The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880, Vol. IV, Part 44

Author: Winsor, Justin, 1831-1897, ed; Jewett, C. F. (Clarence F.), publisher
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Boston : Osgood
Number of Pages: 760

USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880, Vol. IV > Part 44

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Only one woman became distinguished in literature during this earlier period. Anne Dudley, the wife of Governor Bradstreet, was born in Eng- land, in 1612 or 1613. She was married at sixteen, and probably came over in the " Arbella." Her first book was published in London, in 1650, under the title, The Tenth Muse, lately sprung up in America : Several Poems compiled with great variety of wit and learning. By a Gentlewoman of America. She had eight children, but still found time for much study and writing. Her poems 2 are mostly versifications of history. The opposition to literary pursuits is shown by the statement in her prologue: -

" I am obnoxious to each carping tongue, Who says my hand a needle better fits ; A poet's pen all scorn I thus should wrong. For such despite they cast on female wits, If what I do prove well, it won't advance ; They'll say it's stolen, or else it was by chance."

A little poem on her children, and another to a bird in contemplation, show a tender feeling for Nature, which, had she lived in happier times for the muse, might have made her a poet of higher rank: -

" I had eight birds hatched in one nest ; Four cocks there were, and hens the rest. I nurst them up with pain and care, Nor cost nor labor did I spare ; Till, at last, they felt their wing, Mounted the trees and learned to sing."

'. 1 [This law was dropped at the revisal of the 2 [See Vol. I. p. 461, and the authorities there laws of marriage and divorce, in 1785. - ED.] cited. - ED.]

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THE WOMEN OF BOSTON.

" The dawning morn with songs thou dost prevent, Sets hundred notes into thy feathered crew; So each one tunes his pretty instrument And warbling out the old begins anew. And thus they pass their youth, in summer season,

Then follow thee into a better region,

Where winter's never felt by that sweet airy legion."

From the close of the religious persecutions to the actual outbreak of the Revolution we find very slight indications of woman's presence and in- fluence. The town was growing in wealth and importance, and there was evidently an increase of aristocratic society. Oldmixon says: " A gentle- man from London would almost think himself at home at Boston, when he observes the number of people, their houses, their furniture, their tables, their dress and conversation, which perhaps is as showy as that of the most considerable tradesman in London." Women must have contributed to this pleasing condition of society, and an occasional mention of funeral honors shows the deference which was paid to them. Hannah Waldo is recorded as " a pattern of every female virtue." The Castle guns were fired in honor of the funeral of Governor Shirley's wife, and Dr. Colman com- memorated her at the lecture before the General Court.

Women were not unfrequently conspicuous in church affairs.1 The Sandemanian Society was largely composed of women; and "thirty men and twice as many women seceded with Samuel Mather " when he with- drew from the Second Church.2 Yet the church had treated women rather harshly, for " under certain accusations they were obliged to stand up with a white robe or sheet over them, while the minister read aloud their confes- sion. Afterward, such brethren and sisters who should fall into scandal were allowed to confess to church members only." Women were also active in charity: Dorothy Saltonstall left to the poor two hundred pounds, and twenty pounds to be laid out in Bibles and Testaments to be distributed among poor children. She was also the executrix of the will of her hus- band, Mr. John Frizzell. Both Increase and Cotton Mather preached funeral sermons on the death of Mrs. Foster, " who dispensed her alms with an uncommon generosity." A French observer of Boston customs says " that men make it not a business to pay court to women; " but I find no indications of special want of courtesy, - the tone is that of polite society.

There was much extravagance in dress as the colony grew in years, and hoops had attained to such a size in 1726 as to be severely attacked. Yet the women were not unwilling to give up their finery, and during the periods of suffering in Boston they wore calicoes and chintzes.3 When the people, somewhat later, resolved to avoid the use of articles taxed by the English Parliament, women as well as men gave up wearing expensive mourning;

1 Mary Tomlins purchased a pew in the North Church; and women are often men- tioned as belonging to different churches.

VOL. IV. - 43.

2 [See Vol. II. p. 229. - ED.]

8 [See Mr. H. E. Scudder's chapter in Vol. II. for the costume of the Provincial Period. - ED.]

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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.

and at the funeral of Mr. Ellis Callender " his sister appeared with no other token of mourning than a black bonnet, gloves, ribbons, and hand- kerchief."

Judge Sewall's Diary gives a lively picture of home life during the early part of the eighteenth century. His thirteenth child was born January 2, and on the 16th his wife treats her midwife and women. "They had a good dinner of boiled pork, beef, fowls, roast beef, turkey, pye, and tarts, for seventeen guests." Hannah Greenleaf was the midwife.

But the woman of elegant society was not the only representative of her sex in days a century agone. We hear of Mrs. Avery, and many others, keeping shop; and in 1794 a writer of the Historical Journal of the Amer- ican War says a word in behalf of his countrywomen, who bring various articles of home manufacture into Boston for sale. They are exposed to the inclemencies of the weather, and often obliged to part with goods at a low price, or barter them for articles of luxury. He urges that stands be erected for them near the market.

When the soldiers raised by Governor Shirley to aid General Braddock, in 1755, had been three months in the field, news of their sufferings from want of suitable clothing reached their friends. Immediately a number of young ladies volunteered their services to the town authorities, offering gra- tuitously to make garments for them. When, some years later, the Stamp Act was repealed, it is said that the subscription to pay the debts of poor prisoners was set on foot by " a fair Boston nymph; " and fifteen hundred families discontinued tea, to thwart the designs of the Parliament in tax- ing it.

There are slight indications which show that women, or rather ladies, in Boston were less robust in the days of which we now write than they were a century earlier. Whether this was owing to the stove, which then, as when Judge Sewall wrote, " made the room comfortable," or to a growing dispo- sition to consider women as delicate and ornamental, I cannot say; but Blanchard, who visited Boston in 1780, reports : -

"The women are tall, well formed, of regular features ; their complexion is gener- ally only pale, without any color. They have fewer attractions and less ease of manner than our French women, but more dignity. ... At twenty years of age the women have already lost the freshness of youth ; at thirty-five or forty they are wrinkled and decrepit. . . . I found that the great part of those who had died were under fifty years of age. There were a very few of sixty, almost none so old as seventy, and I saw none older."

Slavery existed, indeed, nearly through the last century ; but its evils were much mitigated by the kindness of the women, who took pains to protect their slaves. In 1699 Mrs. Eunice Wait went to Judge Sewall, expressing her desire that her slave Sebastian might marry Mrs. Thair's Jane; but Mrs. Thair insisted " that Sebastian should have one day in six for the support of Jane, his intended wife, and her children, if it should please God to

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THE WOMEN OF BOSTON.

give her any." The demand was compromised for five pounds per annum. At a somewhat later day a little ragged child was purchased in the slave market by Mrs. John Wheatley, whose heart was drawn to the little modest, sickly-looking girl, and she took her home and taught her to read and to write. When she was fourteen years old, Phillis began to write poetry. She was encouraged by her mistress in her efforts to learn, and she soon at- tracted the attention of clergymen and other literary gentlemen. Flattery and attention did not spoil her, but she remained modest and thoughtful. She went to England for her health, where she received even more atten- tion, and her poems were printed, with an engraved likeness of herself. Her poem addressed to the Earl of Dartmouth is noble in sentiment and smooth in versification. She also wrote complimentary verses to General Washing- ton, who sent her a courteous reply. She made an unfortunate marriage with a colored man of pleasing appearance, but selfish disposition and idle habits, and in the troubled time of the Revolutionary war she sank into poverty and distress. Mrs. Wheatley's family tried to relieve her when they learned of her wants, but death soon put an end to her trials. She was never called by the name of her unworthy husband, but always Phillis Wheatley.1

During the Revolutionary period we find no woman taking a very promi- nent position in affairs in Boston; but how deeply interested they were in the struggle, how full of patriotic ardor and willingness to bear their share of toil and privation, is shown by the letters and journals of the day, espe- cially those of Mrs. Quincy and Mrs. Adams.

Dorothy Quincy married John Hancock when he was in concealment with Samuel Adams in Fairfield, Connecticut. A fortnight after the birth of her first child she travelled by carriage to Philadelphia with her husband, then chosen President of the first Congress. When her husband informed her, in great secrecy, that it was thought it might be necessary to burn Boston to prevent its falling into the hands of the enemy, and that he had consented to the destruction of all his property, she was so calm as to be able to attend Quaker meeting immediately after. At a later day she was accustomed to receive all classes at her Saturday salt-fish dinner. When Admiral d'Estaing was invited to breakfast with Hancock, and requested permission to bring all his officers, to the number of three hundred, Mrs. Hancock, being unable to procure milk enough for her table, sent out her servants to milk all the cows on the Common, with directions to send any persons who complained to her. It is said that the owners were rather amused than offended by the proceeding.

Of an interesting circle of women associated with Boston during the stirring periods of the last century, and some of whom still live for us on Copley's canvases, we may not happily forget Mrs. John Murray, who pub- lished both poetry and dramas, and Mrs. Edmund Perkins, who was cele- brated for her fine intellect. Mrs. Mercy Otis Warren, the sister of James

1 [See Mr. Goddard's estimate of her capacity, in another chapter. - ED.]

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Otis, was one of the most gifted women of the time; and although born in Barnstable and living mostly at Plymouth, she yet mingled in Boston society, and published some of her writings there. Copley depicts " her face as delicate and intellectual ; hair and eyes dark. Her head-dress is of white lace with white satin ribbons. Her robe is of dark-green satin, with pompadour waist trimmed with point lace. Full plait at the back hanging from the shoulders, and sleeves of point lace; front of skirt and sleeves elaborately trimmed with puffings of satin." .She wrote, at a later day, a voluminous history of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, interspersed with Biographical, Political, and Moral Observations, in three volumes, the last of which was published in 1805. It is written with great spirit and enthusiasm, though in a quaint style. She gives a clear narrative of events, and paints the leading characters in strong colors. She is not lukewarm in her feelings. She was a Democrat, and a warm admirer of Jefferson. Some of her remarks on John Adams were so severe that he defended himself in a series of letters. She replied rather sharply to him, and the dispute was so warm as to endanger their friendship; but after some time their intercourse was pleasantly renewed.1

The women of Boston had then little opportunity for methodical educa- tion; but they read a great deal, and, having little new reading, faithfully studied the older English literature, especially that of Queen Anne's time. They also saw a great deal of good society; and as the best men were deeply engaged with serious questions of political government, the ladies, who shared their anxiety, gained much from their conversation, and ac- quired great power of thought and expression. Mrs. Abigail Smith Adams,2 wife of John Adams, born in 1744, says: "I never was sent to any school; I was always sick. Female education in the best families went no further than writing and arithmetic; in some few and rare instances music and dancing." She says: "It was fashionable to ridicule female learning, and I regret the trifling, narrow, contracted education of the females of my own country." Ladies had a great propensity for letter-writing, which was con- sidered an elegant accomplishment, and they used classical names as sig- natures, - Miss Smith's being Diana, and afterwards Portia. Calliope, Myra, Aspasia, and Aurelia were used by her friends. Mrs. Adams saw the evil to the Republic from the abasement of one half of its people. She says, somewhat playfully, yet evidently with deep meaning, in 1776: -

" I cannot say that I think you are very generous to the ladies, for, whilst you are proclaiming peace and good-will to men, emancipating all nations, you insist upon re- taining an absolute power over wives. But you must remember that arbitrary power is like most other things which are very hard, - very liable to be broken ; and, not- withstanding all your wise laws and maxims, we have it in our power not only to free

1 [These letters are printed in 5 Mass. Ilist.

Coll., iv. She was the wife of James Warren, the President of the Provincial Congress. - ED.]

2 [A portrait of Mrs. John Adams is one of those given in Griswold's Republican Court, p. 169. It is also in the Familiar Letters. - ED.]

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ourselves, but to subdue our masters, and without violence throw both your natural and legal authority at our feet, -

"' Charm by accepting, by submitting sway, Yet have our humor most when we obey.'"

Again she says: " If we mean to have heroes, statesmen, and philoso- phers, we should have learned women." Mr. Adams seems to have felt the · power of a wife to mould her husband's fortunes, for he closes a letter on the subject by saying, " A smart wife would have put Howe in possession of Philadelphia a long time ago."

Occasionally the women of Boston, like the men who destroyed the tea, took the righting of wrongs into their own hands. Mrs. Adams writes, July 31,1777: -

"There is a great scarcity of sugar and coffee, - articles which the female part of the State is very loath to give up, especially whilst they consider the scarcity occasioned by the merchants having secreted a large quantity. There had been much rout and noise in the town for several weeks. Some stores had been opened by a number of people, and the coffee and sugar carried into the market and dealt out by pounds. It was rumored that an eminent, wealthy, stingy merchant (who is a bachelor) had a hogshead of coffee in his store, which he refused to sell the committee under six shil- lings per pound. A number of females -some say a hundred, some say more - assembled with a cart and trucks, marched down to the warehouse, and demanded the keys, which he refused to deliver. Upon which one of them seized him by his neck and tossed him into the cart. Upon his finding no quarter, he delivered the keys, when they tipped up the cart and discharged him ; then opened the warehouse, hoisted out the coffee themselves, put it into the trunks, and drove off. It was reported that he had personal chastisements among them ; but this I believe was not true. A large concourse of men stood amazed, silent spectators of the whole transaction !"

To come down somewhat later, Miss Eliza Susan Morton, afterward Mrs. Josiah Quincy,1 visited Boston in 1795, and speaks of the delightful society which she met there. She was married in 1797, and came to Boston to live. She writes : -

" Thanksgiving Day, December 1, 1808. On this day of thanksgiving there is no subject which excites more in my mind than the location of our family in New England, and, above all, in Boston."

This circle of Boston ladies showed a warm interest in literary women. Mrs. Quincy and Miss Lowell had become acquainted with Mrs. Grant's letters from the Mountains. They caused an American edition of her work to be published in 1809, and sent the profits to the author. Mrs. Quincy remarked that while assisting Mrs. Grant they ought to remember that their own countrywoman, Hannah Adams,2 the author of many valuable works,

. 1 [The first Mayor of that name. - ED.] of her is in the gallery of the American Anti- quarian Society at Worcester. See Allibone's Dictionary of Authors .- ED.]

2 [There is much about Hannah Adams in Woods's Brookline, p. 159, etc .; and a portrait

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was braiding straw for a living. They exerted themselves for her benefit, and succeeded in obtaining subscribers to a life annuity. But " it was requisite that the subscriptions of married women should stand in the name of their husbands." Miss Anna Cabot Lowell was another highly accom- plished woman, whose letters and poems were greatly admired : she died in 1820. Mrs. Quincy also exerted herself to have Miss Edgeworth's Moral Tales republished in Boston. While she took an active interest in her hus- band's political affairs, she also taught her children two hours every morn- ing, during which he was in attendance at the Capitol. When Lafayette visited Boston she, as the Mayor's wife, welcomed him in " an elegant and appropriate speech." She was early convinced of the sin of Slavery, and was also interested in philanthropic movements, being for thirty years a subscriber to the Boston Female Asylum. There was of course, in these early days of this century, a prodigy. Miss Helen Sheafe, who died in 1802, wrote a poem at thirteen years of age, in answer to the question, "What is Religion?" But the few did not make the rule, and John Quincy Adams could write, -

"Oh that our young ladies were as distinguished for the beauties of their minds as they are for the charms of their persons ! But, alas ! too many of them are like a beautiful apple that is insipid to the taste."

The nineteenth century, so remarkable for its rapid progress in the emancipation of the masses from political tyranny, and of the negroes from personal slavery, has also brought great improvement in the condition of women in Boston, as elsewhere. Legislation in regard to women has been greatly amended. The common law of England, which generally prevailed here, was very unjust to married women, who were almost without personal rights in property. But one of its provisions, which held the husband re- sponsible for the crimes of his wife, was disregarded. Mary Dyer suffered in her own person.

Yet there was in Boston society a strong feeling in favor of protecting the pecuniary interests of married women. In 1640 the General Court " voted Mrs. Winthrop three thousand acres of land," although her husband was then living. In the early part of this century the best men of Boston took care to secure a provision for their daughters by will, and to settle their property beyond their husbands' control. Jonathan Jackson used his influence to promote this custom, and as he had given an expensive educa- tion to his sons he left his money to his daughters.

But until 1855 a woman could secure the possession of her own property only by placing it in the hands of a trustee, to whose will she was subject, or by making, before marriage, a contract with her husband by which he relinquished his claims to certain designated property. This custom of pro- tection gave some security to wealthy women, but it afforded no relief to the large class who might earn money and be at the same time at the mercy of an extravagant or intemperate husband. In 1855 a very broad statute

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THE WOMEN OF BOSTON.

was passed, giving a woman the right to hold all property earned or ac- quired by her, independent of the control of her husband. Some trouble- some restrictions in regard to selling her property and conducting business still remain ; but the main points are secured.

The laws of inheritance are not yet equalized. A woman cannot, with- out his consent, deprive by will her husband of more than one half of her personal property ; nor can she take away his life interest in her real estate if they have had a living child.

The laws of divorce have been much improved, although still defective, and bearing unequally upon the wife. Even more unequal is the effect of guilt in the marriage relation. Samuel E. Sewall says: "She, if guilty, can under the most favorable circumstances retain only a naked subsistence out of her property; while he, if guilty, may still retain the bulk of his wealth."

In education the advance has been even greater than in legislation in regard to property. Although as early as 1635 measures were taken to es- tablish a school in Boston, yet, as we have seen, there was very little pro- vision for the education of women. Whether from law or custom, girls do not seem to have attended the schools to any great extent. Wealthy fam- ilies had their children taught at home. The public school system as we now know it was established in 1789. " Children of both sexes were to be admitted, boys for the year round, and girls from April to October; " to be taught to spell, accent, and read prose and verse, and also to be instructed in English grammar and composition. In 1806 the number of scholars in all the schools was 1,760, - boys 1,030, girls 730. No child was admitted under seven years of age. This rule led to the establishment, in 1816, of Sunday schools, for instruction not only on religious subjects, but as pre- paratory to the grammar and writing schools. This provision being found inadequate, primary schools were established and placed under the care of female instructors, thus introducing this important feature into the school system. In 1825 the number of pupils was 6,220, of whom 2,723 were girls. The girls received rewards at the expense of the city.1

The inequality in the provision of education for girls led the Rev. John Pierpont, then Secretary of the School Committee, to propose the establish- ment of a high school for girls. He advocated his proposition on grounds of " general expediency, and as an object of ambition and of profitable employment of three years of life now inadequately occupied." The school was organized, with Mr. Ebenezer Bailey as master, in 1825. Two hundred and eighty-six candidates presented themselves for examination, but many of them were unprepared for a course of study higher than that of the grammar schools. As many of the best candidates were selected as the single room would accommodate. This school was "kept open eighteen or nineteen months, during which time not one pupil voluntarily quitted it, nor would as long as they could be allowed to stay, except in case of marriage."

1 [See Mr. Dillaway's chapter in this volume. - En.]

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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.

This is said to have been the first institution of the kind ever established. Many wealthy pupils were taken from private schools to attend it, and many entered the grammar schools to fit themselves for it. A great impulse was given to all the schools. The conduct of the school was entirely satis- factory, and many of the young women fitted themselves to be teachers, and sought employment in the primary schools. The sub-committee reported in its favor. But the very success of the school was its ruin! Mayor Quincy reported against it, on the ground of the large numbers who would desire to attend it in future, and the consequent expense to the city. The cost of each pupil was eleven dollars per year. Mr. Quincy proposed as a substitute to add one year to the course of the grammar schools. The high school for girls was abolished.1 The cost of this experiment was about $4,500. Public feeling was very much excited on the subject. Many young Irish girls had entered the school and had proved fine scholars; and an outcry was raised against higher education for the poorer classes, as un- fitting them for domestic service. The failure of this school, however, stimulated improvement in the private schools.

Schools for young ladies had been largely devoted to teaching the ac- complishments. Modern languages and polite literature were studied, and Paradise Lost was parsed until hardly a shred of it remained. Mrs. Row- son's school was one of the most famous of the early schools, and was succeeded by Dr. Park's. Mr. Cummings was one of the first to aim at more thorough education, and he introduced the study of Latin : the well- known Mrs. Ripley of Waltham was one of his pupils. Mr. George B. Emerson established his admirable school; and Mr. Bailey, bitterly disap- pointed at the abandonment of the public high school, opened his private " High School for Girls," which continued for ten years. The monitorial system had attracted much attention and been partially introduced into the public schools. Mr. Wm. B. Fowle opened a school for girls on this plan. These two schools, having about a hundred pupils each, introduced many important features, such as gymnastics, dancing, greater attention to solid branches, with scientific experiments, and great care in sanitary arrange- ments. It would be impossible to number the many excellent schools which have succeeded. The Chauncy Hall School, originally established for boys, introduced the principle of co-education in 1862. The number of female pupils has risen to sixty-four, the maximum number.

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The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880, Vol. IV, Part 44

Author: Winsor, Justin, 1831-1897, ed; Jewett, C. F. (Clarence F.), publisher Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Boston : Osgood Number of Pages: 760

Author: Winsor, Justin, 1831-1897, ed; Jewett, C. F. (Clarence F.), publisher
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Boston : Osgood
Number of Pages: 760