Eliza Farnham

Here is a detailed, SEO-style biography and exploration of Eliza Farnham — activist, reformer, and writer.

Discover the life, activism, and writings of Eliza Farnham (1815–1864), American prison reformer, feminist thinker, and social reformer. Explore her biography, contributions, controversies, and legacy.

Introduction

Eliza Farnham (born Eliza Woodson Burhans, November 17, 1815 – December 15, 1864) was an American novelist, feminist, abolitionist, and social reformer.

She is best known for her work as matron of the women’s ward at Sing Sing Prison, where she introduced more humane practices and educational reforms.

Farnham’s life intertwined activism, writing, and social experimentation. Though some of her ideas (notably her use of phrenology) were controversial or later discredited, she remains a fascinating figure in 19th-century reform history, especially in prison reform and women’s social roles.

Early Life and Family

Eliza Woodson Burhans was born on November 17, 1815 in Rensselaerville, Albany County, New York.

Her mother died when Eliza was young (around 1820), and she and her siblings were placed in foster care and later with an uncle.

Her early upbringing was difficult: she later described abuse and neglect under her foster parents, which drove her into extensive self-education.

By her mid-teens, she reunited with her siblings and attended a Quaker boarding school for a time, then began teaching.

In 1836, she married Thomas Jefferson Farnham, a lawyer and writer, in Illinois.

They lived on the Illinois prairies for several years; later, Eliza published Life in Prairie Land (1846) recounting her frontier experiences.

The couple experienced personal tragedy: of their children, only one survived to adulthood.

In 1841, they returned from Illinois to New York.

Social Awakening & Reform Interests

Once back in New York, Farnham became involved in social and intellectual reform movements.

She published writings on women’s roles, often arguing that women possessed moral superiority.

In 1843, she wrote articles in Brother Jonathan magazine countering calls for women’s suffrage (John Neal’s advocacy). Later feminist leaders Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony noted that Farnham “lived long enough to retrace her ground and accept the highest truth” (i.e. eventually accepting suffrage).

Her interest in prison reform drew her attention. She was appointed in 1844 as matron of the women’s ward of Sing Sing State Prison (then Mt. Pleasant Female Prison / Sing Sing’s women’s division).

Career & Activism

Reform at Sing Sing (1844–1848)

In her role as matron, Farnham instituted bold reforms that contrasted sharply with the punitive norms of her era.

• She abolished the rule of enforced silence among women prisoners.

• She introduced educational programming — allowing inmates to access reading materials, teaching them reading, writing, history, and science.

• She believed that kindness, music, flowers, light, and decoration of surroundings would foster moral uplift.

• She implemented incentive-based systems rather than purely punitive systems.

• She also believed in phrenology (a pseudoscience linking skull shape to character) as part of her design for rehabilitation.

Her methods were controversial. Traditional prison staff and chaplains objected, viewing her reforms as too lenient or undermining authority.

In 1848, she was forced to resign amid backlash over her beliefs and methods.

After her departure, many of her reforms were rolled back.

Later Activities & Westward Efforts

After resigning, Farnham moved to Boston, and worked briefly with the Institution for the Blind.

In 1849, she traveled (with her two surviving sons) to California, where she inherited property.

In California she attempted to carry out social projects: one was organizing and recruiting women to emigrate West to civilize frontier society.

She also published California, In-doors and Out (1856), chronicling her observations and experiences in California.

Between 1858 and 1862, Farnham studied medicine and organized societies to help destitute women move West.

She also served as matron of the female department of the Stockton Insane Asylum in California.

During the Civil War era, she joined the Women’s National Loyal League (a Unionist women's group) and volunteered as a nurse following the Battle of Gettysburg.

Her health declined (she contracted tuberculosis) likely during her time nursing or work in difficult conditions.

She died December 15, 1864, in New York City at age 49.

Her later work Woman and Her Era was published in 1864 (just before her death). The Ideal Attained appeared in 1865.

Philosophies, Controversies & Beliefs

Views on Women and Feminism

Farnham held a distinctive and sometimes contradictory stance: she believed in the natural superiority of women over men, especially in moral and spiritual realms, rooted partly in bearing children.

Yet, early in her career she opposed women’s suffrage, arguing that women’s influence would be stronger through moral and social leadership than political rights.

Later, prominent feminist figures observed that Farnham revised some of her earlier views to support more equal roles.

Her feminist views were not always aligned with mainstream suffragism, making her a complex figure in women’s rights history.

Phrenology & Reform

A controversial component of Farnham’s work was her use of phrenology (the study of skull shape as a marker of character and morality). She believed that by reading skull form, one could design rehabilitation strategies.

At the time phrenology had many adherents in reform movements; Farnham extended it into her prison work, though today it is discredited.

This belief contributed to resistance from more conservative or religious reformers, who viewed it as pseudoscience or even heretical.

Rehabilitation over Punishment

Farnham was ahead of her time in emphasizing rehabilitation, rather than solely punishment, especially for women offenders.

In her view, the prison environment should approximate natural life as much as possible — providing reading, social interaction, beauty, and kindness to uplift character.

Her approach influenced later prison reformers, even though many of her specific methods were reversed after her exit.

Legacy and Influence

Eliza Farnham’s influence lives on through multiple channels:

• Her pioneering efforts in women’s prison reform anticipated modern ideas about humane incarceration, education in prisons, and rehabilitation.

• Her writings—Life in Prairie Land, California, In-doors and Out, Woman and Her Era—continue to be studied in gender history and reform history.

• She stands as a complex figure in feminist history: not a straightforward suffragist, but a woman who argued for moral authority and influence of women in society.

• Her experiment in social engineering in the West (bringing women to California) though only partly successful, signals early attempts to shape social order by demographic change.

Her ideas are sometimes critiqued for their contradictions (e.g. belief in women’s superiority but hesitance on suffrage) and for her reliance on pseudoscientific phrenology. But those very tensions make her a compelling subject for examining the complexity of 19th-century reform thought.

Selected Writings & Publications

• Life in Prairie Land (1846) — memoir / account of frontier life in Illinois.

• California, In-doors and Out (1856) — observations of California society, culture, landscapes.

• My Early Days (1859) — semi-autobiographical novel.

• Woman and Her Era (1864) — her major work arguing women’s moral role and superiority.

• The Ideal Attained (1865, posthumous) — fictional work representing her views on women and men.

Lessons from Eliza Farnham

• Reform requires courage: Farnham stepped into a harsh, male-dominated system and tried to change it from within.

• Human dignity matters: She believed that a prison environment that respects dignity helps rehabilitation.

• Complexity in belief: Her mixture of progressive and conservative views reminds us that reformers can hold paradoxical positions.

• Legacy beyond success: Even when her reforms were reversed or controversial, her ideas seeded later advances in prison reform.

• Critical thinking toward “science”: Her use of phrenology shows how reformers must always scrutinize the scientific claims they adopt.

Conclusion

Eliza Farnham was a remarkable woman whose life bridged frontier narrative, feminist thought, and penal reform. Her tenure at Sing Sing challenged prevailing norms and introduced ideas of humane treatment, rehabilitation, and education for women prisoners. While not without controversy—especially around her use of phrenology and her ambivalent stance on suffrage—she remains an instructive figure in the history of social reform.