This document is an official form from the State of New York - Department of Mental Hygiene, dated 1957. It is titled "Petition" and represents an "Application for the Commitment of an Alleged Mentally Sick Person".
Purpose and Context: The petition was filed pursuant to the provisions of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law as it existed at that time (referencing laws from 1909, 1927, and 1933). It represents the formal legal process initiated to request the involuntary commitment of an individual believed to be mentally ill and in need of institutional care.
Key Information Visible:
Court: The application is addressed to the Justice Supreme Court, Kings County.
Subject: The individual named as the "Alleged Mentally Sick Person" is Thomas Wotherspoon. At the time of the petition, he was residing at Kings County Hospital in the Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County.
Petitioner: The petition appears to have been made by Mr./Mrs.(?) Sargent W Wotherspoon (name partially obscured/difficult to read precisely), also residing in the Borough of Brooklyn. The shared last name suggests a likely familial relationship with Thomas Wotherspoon.
Content: The form required the petitioner to state the facts supporting the application. This included detailing observed behaviors, statements, suicide attempts, threats, changes in character, or other signs indicative of mental illness, as known or observed by the petitioner. While much of the handwritten detail is difficult to read in the photograph, the form's structure shows this is where such information would be recorded.
Declarations: The petitioner also had to affirm their belief that commitment was in the best interest of Thomas Wotherspoon and confirm that he was not currently under criminal charge or indictment.