Andrew McFarland

Andrew McFarland (Concord, New Hampshire, 14 July 1817 - Jacksonville, Illinois, 21 November 1891) was a United States physician.

Biography

He was the son of Concord clergyman Asa McFarland and his wife Elizabeth Kneeland McFarland. He attended Dartmouth College, and lectured at Jefferson Medical College in 1843. He practised at Sandwich and Laconia, New Hampshire, and was appointed superintendent of the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane in August 1845. He resigned in November 1852, and practised at Concord, and Lawrence, Massachusetts. About 1854 he became superintendent of the Illinois State Asylum for the Insane in Jacksonville, serving in that position until 1869, when he resigned and established Oak Lawn Retreat, a private asylum in Jacksonville. He published The Escape (Boston, 1851). McFarland hanged himself in 1891.

Dr. Andrew McFarland played a controversial role in the wrongful commitment of Elizabeth Packard to the Jacksonville Insane Asylum in the 1860s. Serving as the superintendent of the asylum, McFarland was the authoritative figurehead responsible for the fate of many committed individuals, including Packard. Elizabeth, a wife and mother, found herself forcibly institutionalized at the behest of her husband. Her so-called transgressions were rooted in her differing religious beliefs and her willingness to openly challenge and disagree with him on theological and personal grounds. Within the confines of the asylum, Elizabeth remained unwavering in asserting her sanity. Still, Dr. McFarland consistently rebuffed her claims, acting as a barrier to her freedom. In a turn of events that highlighted the systemic flaws of the time, even when legal regulations evolved to allow institutionalized individuals the right to a public hearing, McFarland still obstructed her release. Elizabeth Packard's tumultuous experiences at the asylum under Dr. McFarland's oversight provided a glaring lens through which the wider societal issues of women's rights, the power imbalances in marital relationships, and the alarming misuse of psychiatric institutions in that era could be viewed. These harrowing experiences didn't dampen Elizabeth's spirit. Following her release, she transformed her personal trials into a larger mission, becoming a resolute advocate for the rights and dignities of patients in such institutions.

Dr. Andrew McFarland's tenure at the Jacksonville Insane Asylum, later known as the Illinois State Asylum, was marred not just by the case of Elizabeth Packard, but also by the wider concerns about the conditions and practices at the institution. In 1869, spurred by growing public concerns and accounts from former patients like Packard, the Illinois legislature launched a comprehensive investigation into the asylum's conditions and the treatment of its residents.

The investigation uncovered various deficiencies, questionable practices, and instances of neglect. Packard's personal accounts, along with testimonies from other former patients, painted a bleak picture of life inside the asylum, where patient rights were frequently overlooked and where the line between genuine medical care and punitive confinement was often blurred. These findings, combined with Packard's compelling advocacy, catalyzed a wave of reform in the state's mental health care system.

The 1869 legislative investigation also put the spotlight on Dr. McFarland's leadership. While he had his defenders and was seen by some as a progressive figure in the realm of mental health, the investigative findings and the stories from former patients raised serious questions about his methods and decision-making processes. The combined weight of these revelations eventually led to greater scrutiny of psychiatric institutions nationwide, prompting much-needed reforms in patient care, rights, and the criteria for institutionalization.

Significantly, in a symbolic act of historical rectification, the state hospital that was originally named the McFarland Mental Health Center in honor of Dr. Andrew McFarland was renamed in August 2023 to bear Elizabeth Packard's name and is now known as the Packard Mental Health Center. This change recognizes Packard's contributions and the broader message her story represented. This renaming served as a testament to the changing perceptions of historical events and a move towards recognizing those who championed the rights of the marginalized and oppressed.

Legacy

His brother Asa was a noted New Hampshire journalist and politician. After graduation from medical school, his granddaughter, Anne Hazen McFarland, was at once was installed as Medical Superintendent of the Oak Lawn Sanitarium, thereby fulfilling the earnest desire of her grandfather, that she make a special study of the care of the insane.

Attribution

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). "McFarland, Asa" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. Vol. Supplement. New York: D. Appleton.
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Bateman, Newton; Selby, Paul (1906). Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois. Vol. 2 (Public domain ed.). Munsell Publishing Company.
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Watson, Irving Allison (1896). Physicians and Surgeons of America: (Illustrated). A Collection of Biographical Sketches of the Regular Medical Profession (Public domain ed.). Republican Press Association.