On August 21, 1902 the Pantagraph printed the tragic story of a young woman who was brought to Illinois by the famed orphan trains. Reports differ about when she came or how old she was, but she worked for a family near Barnes and was 19 at the time of this story. Katie did not know who her parents were, and "this seemed to be a great source of worry to her." It was such a source of worry to her that Katie was adjudged insane and sent to the asylum in Jacksonville sometime around 1900. At Jacksonville, it was said, she tried to commit suicide several times, once by swallowing needles.
After being treated in Jacksonville a short time, Katie was adjudged cured and sent to the new Bartonville asylum to work in the spring of 1901. Such work would not seem to be the best therapy for a emotionally troubled young woman with no family network.
Katie did not stay at Bartonville very long, but returned to Bloomington to find work. She first worked at the Hills House at the invitation of Mrs. George Johnson. Katie then moved on to Springfield for work at the St. Nicholas (Hotel). She worked at the County Jail for a short time, where the employees noticed many "peculiar actions" on Katie's part. Her final stop was a position at the Butler House (James Preston Butler, Prop.) where she was interviewed by Elizabeth Butler and given a room. Katie said she did not have any money for a baggageman to bring her things from the jail, so Mrs. Butler had her belongings moved for her.
On that day, her last day on earth, Katie shopped for hosiery and shoes in downtown Bloomington and then returned to her room. In an apparent fit of despondency, Katie drank a bottle of carbolic acid. another maid heard her groaning and called Mrs. Butler, who called for a doctor. The doctor was unable to revive Katie and she died in the Butler House, friendless and alone.
The illustration above is from a book published in 1868. Elizabeth Packard was sent to the Jacksonville Insane Asylum by her husband in 1860 and lived there for 3 years as a patient. She was not insane, but had religious views that Mr. Packard deemed dangerous to their children. Mrs. Packard wrote her book, Modern Persecution, in defense of the insane persons condemned to live and suffer at the Jacksonville Insane Asylum. Here is a link to a digitized version of the book: http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/oca/Books2007-06/prisonershidden00pack/prisonershidden00pack.pdf