Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant: A Women's History

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Episode 24: The Charge Of So Crazy A Body Jun 22, 2021

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Jane Ludwell Parke to Daniel Parke, July 12, 1705 In which Jane Ludwell Parke has HAD ENOUGH. This is the first part of what will be a multi-part series on Martha Washington's in-laws and the havoc they wreaked on Colonial Virginia. If you have a catchier name for this series, please submit it! Further Reading: The Text of this letter comes from: "Some New Aspects of the Life of Daniel Parke," by Edward W. Greenfield in The Virginia Magazine of Hiistory and Biography, Oct. 1946, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 306-315 Not to cite myself but uh... (kinda citing myself) https://millercenter.org/president/washington/washington-papers/dunbar-lawsuit James Falkner's entry on Daniel Parke in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Episode 23: Where Decent Nature Spreads A Shade Jun 10, 2021

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Rosalie Stier Calvert to Marie Louise Stier, Riversdale, March 2 1804. In which "Madame Bonaparte" (Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte) scandalizes Washington by showing up to a party pretty much undressed, by U.S. fashion standards. Thomas Law, of course, writes a dirty poem about it. Aaron Burr is also involved. Thank you SO MUCH to my amazing guest, Dr. Cassandra Good. Everyone buy and read her book! The Letter: Callcott, Margaret Law, ed., Mistress of Riversdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795-1821, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 77-78. More from Dr. Good: Good, Cassandra A. 2015. Founding friendships: friendships between men and women in the early American republic. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. https://cassandragoodhistorian.com/ Resources: Louisa Catherine Johnston Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 11 Feb. 1804, Early Access Document, Adams Family Papers. Boyer Lewis, Charlene M. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte: An American Aristocrat in the Early Republic, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. Also see her objects at Maryland Center for History and culture: https://www.mdhistory.org/digital-resource/?search=elizabeth+patterson+bonaparte Riversdale House Museum: http://www.pgparks.com/3023/Riversdale-House-Museum

Episode 22: She Has Claims Upon Me May 25, 2021

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Martha Jefferson Randolph to Septimia A. Randolph, 29 Jan. 1829 In which Priscilla Hemmings, an enslaved nurse-maid to Thomas Jefferson's white grandchildren, refuses to do what the white family wants her to do. I'm joined this week by the delighful Lora Cooper, the Continuing Education Coordinator at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Further Reading: The letter: https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/2485 MJR to TJ, 31 Jan. 1801: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-32-02-0375 More on Priscilla Hemmings: https://www.monticello.org/mulberry-row/people/priscilla-hemmings More on John Hemmings: https://www.monticello.org/mulberry-row/people/john-hemmings More on the sale of Monticello: https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/sale-monticello

Episode 21: Stuff A Child With Learning Apr 27, 2021

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Elizabeth Lichtenstein Johnston to William Martin Johnston, January 15, 1784 In which an exiled wife of a British loyalist teases her husband for maybe not knowing how old his son is, tries to figure out what to do once Britain cedes Florida to the Spanish, and tries to avoid ending up in Jamaica. Kathryn is joined by her friend from graduate school Sian Leach, who used this letter along with hundreds of others in her graduate thesis about loyalist women. Further Reading: Recollections of a Georgia Loyalist, Elizabeth Lichtenstein Johnston, New York and London, M. F. Mansfield & company, 1901. 217-219 for this letter. On Elizabeth Lichtenstein Johnston: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/elizabeth-lichtenstein-johnston-1764-1848 "Shot Round the World but not Heard" Elizabeth Lichtenstein Johnston, by Ben Marsh, University of Stirling, December 2007. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/9049509.pdf The Other Side of Revolution: Loyalists in the British Empire, Maya Jasanoff, The William and Mary Quarterly Third Series, Vol. 65, No. 2 (Apr., 2008), pp. 205-232. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25096784

Episode 20: I Can No More Apr 13, 2021

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Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler Church, 8 Nov. 1789 Shortly after her husband became the first Secretary of the Treasury, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton had to once again part from her beloved sister Angelica, who was returning to England after a short visit to the United States. Public historian Jessie Serfilippi joins Kathryn to discuss the now famous Schuyler sisters, their relationship, and the Schuyler family as a whole, BEYOND just what you see in Hamilton. We also discuss Jessie's excellent article on Alexander Hamilton as a slaveholder. Further Reading: Jessie's Article: https://parks.ny.gov/documents/historic-sites/SchuylerMansionAlexanderHamiltonsHiddenHistoryasanEnslaver.pdf?te=1&nl=new-york-today&emc=edit_ur_20201111 Jessie's interview with Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/new-research-alexander-hamilton-slave-owner-180976260/ Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton to Angelica Church, 8 November 1789: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-05-02-0297-0002 Angelica Church to Alexander Hamilton, 5-7 November 1789: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-05-02-0290 Schuyler Mansion Historic Site Blog: https://schuylermansion.blogspot.com/search/label/slavery

Episode 19: "Pray did you ever hear of the famouss Mademoiselle d'eon?" Mar 30, 2021

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Abigail "Nabby" Adams to John Quincy Adams, 27 Nov. 1785 In which Nabby Adams describes the Chevalier D'Eon as "a singular figure, as well as an extrordinary Character." Much has been written about the legendary D'Eon, and in this episode Julia Ftacek, a scholar of transgender femininity in 18th century literature, and Kathryn, discuss what D'Eon's life tells us about gender roles both in the 18th century and today. Further reading: Full text of the letter: http://www.masshist.org/publications/adams-papers/index.php/view/ADMS-04-06-02-0152 Ftacek, Julia, The body as Rorschach: Trans Interventions and the Trouble with History, Medium.com, 15 Feb. 2019. https://juliaftacek.medium.com/the-body-as-rorschach-trans-interventions-and-the-trouble-with-history-53057d530ead Gaillardet, Frédéric. 1970. The memoirs of Chevalier d'Éon. London: Blond. Robinson, Mary. Walsingham: Or, the Pupil of Nature. United States: Broadview Press, 2003. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Walsingham/kQc5AwAAQBAJ?hl=en Kates, Gary, "The Transgendered World of The Chevalier/Chevalière d'Eon," in The Journal of Modern History, Sept. 1995, pp. 558-594. Lander, James, "A Tale of Two Hoaxes in Britain and France in 1775," in The Historical Journal, Dec. 2006. pp. 995-1024 Kates, Gary. 2001. Monsieur d'Eon is a woman: a tale of political intrigue and sexual masquerade. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.

Episode 18: Think Me Not Vain - Part 2 Mar 16, 2021

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PART 2 of Elizabeth Parke Custis Law to David Baillie Warden, 20 April, 1808. In which Kathryn and guest host Lizzy Thomas discuss 18th century gender roles, their respective emo phases, and whether Elizabeth Parke Custis Law was arrogant or confident. See previous episode notes for further reading!

Episode 18: Think Me Not Vain - part 1 Mar 02, 2021

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Elizabeth Parke Custis Law to David Baillie Warden, 20 April, 1808. In which Elizabeth Parke Custis Law tells David Baillie Warden PRECISELY why she is no one to be toyed with. This is part 1 of a two part episode, because this letter was so long it took up the whole episode. In two weeks I will post the follow up conversation with me and my talented and knowledgeable guest, Lizzy Thomas. Further Reading: Elizabeth Parke Custis Law: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/elizabeth-parke-custis-law/ The letter itself: Hoyt, William D. "Self-Portrait: Eliza Custis, 1808." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 53, no. 2 (1945): 89-100. Accessed March 2, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4245342.

Episode 17: Oh Genie Who Directs The Hands Of Mortals! Feb 16, 2021

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Elizabeth Willing Powel to John Hare Powel, 6-17 April 1809 In which Elizabeth Powel and her nephew bicker through letters over just how unreadable his handwriting is. She argues that "to your mother, it is algebra." Come for the familial banter, stay for the discussion of 18th century epistolary education! I am delighted to be joined this week by the ever lovely and intelligent Samantha Snyder, reference librarian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Further Reading: For more on Elizabeth Willing Powel and Jon Hare Powel's correspondence, see this Finding Aid from the Philadelphia Historical Society: https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaidlcppowel.pdf More on Elizabeth Willing Powel: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/elizabeth-willing-powel/ Richard Dury, "Handwriting and the Linguistic Study of Letters," in Studies in Late Modern English Correspondence, ed. Marina Dossena and Ingrid Tieken Boon van Ostade (Berlin: Peter Lang, 2008), 113-136. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Studies_in_Late_Modern_English_Correspon/zKpBOhu00ggC?hl=en&gbpv=0 James Alderson, "Orthographical exercises: in a series of moral letters. To which is added, a selection of essays, &c. taken from the best English writers," London, 1793.

Episode 16: Disciplinarians Feb 02, 2021

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Cornelia Jefferson Randolph to Virginia Jefferson Randolph Trist, 11 Aug. 1833 In which Thomas Jefferson's granddaughter Cornelia Jefferson Randolph describes the beating of an enslaved woman in the basement of their Washington, D.C. home. Further Reading: Read along with the text of this letter here: https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/1241 They Were Her Property by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/they-were-her-property-stephanie-e-jones-rogers/1129229955 More about Melinda and John Freeman: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-43-02-0223 Martha Jefferson Randolph on Willie: https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/charles-lewis-bankhead#footnote5_tw1n2ty "for my part I have lived so long among slaves that though I disapprove of the system as much as any one can do, I have quite an affection for them & like to be served by them." https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/1219

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