Lizzie Packard
The story of Lizzie Packard's parents Roswell D. Packard and Rachel Rogers is told on this page.

Roswell and Rachel were married in 1865 and lived for a few years in the town of Western and in Boonville, New York. (Updated 4/2/2006) According to a statement provided by her father, Lizzie was born in Prophetstown, Illinois. The Packards lived for a time in Prophetstown, which is just east of the Quad Cities area. Census records also show Lizzie's birthplace as Illinois. Her birth date is August 18, 1868. Downtown Prophetstown is shown at left in 2006.

The 1870 census already shows signs of family trouble.  Lizze and her William Chappel & Lizzie Packardmother were back in Western, New York. Rachel Packard was living with her parents John and Elizabeth and older sister Jane.  Lizzie (age one) was residing with Rachel's older brother Christopher. Roswell has not been found in any 1870 census record. Most likely he was on one of his frequent trips to his brothers' farm near Colbourne, Ontario.

We can find no information on the exact whereabouts of Lizzie and her mother during the 1870s other than what appears in her mother's affidavit regarding her husband's military pension. Rachel said that between 1865 and 1877 she and Roswell on occasion would go visit his family in Colbourne, for several months at a time. Colbourne is near the north shore of Lake Ontario. He filed a Declaration for the Increase of an Invalid Pension from Northumberland County, Ontario. In the declaration, he claimed to be a citizen of Colbourne. At the time of the 1880 census, Rachel Rogers is shown living in the Oneida County Poorhouse without Elizabeth.  Roswell is showing living on a farm south of Buffalo working as a hired hand. Lizzie has not been found in the 1880 census. 

The last time Rachel and Lizzie saw Roswell was 1877.

(Updated 5/6/07) Rachel started a boarding house on Spring Street in Rome, N.Y. in 1881.  Sometime in the Spring of 1882, Edward Roland of Rochester, N.Y., took up residence in Rachel's boarding house.  Edward was a harness maker and worked for R. M. Bingham & Co., a large carriage builder whose factory was on James Street.  While there, Edward Roland apparently 'paid some attention' to Lizzie. The following winter, and because of this attention, Rachel told Edward to leave. He moved to the nearby William Knox boarding house and lunchroom, listed as 124 W. Dominick in the 1887 Rome City Directory.

But Edward and Lizzie did not stop seeing each other. During the spring of 1883, Edward and Lizzie would walk the sidewalks of Rome together, unbenownst to her mother.  On Saturday, May 12th, Rachel sent Lizzie to a dressmaker. Lizzie never came home.  She and Edward boarded the 5:09 westbound train headed for Rochester to be married. Edward was 20. Lizzie would be 15 in three months.

Rachel summoned the Rome police that night and told them the story.  The police sent a telegram to the Rochester police asking to find the couple. They were discovered Monday at the home of Edward's father, Edward H. Roland, at 102 St. Joseph street in Rochester, and were taken to the police station to be held because of Lizzie's young age.  At the police station, Edward showed the police a copy of the Rochester marriage certificate dated the day before, and the couple were released (it was said) to begin their new life in St. Louis, Missouri. It is doubtful the trip to St. Louis ever took place.

The City of Rochester Historic Marriage Records Research Site shows that on May 13, 1883, Edward Roland age 20 whose occupation was a harnessmaker, married Lizzy Rogers age 18 born in Illinois. Shown as Lizzy's parents are Rachel 'Rogers' with mother's maiden name as 'Packem' (perhaps the modern transcriber interpreted the handwritten Packard as Packem).  During Lizzie's life we will see that she and her mother used a variety of last names that seemed to be used to separate them from their estranged husbands. Note that the Rochester record shows Lizzie as age 18 when she was not yet 15.

The details of this account were taken from a Syracuse Daily Courier article dated Tuesday, May 15, 1883.

The Rochester City Directories show that Edward and Lizzie moved around for a bit, then settled onto St. Joseph Avenue:

1884 -- 49 Rauben
1885 -- 58 Baden
1886 -- 17 Hanover
1887 --284 St. Joseph, between Herman & Sellinger
1888 - 1892 -- 568 St. Joseph,  just south of Norton.

Lizzie and Edward had four sons, one who died while an infant.
 The Rochester City Directory for 1895 said Edward P. Roland moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Did Lizze and the boys go with him? Probably. If they did go to Hartford, the boys returned to Rochester when Lizzie left the family in 1898. The 1900 Federal Census in Hartford shows an Edward Rolland living as a lodger at 120 Jefferson Street, born 1862. In the 1900 Rochester census (at right), all of Edward's sons (Edward C., Raymond, and Elmer appear living in the same house (379 Central Park) as their grandfather Edward H.  Also in this same house are Edward's sisters Bertha and Mary Kress.  Mary was widowed in 1891 when her husband Constantine died. Mary's three children were also there: Mable (b.1886), Irene (b. 1888), and Leona (b. 1890).

Lizzie Roland left the family in 1898 when Elmer was 9 years old. Reasons are left for conjecture. However in a letter written in 1920, Lizzie describes some of the bad blood between her and her husband's sister or sisters.  (Updated 5/6/07) Legend among Roland Family members has that the sisters drove Lizzie out of the home because she was not Catholic. Also, it's noted with interest that sister Louise died in December 1898. Perhaps there is a connection there, too.

So where was Lizzie in 1900?

In the 1900 federal census for Colorado we find Lizzie living with her mother in the gold mining town of Gillett. Gillett is today known as one of Colorado's ghost towns. It was located just west of Pike's Peak. The 1900 Census for the Town of Gillett in Teller County, Colorado, taken June 6-7, 1900 ( below),  shows Rachel and Elizabeth on 5th street. Rachel is identified as Rachel Rogers (again, not using her married name of Packard), head of household, born July 1848, Age 51, (fibbing about her age? She was really born July 1845 and would be 54), and shows herself as a widow, born in New York with both parents born in New York. Her occupation was listed as Housekeeper, and she was employed over the last 12 months. She indicated she could read, write, and speak English. And she rented her residence. 

Rachel's daughter Elizabeth is also identified in her mother's household in this census record of 1900.  In the census record which was taken in June, 1900, she is shown as Elizabeth Rockwell, though the ancestry.com people interpreted this image as Elizabeth Ewell. 
1900 Teller County Colorado census page

This "Elizabeth Rockwell" is definitely our Lizzy Packard. The 'Rockwell' seems to be a reference to 'Roswell'. The census record shows correctly she was born August, 1868 in Illinois. The record also shows her mother (Rachel) born in New York, and her father (Roswell) born in Canada, though this is the third place identified where Roswell may have been born (the others being Lewis County and Jefferson County, New York). Lizzy and Rachel may have understood Roswell was born in Canada because he went to see his family there so frequently and his father Galen lived there, too.  This census record also shows that Lizzy as the daughter of Rachel.  Note there is no Mr. Rockwell.

Surprisingly, the record also shows Lizzie with a daughter!! Mable L. was born February 1900, with a mother born in Illinois and father born in New York. The census also shows (deceptively) that Lizzie  This is the first evidence of a fifth child of Lizzy's (Clarence died 1893). (Updated 5/6/07) So the natural question is: Is this Edward P. Roland's child? Probably not if Lizzie left in 1898. Probably if Lizzie left between May and September of 1999. Lizzie stated that she left the Roland family when Elmer was nine years old.  Elmer was not ten until September 1899. She also said she left when Eddie was 14. Eddied wasn't 15 until October 7, 1899. Mable was born February 1900. It is possible that Mable is the fifth child of the union between Edward P. Roland and Lizzie Packard.  Additional evidence concerning baby Mable L. Rockwell has not been found as of this date. My assumption is she was placed with another family, assumed their family name, and all trace of Roland family connection has been lost.

Teller 1900 Directory.jpgThe Teller County Directory for 1900 also has both Rachel and Lizzie mentioned. Rachel is shown as Mrs. A. Rogers. The "A" may have be a misinterpretation of "Ray", as Rachel called herself. The directory shows her occupation as a cook at the Gillett Hotel. And again, Elizabeth was listed as Mrs. Lizzie Rockwell.

In 1903, Lizzie was in Denver, Colorado and provided a sworn affidavit regarding her mother's pension claim after the death of Roswell D. Packard the previous January. In her affidavit, Lizzie identified herself as Mrs. Lizzie Rainey. The affidavit from both 33 year old Lizzie Rainey and 30 year old D.C. Rainey, dated March 17, 1903, says:

We have known Rachel Packard for Twenty years last past and are familiar with her financial affairs. She does not own any bonds, stocks or mortgages, and no real estate or personal property. She is dependent for her support on her own labor and charity of her friends who are in no wise bound for her support. There is no one legally bound for her support. She has disposed or no real estate since her husband's death, she has had none to dispose of. We make this statement from personal knowledge, from being acquainted with this applicant, etc., We have no interest, direct or indirect in the prosecution of this claim.
Mrs. Lizzie Rainey
D.C. Rainey

So was Lizzie married to D.C. Rainey? Doubtful. The Colorado Marriage Dissolution Database shows that Lizzie Roland and Edward Roland were divorced on October 28, 1908 (Go here, and enter Lizzie Packard as petitioner).  So either Lizzie misrepresented herself, or married D.C. Rainey while still married to Edward Roland.  It is supposed that Lizzie wanted to present the appearance of stability and reputation during testimony to help her mother obtain the widow pension after her father's death. Other testimony from Lizzie "Rainey" is located here. The 1903 Denver Directory shows a Daniel C. Rainey, a printer, living at 913 23rd Street. There is no Daniel or D.C. Rainey in the 1904 or 1905 Denver Directories.  No more of D.C. Rainey has been found.

Lizzie applied for a divorce from Edward in 1908 in the state of Colorado. The divorce documents can be seen in three sections (Section 1, Section 2, Section 3).  There are several points within the testimony that sound interesting:
  • She said that Edward took her children away in 1898.   It is not sure if Lizzie and the boys went to Hartford with Edward.  The City Directories usually list all adults in the home, but Lizzie is not mentioned in the Rochester Roland household during the late 1890s.
  • The Rochester City Directories show Edward P. moved back to Rochester in 1904.
  • Lizzie lived in Denver when she filed for divorce in 1908.  Her efforts to find her husband in order to serve papers seems disingenuous... like she really didn't want to find him.   
    • She sent out notices of divorce to the Colorado Graphic and the newspaper serving the New Britain, Connecticut area. 
    • There was no effort to find him in Rochester where Lizzie knew he might be, or at the family would know where he was.
  • (added 5/20/07) The 1910 federal census in Rochester shows that Edward was married for 27 years.
  • The 1920 federal census in Rochester shows that Edward was widowed.
  • The 1930 federal census in Rochester shows that Edward was divorced.
It is probable that Edward Roland knew nothing of the divorce until after the visit by her son Elmer in 1920 as described below. 

I also think it's possible that Edward and Lizzie brought the boys to Connecticut with them from 1895-1898. If she abandoned the family, he probably took the boys back to Rochester for care. If he abandoned her, it was probably to take the boys back to Rochester. 1900 census shows the boys were in Rochester.

Or it may be Edward P. went to Connecticut alone, and Lizzie was with the boys and his sisters from 1895-1898.

A search of the 1910 census records produces no evidence of Rachel or Lizzie.  Pension correspondence to Rachel in 1916 was sent to a Syracuse address (250 Leon Street).  (Added 4/2/06) Will Chappell's (Lizzie's future husband) World War I draft registration signed on September 12, 1918 also has an address of 250 Leon St and names Lizzie as his wife. Lizzie also said (as we'll see later) that she moved to Syracuse around 1910. 

On the 2nd of January, 1920, census records show Lizzie living with her new husband William L. Chappell at 116 E. Bissell Street in Syracuse.  William's 16 year old son E. William is shown living with them. That year Lizzie apparently was in contact with Mable Kress. The circumstances on how the contact was made is not known.  Lizzie found from Mable that her three boys were now fully grown. Raymond and Elmer even had families.

On September 2, 1920, Lizzie sent the following letter to her son Elmer:
Postmarked Jun 2, 1920 3:30AM
Northrup Sta, Syracuse, NY
2 cent stamp

Addressed:
Elmer J. Roland
365 Knickerbocker Ave
Rochester, NY

Syracuse NY 6-1-1920

My Dear Son Elmer and Wife,

You will be surprised to hear from your Mother after so many years, but I alway (sic) have wanted to write to you. So I waited until you Boys were all men.  As there is some things I want to explain to you. I have been very sorry the way I had to leave you Boys behind me. now I am not looking for any trouble or help and I write only because I would like to hear from you and see you. every thing is all right with me as it can be by Law. and I don't feel that I have done any thing wrong.  only I do fee (sic) very bad about you Boys and always have every day since I left you. but Elmer dear why has poor Raymond appealed so in my thoughts. I love you all with the same feeling but Raymond always lingered in my thoughts the most. he always appealed to me in some way. pityfull in some way I can not explain the feeling.

now if you want to see me you write and let me know and I will meet you any time you say at the Trolly Station here in Syracuse where the Electric cars come in from Rochester I guess you know where it is. I have always been respected and had a good name where ever I have been and always lived among good respectable people as you will see when you know me better. you must remember me. you were nine years old when last I saw you. Mabel remembered me well that day I saw her. you need not be fraid to see me I can back up every minute I have been away from you. and it is a shame the way I have been talked about and misrepresented to you Boys and every one else.

I forget to say when I meet you if you come. I will take you out Home with me and then we can visit.  I will tell you why I do not want you to call here for me until after I see you. will say good by with love to you and Wife. cousin Bertha told me you were married and I hope you are both happy.

Your Mother. my address is
Mrs. Elizabeth Chappell
128 Hovey St.
Syracuse NY

have been here ten years.

Very quickly Elmer returned the letter with another and agreed to meet his mother. Lizzie wrote back:
Postmarked Jun 12, 1920 1:30PM
Northrup Sta, Syracuse, NY

Addressed:
Elmer J. Roland
365 Knickerbocker Ave
Rochester, NY

Syracuse NY. June 12, 1920

My Dear Son Elmer, and Wife and Dear Baby Girls:

I received your nice kind letter and will say that I am just as much pleased as you are: to know I can see you William Chappel and Lizzie Packardand talk to you. after so many years I have a lot to talk over with you. and I am pleased to know that you are married and have a nice Wife and Such nice Dear little girls. and I hope in the near future I will see you then as I am the same Mother you knew so long ago and you were my Baby Boy. after little Clarance died. and you will find me Just the same as I was when you last saw me if you can remember me. and I have always been good and lived good in spite of all the lies that has been told about me. but it is hard to keep a good person down. they will come up in spite of everything. either (man or woman) as time passes on. and I am very sorry the way I had to leave you little Boys although Eddie was fourteen and he knows I was a good woman and good Mother always if he wants to tell as it is. but I suppose he has been talked over by the rest. so much he has got to think just as they do. well Elmer boy, I will not write any more as I want to mail this letter so you will get it monday (note from Jack -- this letter was written and mailed on Saturday).  and I would like to have you come down next Wednesday forenoon if it will be convenient for you. and I will not meet you as I said I would at the Depot. but you come right to the House here. I have got to (two) homes one here and on out a ways in the Country and we will go out there to Dinner. I will tell you how to get here you go to the Post Office. and get on a Midland car and get off at Blain st walk to the Bridge. and I live the first street to your left after crossing the Bridge 128 Hovey St. I will be on the look out for you so you will not miss me. I am here all alone through the Day so you come here to the House. well I will not write any more as I have to go down town this morning. and I thank you for the pictures and kiss them for Grandma - and my love to Your Wife and you and hope to see you good by - from

            Your Mother.

PS your baby girl looks like you did when you were a baby. they are very cute and dear - sweet Babys.

I will not say anything about your coming to see me. if you dont want me to.

Lizzie's residence during September of 1920 is new from the census location documented during January of that year. Lizzie and her new husband William had bought a newly constructed house.  Property records from Onondaga County show that 128 Hovey Street was built in 1920.

In 1930 the census shows that Lizzie Chappell and her husband William were still living at 128 Hovey Street.  They were renting the house for $28.50 per month.

Lizzie 1932 ObitIn March of 1932 Lizzie's mother Rachel died. Lizzie died the following May at 63 years of age. To the left is her obituary from the Syracuse Herald, May 29, 1932. Lizzie is buried in Rome Cemetery at 1500 Jervis Avenue in Lot 43 of Section M. She is listed as Elizabeth Chapple.  Her husband William died in 1940.









Updated May 20, 2007.