Women in Portsmouth
The Museum has a rich collection of nineteenth century women's
gowns and fashion accessories, including the wedding gown worn by Georgianna
Harris who married a sea captain in Portsmouth in 1834.
The Federal period brought new status for women, as seen in changes in
education and new ideas about the domestic arts. Although women did not
gain the civic rights that Abigail Adams and others desired, they did become
more equal partners in marriage. They also founded and operated charitable
societies, were active in church, and helped to educate and support the
poor. Some, like Boston's Susanna Rowson and York's Sarah Sayward Barrell
Keating Wood, went beyond reading to become published and popular authors.
Changes in household technology--including better lighting, and new and more efficient
heating systems--and increased disposable income eased domestic burdens
for some of the elite women of Portsmouth.
New
furniture forms were created for women, including diminutive bookcases
and writing desks where the lady of the house could do her planning and
letter writing. Another popular form was the worktable, which could be
moved easily from the fireside to a window with good light, and whose compartmented
drawers held threads and mending tools.
Young girls were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic at home or in a dame
school. In addition to these basic skills, girls from elite families could
learn music, dancing, embroidery, painting, and French at one of Portsmouth's "female
academies". These skills were important for a young woman who aspired to
success in the marriage market.
Among the most beloved treasures saved by Portsmouth families are the samplers
worked by young girls, who were taught under the strict supervision of skilled
women teachers. These samplers testify to the sense of duty, patience, skill,
and genuine artistic sensibility of their makers. Like the furniture of the
period, they often demonstrate a distinctive Portsmouth aesthetic.
