Written by Sarah Davis, Illinois State Museum Educator, and Tracy Pierceall, Illinois State Museum Librarian 

Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard was born in 1816 in Ware, Massachusetts. Packard attended a school for girls and enjoyed learning about all subjects. At age 23, she married Theophilus Packard, a Calvinist minister, and friend of her father’s. After 18 years of marriage and 6 children, the family moved to Manteno, Illinois in 1857. Packard enjoyed living in the Midwest. She began to question the traditional and strict Calvinist teachings of her husband. Theophilus did not like when she started to express her different options publicly as well as to conduct missionary work on her own. When she refused to change her mind and agree with him, he had her committed to the Jacksonville Insane Asylum in 1860. 

Before 1865, it was common for men in Illinois to send their wives to institutions because they were “too much to handle.” In many cases, the women were in need of mental treatment. However, the law said that when women got married, they became their husband’s property. This meant wives could be institutionalized or sent away on their husband’s word without a trial. There were no laws to protect them.

During the next three years at Jacksonville Asylum, Packard endured cruelty and abuse, a common experience for patients at that time. Still, she stood by her right to think and speak for herself. To keep herself busy she wrote constantly, documenting the terrible living conditions and abuse that took place in the hospital. 

Her doctor became frustrated by her refusal to change. He was also concerned about the influence she had on other patients. Finally, in 1863, he said she was impossible to cure and released her to her husband. Once released Theophilus locked her in the nursery of their home and would not let her leave. Through a friend, she was able to get a letter to a judge that ordered a trial on her behalf to prove she was not in need of mental health treatment. The January 1864 trial lasted five days and took the jury 7 minutes to decide that Packard was indeed mentally fit. The judge ordered her release. Packard returned home to find Theophilus had sold their house, taken her money, and moved her young children and all of her belongings back to Massachusetts. 

Because of the limited rights of married women, Packard spent the next six years separated from her three younger children. She used this time to travel the county and share her story. She also published several books about her experiences. The sales of her books allowed Packard to support herself and win the custody of her children. Because of her work, laws were passed around the country to protect the rights of married women and improve mental health care. In her lifetime, Illinois passed a law requiring a trial by jury before anyone could be committed to a mental hospital and a women’s property law granting married women the right to retain custody of their children and property. Until her death in 1897 at age 80, she continued to fight for the rights of married women and mental health reform.