia and worked for approximately ten years as a weaver. He never married.

On 14 December 1928, Scheller was admitted to Philadelphia State Hospital (locally known as "Byberry") against his wishes.

From the ward notes: Scheller says that he has inherited considerable wealth from his grandfather, in the form of valuable papers which his grandfather brought from Austria. He recalls seeing these papers in a box the day they were loaded into a wagon for transport. He was then five years of age. These papers were deposited in a safety deposit vault in Philadelphia. The certificate and the key have been passed down from his grandfather to his father and then to an older brother who died in 1918. They key was passed to him and the certificate went to the Register of Wills.

During the past ten years he has been busily engaged trying to recover these papers. He claims "one thousand million dollars" damages from the State of Pennsylvania. He has taken his case without counsel through all the courts from the Magistrate's Court to the Supreme Court of the United States. He has written to all the high officials of the country including Attorney General, Congress, Senate, and the President. He is now going to sue those responsible for his involuntary detention in this hospital. He has the idea that his name was changed from Scheller to Schiller at the Immigration Station for the sole purpose of preventing him from regaining his lost wealth.

Doctors Irving and Burr diagnosed Scheller as having "true paranoia" after interviewing him and his sister-in-law, with whom he lived; and inspecting the packages of petitions and correspondence, presumably copies of what Scheller had sent to the various courts.

Scheller died of heart disease on 2 December 1948 at Philadelphia State Hospital.

The Otto Scheller records consist mostly of manuscript copies of petitions and correspondence sent by Scheller to the Czechoslovak Republic. The petitions ask for the Republic's assistance in obtaining property that Scheller believed he inherited from his grandfather and that was subsequently stolen by the State of Pennsylvania. This collection is divided into three series.

Series I: Ward Notes contains notes typed by a Dr. Butterworth at the Philadelphia State Hospital. The notes provide a fairly comprehensive summary of Scheller's court cases, a brief biography, and his mental state.

Series II: Petition for Justice includes a six-part petition, presumably what had intended to send, or copies of what he did send, to the Consulate of the Czechoslovak Republic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each part of the petition includes its original packaging, accompanying letter, and various smaller pieces of the petition. Researchers should note that all the packages in this series were unsealed. Inside each package were several handmade envelopes, glued around the edges, stitched, and then sealed with wax.

Series III: Copies of Petition for Justice holds partial copies (drafts?) of the petition contained in Series II. These copies are placed inside empty notebook covers, and two include letters that were sealed with stitching and wax.