Declaration of Insanity

This Cook County court document declared Mary to be insane on May 19, 1875, after a public trial by jury initiated by her son, Robert. Mary was confined to Bellevue Place, a private sanitarium in Batavia, Illinois. Although she resided on a private floor and was free to enjoy the sanitarium's grounds, she felt she was a prisoner confined by “gates and bars." She wrote to her friends James and Myra Bradwell on August 8, 1875, seeking their help in obtaining her release, "I am sleeping very finely and as I am perfectly sane, I do not desire to become insane. I pray you to see that justice is done immediately to me, for my mind is entirely clear and my health is perfectly good." Mary was released to the care of her sister Elizabeth Todd Edwards in September 1875. On June 15, 1876, the Cook County Court reversed its earlier judgment and declared her sane.