On Day 3, the lives of Rebecca Kinsman, Mary Ryder, and Martha Wheelwright introduced us to the worlds of middle class white women (we will examine the experiences of elite women such as Sarah Goodwin and of African American women later this week). In what ways were their lives similar to those of men; in what ways were their experiences particular to their gender?
In the case of Rebecca Kinsman, her experiences were similar to those of men in that a great deal of responsibility was placed on her to mind the details. Her diary kept a detailed record of the management of the staff and the functioning of the household. She also needed to be a solid foundation for the family: when Nathaniel needed to go to China to help the family's finances,they uprooted and traveled across the world. Her active role in the family and her duty as a wife took precedent over all else - I don't know of any parents that would choose to stay with their spouse over making sure that their ill child was well taken care of.
ReplyDeleteI suppose that in many ways Rebecca's life was much more complex and filled with difficult choices that affected the family than those of her husband. The choices she made and her responsibilities in Macao seem to all revolve around her husband. Even in death, she stayed by her husband's side abroad.
Martha Wheelwright's story was tragic. I think that in her case, the experience was exacerbated by her gender. As a woman, she was in a difficult position because her husband died and left her in immense debt, but as a woman there were not many options for her to earn enough money to pay back the debts. The debt collectors probably saw themselves as generous, allowing her to stay in a small part of the house, but there was no way for her to ever get out of that debt. No man in town would marry her with the stigma of debt on her head, and she could not raise the money herself. Tragic and heartwrenching.
Rebecca Kinsman experience was different from the other women she went to China with her husband’s ,two of her children and her husband niece .She was a Quaker she came from Salem , Massachusetts. Nathaniel Kinsman was her husband who was 13 years her senior. Her husband and Rebecca went to China so they could improve their lives and bring back 100,000 dollars so their fortune would improve. They were in a foreign country and didn’t want to disrespect their country. Nathaniel was working for a Wincove company and getting profits from them. Rebecca was separated by 60 miles of ocean in Macao and her husband was in Canton. The Chinese did not think it was proper for the foreign women and men to be in the same town. Rebecca had to be the deputy husband for her and run his affairs. Rebecca was writing letters to her friends and family about her cows which were very humorist. She had china servants and lived more elegant then she would have lived in Salem. She play host in 1844 for the signing of the Newberry treaty in 1844. Her young daughter gets sick and died on her way back to Salem. Then her husband dies and she not allow going to his funeral. She remarries in her fifties. In some ways her life was similar to men but men had to give them permission to do business affairs. Rebecca did incredible for a woman in a different country.
ReplyDeleteMary Ryder husband died she inherited his fortunate. She lived to 94 years old never had children left her fortunate to her nieces and nephews. She died with a fortunate of 10,000 dollars. She ran a small shop and did well for herself. Today were told she had no teeth and only eat soup because but in truth it was lack of teeth she. In her case her husband proved very well for her.
In Martha Wheelwrights she was the second wife and had no children with her husband. Her husband left her in debt the house had to be sold she got a 1/3 and sold her third so she could go back to Ipswich were from. She felt like a foreigner in Portsmouth. Her husband had made her the deputy she ran his affairs when he was gone. Everything in the house needed to be sold In her case I think her she needed to get away from Portsmouth and start her life over.
In each case of these women it was the men who chose how their future. If the husband didn’t chose to leave the wife inherits then she become a burden to the community.
The life of everyone was challenging but the parents certainly had a bulk of the burden placed on them. The women that we learned about certainly had challenges to deal with and a lot of responsibility to handle. We learned that women would have to take on multiple roles in their families especially if their husbands became ill or if their work took they away from home for long periods of time. A women was not only expected to tend to the house and all that came with that but also run the family business if the father was not around and become the head of the household.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that when a woman’s husband died that she would still retain 1/3 of the house to live in. That shows you how important a house was in peoples lives back then. It was their security in an unsecure world. You also get a strong sense that a women’s future was based on her husbands fate both in the working world and in his death. It would be very scary for those women who had signed away their 1/3 of their house if their husband died. That was a real risk for them.
Christopher was right on in his assessment. Rebecca Kinsman was the glue of her household in many ways. As we discussed in class today, Rebecca had to take on so many responsibilities at once in order to keep her family functioning. Not only did she have all her jobs as mother and wife in the family, she also ran her husbands office in Macao while he was in Canton, China.
ReplyDeleteShe also acted as a hostess to American political and business visitors in the region and tried to portray herself as an ambassador of American culture abroad. Quite an impressive amount of hats to wear and she did it out of love for her family and husband.
Mary and Martha's stories are similar in many ways because they deal with the more traditional role of women in pre-modern history. I find Martha's story especially sad because of how her life was totally crushed after the death of her husband because he had failed to provide appropriately for his family. Imagine that in society today? Many people have life insurance to provide for their families after they are gone. Without any safety nets to provide help from an outside source, Martha needed to resort to asking family and friends to help her pay back debt her husband owed. That boggles my mind because I could never imagine leaving my wife and family in debt. I guess this is just another lesson from the Strawbery Banke that humbles us and makes us think more about all the blessings we have in our own modern lives today.
These women's lives were similar to men in that they were all responsible for domestic and financial management in absence of their husbands. Although men have the option of reinventing their lives after becoming a window, widowed women did not have this advantage (Martha inherited debt and had to move back home to Ipswich). Rebecca's unfortunate experience in relation to her gender was not being allowed to attend her own husband's funeral. For Martha, it was inheriting debt that she had no control or solution for. Lastly for Mary, she was left without children.
ReplyDeleteThe lives of Rebecca Kinsman, Mary Ryder, and Martha Wheelwright were both similar to that of some men of their time period, and also gender specific to the time period. The examples that come to mind first would be the role that Rebecca played in her family. She kept a diary due to her traveling to China. Nobody goes to China by choice, as it is a financial desperation move. At any rate, Rebecca is faced with the horrific decision of staying with her sick husband or child-as her child is being sent back to Salem. She chooses to stay with her husband. She is obviously devastated by the loss of her child. Also, her diary has multiple entries on milk and cows as she obviously wanted good milk and proper nutrition for her children. Martha and Mary are both required to deal with the family finances after their husbands are gone. Mary’s situation was one of prosperity, while Martha experienced the opposite. Martha’s husband left her with a significant amount of debt. In the small town setting everyone knew this and she was without a doubt labeled in the negative fashion. In her case it was interesting to learn how the women would still keep 1/3 of the valued estate. All of these women’s roles would undoubtedly change from that of a traditional woman after their husbands were gone. This is the common link between the three of them.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if Chris, Phil, and Ryan did a great job depicting the multiple roles that women had during this time period. As I will explain in a little bit women had the role of caregiver, mother, planter, doctor, cook, etc. They would take care of the children while the man was away, and take care of the house. What really intrigued me today was learning about the role of women from the Hearth cooking display and the Shapiro house/garden tour. It was relayed to us at the Hearth demonstration that women may have had more autonomy during this time period than originally thought. The example of Martha Washington defying her husband’s wishes in releasing a slave was brought up. It was important to note that Martha actually held a great deal of authority in the marriage because she had been previously married. Also, women would be the main cooks in the family. This area of expertise was pretty gender specific at the time. Mrs. Shapiro was consistently responsible for cooking for 10 or more people daily. This activity would have taken a great deal of time and energy. Finally, women also planted and took care of the garden. They would also experiment with herbs as medical remedies. It was interesting to learn how apple cider was used to clear out the system, herbal teas were used for bronchial infections, and certain plants were used to relieve stings and insect bites. All in all, the woman during this time period had multiple roles. They had no choice and had to wear many masks. As they are today, women seemed to be the glue that would hold the household together during prosperous and difficult times
In the case of Rebeccas Kinsman her life was similar to that of her husband in that they both had to change their ways of life when they traveled to China. They also both had spheres of influence that they took very seriously and were responsible in maintaining order in their particular sphere. For Rebecca, this sphere encompassed home life and raising a family whereas for her husband he was to take care of their business. However when her husband was away in Canton Rebecca was in charge of the family finances.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Mary Rider her life was similar to that of a man in that after she was widowed she took up the family business and carried on her livelihood. Through this she was able to work hard and ultimately gain more financial and social freedom than that of a married woman.
Finally, for poor Martha Wheelwright her life didn't share much in common with that of her deceased husband. After his death Mary was burdened with debt and crisis. Her debts piled up and she had to sell her widow's thirds to even try to combat the debt her husband had accrued.
However all three women's experiences are particular to their gender in that their husbands for the most part controlled their destinies. Mary Rider was able to somewhat get around this by working hard to create a successful estate, but even still most women were trapped by their husband's will. Also these women were all expected to raise good families and to take care of their homestead wherever and whatever that might be.
Middle class women of the time had a great deal of responsiblity placed on them in order for the survival of the family. Not only did women have to function as mother and wife, they also had to run the business in the husband's absence. In the case of Rebecca Kinsman, the diary she kept shows just how much women had to do during this time. She talks about tending to the children, the animals but also to running the Captain's business affairs from the home in China. It really shows the strength, determination and intelligence of women, and many times were the glue that held families together.
ReplyDeleteThese women were pioneers who battled for both personal and financial gains. Kinsman and Ryder were self determined and financially savvy, and Martha Washington had freedom "not to obey," in the usual male dominated world of finance. These women were similar to other pioneers; such as, Abigail Adams who traded bonds instead of purchasing farm land. Rebecca Kinsman proved that women were like bowls of spaghetti and everything in their lives touched everything else. They could multitask and were connected to roles as caregiver, housekeeper, cook, finance manager, public relations manager, (social,political, financial), wife, mother,and property manager. These roles took on a greater dimension when spouses were away or deceased. Many women of the mid 19th century, mark early strides towards equality.
ReplyDeleteA woman shared the same social statue as her husband. This is especially clear in the case of the Kinsmans. Although Nathaniel was the official employee, Rebecca was also an employee, not merely a dependent. She kept records and represented America in Macao. Although in Salem the Kinsmans' status would not have allowed them to host the ambassador, in Macao Rebecca did just that. Both Nathaniel and Rebecca made sacrifices going to China, such as leaving their eldest son behind, but their desire to be togather probably made it seem worthwhile. Given the responsibilities she had in Macao, it seems that her presense was necessary to the venture. It must have been so hard for her on her return to Salem - not only has she just been widowed, but she no longer has the status and responsibilities she had had. Where did she live? She was probably a dependent in a relative's home, and her social status would be similar to what it was before she married - that of her own family. Her own sense of responsibility would have made her find useful things to do, and eventually she remarried. She would then acquire the social status - whatever it was - of her new husband.
ReplyDeleteMary Rider in many ways seems the most fortunate of these three women. She did not have children, which may have been a source of sorrow or shame to her, but was probably a good thing when, as a widow, she had to run her husband's business by herself. He certainly saw her as his equal partner in the enterprise that was their marriage and business - he left everything to her and not to a nephew or other possible heir. It was probably not too difficult for her to run the business as she had most likely helped in it all along. Without children, she would have been available to help and to talk about business affairs with her husband; her probable familiarity with the business is why it was probably not that difficult to run things by herself. Between what she inherited and what she earned, she was comfortable enouogh to support herself and a number of nephews and nieces as they came from England. A sign of the respect in which she was held is that she was godmother to so many babies baptized at St. John's.
The last widow, Martha Wheelwright seems most tragic. She came from far away - Ipswich - which is less than 40 miles distant, but a whole world away from Portsmouth. Ipswich was a more homogenous place, with one church until the parish of Essex was created amd that was still Congregational. Although Ipswich had enough of a landing at the mouth of the little Ipswich River to allow the Arbella to have landed, it was not big enough for Ipswich to become a major port. In Portsmouth Martha would have encountered greater tolerance for a variety of religions - and probably more contention over how the town was governed as the interests of the citizenry were more diverse. Clearly her new status would be that of her husband's and far different from her status growing up in Ipswich. In her story we see very clearly how the huband in this sense controlled everything - if he had succeeded on his trip, Martha would have been a comfortable if not wealthy woman. She might also have gone on to have children. But her husband was lost and she was actually, because of his debts, lucky to get her thirds. The fact that she chose to return to Ipswich suggests she was never fully comfortable in Portsmouth. Tragically, we learn that she died soon after returning to what she probably still called her home.
It seemed that women could move into men’s sphere as substitutes but that it didn’t go the other way. If a woman was not able to do her duties then either daughters did it or a woman from outside the household was brought in. Rebecca Kinsman experience was not that different from other women. Yes, it was in China, but while here husband was in Canton she managed the business affairs just as Mary Rider ran the store, and Martha Wheelwright managed to settle her husband’s estate and to sell her 1/3s. It was not unusual for women to run businesses in New England. So women could substitute for men but they were not equal in the eyes of society. Rebecca Kinsman was not allowed into Canton nor was she allowed to attend her husband’s funeral in China. Mary Rider could run the store but had no political say in her society. For both Rebecca Kinsman and Martha Wheelwright the loss of their husbands meant financial crisis and poverty. Where the loss of a wife did not mean financial devastation to the husband.
ReplyDeleteRebecca Kinsman’s story is heart tugging. The couple had such a strong bond. During financial difficulties she traveled to China with her husband. Rebecca worked for the company while balancing her responsibilities of a mother. She loses her husband and daughter only to be put on a ship with out seeing him buried. Spending days traveling back on the ship with two of her children. To me that is a pain greater than financial difficulties.
ReplyDeleteMary Ryder had to be involved in the family finances with her husband before he passed for him to leave her in charge. He trusted she was capable of managing the responsibility. I wonder if he didn’t see that maturity in his sons. This left her in a good position to live comfortably.
Martha Wheelwright financially had it the hardest of the three woman. She was saddled with her husband’s debt and trying to survive on the widows third. I am curious about the minister who boarded with her for 17 years. Did he love her but could not take on the debt.
All three women had different situations but they all needed to go on and provide for their family.
Economics ruled the lives of the men and women we have enountered at Strawberry Banke. While religion guided much of their thinking, it was economic survival that instructed the majority of their decision making and daily activity. Families formed economic units that allowed early American society to function and flourish. Women partnered with the men in their lives, not only for emotional support, but to form a business partnership. Rebecca Kinsman was not limited to the role of "good Christian wife" while in China; rather, she actively participated in Nathaniel's business transactions, taking on the role of both manager and accountant. The buisness Mr. Ryder and his wife created thrived under her care after his death and provided her with an comfortable income. In many ways this was not a situation in which a man provided for his wife's future, but, rather, that of a competant saavy woman earning her own living (as so many women do today). Thus, colonial women were not just supplementing their husbands' income, they were generating the family's financial base through their own buisness acumen and occupational expertise.
ReplyDeleteWe see further evidence of the guiding influence of economics in colonial kitchens and gardens. These traditionally female spaces had little room for frivolity. Menus demonstrated a woman's ability to stretch the family resources through preservation and innovation. Nothing was wasted; rather, scraps and tidbits were utilized in creative ways to enrich the family's next meal. While the gardens were lovely to look at, every available space in them was used to produce an item with a practicle purpose. Even plants considered weeds today had a utilitarian purpose for colonial households.
I have always envisioned multi-tasking as a modern phenomena. In reality, it is a revival of the past that reminds us of the strength of these remarkable women and the key role they played in the colonial economy.
The two biographies used in this class, while dealing with separate centuries, present us with some interesting contrasts. Rural vs. urban; farmer vs. wealthy; male vs. female. Although Sarah Goodwin had a much more expansive worldview and circle of friends, in many ways her life was just as constricted by the social mores of her time. In some ways her memoir almost seems provincial compared to that of Sam Lanes where he was fully engaged in the economic and political life of his time. As the wife of a well-connected politician Sarah could still only observe from the sidelines.
ReplyDeleteIn the cases of Kinsman, Rider and Wheelwright, they were all thrust into their respective roles of responsibilty after the death of there husbands. It was never a position they would have attained on there own.
I think this serves to underscore what we've talked about this week. That is, the harsh reality of life in early and colonial America. And how dependent people were on each other.
As we saw at the Lane property, the home was a 'homestead' conceieved as an economic and social unit. The 1/3 - 2/3 division upon the death of the husband made it clear how colonials viewed marriage and families.
In all these cases, male amd female, what is clear is that people were products of their time. As such they were restricted by the social mores and conventions of there day. A man had certain roles and expectations; and so did a women. The cards were stacked in the mens favor, because the rules were written by men.
cashman5@msn.com wwote:
ReplyDeleteI feel that indeed history does repeat itself. Rebecca and Nathaniel Kinsman were willing to sacrifice the life they were living to travel to China to earn enough money to provide comfortably for their children. Similar to today's working women, Rebecca had to handle many jobs for the household. She filled in for her husband while he was busy at work, she was also mother to her children, chef, maid, accountant to their business affairs, she also needed to make sure that the cow was taken care of, to allow for milk for the children. After losing her 6 yr. old daughter Ecca, she had to put on a brave front and continue to handle everything, as if nothing had happened, I don't know that I could do that. If I lost a child, I'm sure I would not be able to keep going the way that Rebecca did.
Another way that history repeats, is in the Mass. marriage laws. They are similar to those of early america. Back then the wife was given 1/3 of the estate only. Today, a wife is given 1/3 of the estate, even if the husband did not wish for her to have that much. Similar to the Wheelright family, if a father wanted his children from a previous marriage to have say 3/4's of the estate, the wife could contest the will and receive 1/3 of the estate automatically. I think it's ironic that Massachusetts still adheres to a similar law. Once again, showing that history does repeat itself, over and over again.
cashman5@msn.com wrote:
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with the Moffatt-Ladd house the moment that I stepped into it. I grew up in Winthrop by the water, with houses that were over 100 years old, and felt like I had stepped back into my past as well as the Moffatt’s. I feel the significance of the house was to express to everyone just how wealthy and powerful the Moffatt family was. It did indeed say just that! The workmanship on the moldings alone spoke infinite wealth, (knowing the amount of time it took to make even one flower design). The average family could never have afforded to spend money so frivolously, so you knew they had plenty of money to spare. The fact that the downstairs rooms, (that most visitors would see), were extravagantly designed, tells me that their house was indeed intended as a showpiece. It was to let everyone know that they were in fact very wealthy, and you couldn’t be that wealthy if you were a terrible businessman. I’m certain that they threw many holiday parties and balls in that house. The gardens were just as beautiful as the house, and also meant to be another exhibit of their extravagant wealth. You could tell by the landscaping that many parties were also held out in the gardens throughout the years. It seemed to me that the Moffatt’s were the type of family that wanted you to know that they had indeed arrived! You knew that Samuel Moffatt was bred well, and had the confidence to run the family business when the time came, just by looking at his portrait. The entire family’s demeanor demanded respect the moment they walked into a room. Their home and gardens showed it.
However, when I see how John Moffatt set his son up in the family business, like many families do today, I see many of the same results. When children are born with the “Silver Spoon,” they don’t realize or appreciate what they have. I feel that was the case with his son Samuel. He did not have to work extremely hard to earn what he had; he got the easy road to riches. I feel that because of that, he ended up in the trouble he did. He was once again, looking for the easy way, but this time it didn’t work out for him. I feel that if John had not brought him up thinking he was “All that and a bag of chips,” he might not have been so cocky and realized that he could in fact fail, as he did. Anyway, I really enjoyed the week, and learned so much about the early American times. It was a great group of historians, and I had a great time!
Day 4
ReplyDeletecashman5@msn.com wrote:
I fell in love with the Moffatt-Ladd house the moment that I stepped into it. I grew up in Winthrop by the water, with houses that were over 100 years old, and felt like I had stepped back into my past as well as the Moffatt’s. I feel the significance of the house was to express to everyone just how wealthy and powerful the Moffatt family was. It did indeed say just that! The workmanship on the moldings alone spoke infinite wealth, (knowing the amount of time it took to make even one flower design). The average family could never have afforded to spend money so frivolously, so you knew they had plenty of money to spare. The fact that the downstairs rooms, (that most visitors would see), were extravagantly designed, tells me that their house was indeed intended as a showpiece. It was to let everyone know that they were in fact very wealthy, and you couldn’t be that wealthy if you were a terrible businessman. I’m certain that they threw many holiday parties and balls in that house. The gardens were just as beautiful as the house, and also meant to be another exhibit of their extravagant wealth. You could tell by the landscaping that many parties were also held out in the gardens throughout the years. It seemed to me that the Moffatt’s were the type of family that wanted you to know that they had indeed arrived! You knew that Samuel Moffatt was bred well, and had the confidence to run the family business when the time came, just by looking at his portrait. The entire family’s demeanor demanded respect the moment they walked into a room. Their home and gardens showed it.
However, when I see how John Moffatt set his son up in the family business, like many families do today, I see many of the same results. When children are born with the “Silver Spoon,” they don’t realize or appreciate what they have. I feel that was the case with his son Samuel. He did not have to work extremely hard to earn what he had; he got the easy road to riches. I feel that because of that, he ended up in the trouble he did. He was once again, looking for the easy way, but this time it didn’t work out for him. I feel that if John had not brought him up thinking he was “All that and a bag of chips,” he might not have been so cocky and realized that he could in fact fail, as he did. Anyway, I really enjoyed the week, and learned so much about the early American times. It was a great group of historians, and I had a great time!
cashman5@msn.com wrote
ReplyDeleteI feel that indeed history does repeat itself. Rebecca and Nathaniel Kinsman were willing to sacrifice the life they were living to travel to China to earn enough money to provide comfortably for their children. Similar to today's working women, Rebecca had to handle many jobs for the household. She filled in for her husband while he was busy at work, she was also mother to her children, chef, maid, accountant to their business affairs, she also needed to make sure that the cow was taken care of, to allow for milk for the children. After losing her 6 yr. old daughter Ecca, she had to put on a brave front and continue to handle everything, as if nothing had happened, I don't know that I could do that. If I lost a child, I'm sure I would not be able to keep going the way that Rebecca did.
Another way that history repeats, is in the Mass. marriage laws. They are similar to those of early america. Back then the wife was given 1/3 of the estate only. Today, a wife is given 1/3 of the estate, even if the husband did not wish for her to have that much. Similar to the Wheelright family, if a father wanted his children from a previous marriage to have say 3/4's of the estate, the wife could contest the will and receive 1/3 of the estate automatically. I think it's ironic that Massachusetts still adheres to a similar law. Once again, showing that history does repeat itself, over and over again.