In the patriarchial society of the eighteenth century a girl, from birth, was brought up to believe that her role was “to take care of her childen … promoting her husband’s happiness and making a well-ordered home his Chief delight.” Shinah Simon Schuyler, writing to her two nieces Frances and Richea in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had some advice for them as they approached a marriageable age.

December 17th, 1791 I received my dear Richea’s two aggreeable letters with inexperssable pleasure. …

And when, pray, do you enter the list of matrimony? Seriously, my love, I must be your confident; however, my dear Fanny must enter her claim first [being the older]. You have my most cordial prayers for both your happiness whenever that happy period arrives. I would advise you not to be too precipitate, unless an extraordinary and worthy man solicits that honor, and your heart can accompany the gift. Never, my lovely girls (for I address you both), alter your situation but by uniting your selves to a worthy man and one you can love and esteem. Should even adversity be your lot, their will be a consolation experienced which your marrying for wealth will never yeild you, and compleat your misery with an undeserving man. Let esteem for virtueous principles be the first basis of love, and then your happiness will be perminant. That both of you, my dear girls, may marry agreeable to your parents, and each have a worthy husband, I sincerely wish, tho’ I would still advise you to continue single. Your both young, and two or three years more will be sufficient for to think of altering your situation.

I am in exceeding good health and spirits; indeed, few have less reason to complain. I have a very dear, good husband. I think few, very few, can say they live happier, and, thank God, he’s exceedingly hearty and has constant employ in either writing or visiting his patience [patients] and chatting to his little wife, for, you know, I will have some attention paid to me. …

This excerpt is from In the Words of Women, Chapter 7, page 189.

Disappointed that her cousins Isaac and John Mifflin did not accept her invitation to Christmas dinner in New York, Hannah Thompson wrote again to John on December 28 describing a wintry practical joke.

I suppose Aunt Norris for your entertainment, on Christmas Day, told you of the Slaying [sleighing] match that Mr. Houston in Second Street gave his Daughters. Dear Papa dear Papa do give us a Slaying—at last he consented, told them to get ready and dress themselves warm, Which they accordingly did and came running. We are ready papa; he ordered the Servants to have some burnt Wine against they came back. He desired them to step up stairs with him before they went; as soon as they got into an Attick Chamber, he threw up all the windows, and seated them in two old Arm Chairs and begun to Whip & Chirrup with all the Spirit of a slaying party. And after he had kept them long enough to be sufficiently Cold, he took them down & cald for the Mulled Wine, and were all very glad to sit close to the fire and leave Slaying to those that were too Warm.
Compliments of the Season to Cousin Isaac & yourself, and send you each a Cookey as you wont come here to eat them.

This excerpt is from In the Words of Women, pages 226-27.

Young Anna Green Winslow, whose parents lived in Nova Scotia, was being schooled in Boston and living with her aunt. In these excerpts she describes the weather on Christmas Eve 1771, how she spent Christmas itself, as well as January 1.

Decr 24th.— … today is by far the coldest we have had since I have been in New England. (N.B. All run that are abroad.) Last sabbath being rainy I went to & from meeting in Mr. Soley’s chaise. … Every drop that fell froze. … The walking is so slippery & the air so cold, that aunt chuses to have me for her scoller [scholar] these two days. And … tomorrow will be a holiday, so the pope and his associates have ordained. … *

Decr 27th.—This day, the extremity of the cold is somewhat abated. I keept Christmas at home this year & did a very good day’s work. …

1st Jany 1772—I wish my Papa, Mama, brother John Henry, & cousin Avery & all the rest of my acquaintance … a Happy New Year. I have bestow’d no new year’s gift as yet.** But have received one very handsome one … [a book]. In nice Guilt and flowers covers. This afternoon being a holiday I am going to pay my compliments in Sudbury Street.

* Anna’s remarks reflect the Puritan dislike for Christmas.
** Gift-giving, if it prevailed at all in Puritan New England, took place on New Year’s Day.
For another excerpt from Anna’s journal, click here.

These excerpts are from a reprint of The Diary of Anna Green Winslow—A Boston School Girl of 1771, edited by Alice Morse Earle (Bedford, Massachusetts: Applewood Books, originally in 1894), pages 9-10, 13. The image is of a miniature owned by Elizabeth C. Trott, Niagara Falls, New York.

English-born Ann Head Warder, wife of Philadelphia merchant John Warder, visited the United States in 1786-87 and kept a wonderfully descriptive journal for her sister Eliza to read. Food figures prominently, as you’ll see in the days leading up to Christmas.

11th mo. 5th. … Dine … on venison, the first I have eaten here, which I think preferable to ours, as the flavor is milder.

11th mo. 6th. … [Visited friends] had a good supper of oysters, in that freedom which we only feel when at home.

11th mo. 8th. … [dined again with friends] First rock fish, next mock turtle, ducks, ham and boiled turkey, with plenty of vegetables, and after these were removed, we had floating island, several kinds of pies with oranges and preserves. When we were well satisfied, left the men to their pipes and went up stairs to our chat. …

11th mo. 10th.—This morning most of the family busy preparing for a great dinner, two green turtles having been sent by Forbes & Stevens, of New Providence. … we concluded to dress them both together here and invited the whole family in. … We had a black women to cook and an elegant entertainment it was—having three tureens of soup, two shells baked besides several dishes of stew, with boned turkey, roast ducks, veal and beef. After these were removed the table was filled with two kinds of jellies, and various kinds of puddings, pies, and preserves; and then almonds, raisins, nuts, apples and oranges. Twenty-four sat down at table. I admired the activity of the lusty cook, who prepared everything herself, and charged for a day and a half but three dollars.

12th mo. 6th. … Little Billy Morris last night had convulsions and continued in them for several hours, but today he is recovering fast. The cause proved to be from eating too many raw cranberries, many of which he swallowed whole. People here are not half attentive to children’s food, they eat too many highly seasoned and rich things themselves and the dear babes partake with them. After dinner … out sleighing, which I found much more agreeable than expected. …

12th mo. 25th.—Our Christmas dinner consisted of a fine saddle of venison, with other things.

The excerpts do not appear in either of our books; rather, they represent new material from our ongoing research. They are from Ann Head Warder’s journal which appeared in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1894), Volume 18, pages 54, 55, 57-58.

Hannah Harrison married Charles Thomson, secretary to the Continental Congress (1774-1789), when she was forty-five. In 1785, she joined her husband in New York where Congress was meeting and lived there until his retirement in 1789. Hannah corresponded with a young cousin, John Mifflin, in Philadelphia, regaling him with amusing stories, one of which is in a letter of December 1786, which also included an invitation to Christmas dinner.

I am now at this Present writing a prisoner. Piles of Snow on each side of all our street only a narrow passage beaten in most all the streets. They visit, Jaunt, & go to Church in Sleighs. … I am afraid of meeting those flying machines in some of those narrow places. To keep out of danger, I stay at home. A few days ago, two Gentlemen were driving thro one of those narrow places with high banks of Snow on each side, they saw a Sleigh coming full tilt, the Horses had taken fright and disputed the way with all they met. The Gentlemen thought it the wisest way to save themselves to jump out of their Sleigh & leave their Horses to contend with each other, which they did, one droped down dead, and the other 3 almost dead. And so ended their frolick.
I wish cousin Isaac and you would come & eat yr Christmas dinner here. I will give you as good mince pies & as fat a turkey as you can procure either from Molly Newport on Market Street [Philadelphia]. You wd be delighted with the Visiting parties a wishing a happy New Year to each other and eating of Cukies*, a little cake made for the occasion.

* Cookies. It is said these were invented accidentally by a Dutch baker who was testing the oven for warmth. He called them koekje.

This excerpt is from In the Words of Women, Chapter 8, page 226.