17 Results for tag "Women"

• 5 Things You Might Not Have Known About Martha Washington

  Martha Washington could be considered a household name in America. There are Martha Washington cookbooks, children’s books, and even a Martha Washington Minuet!

• How We Know What We Know About Milliner Margaret Hunter

  Have you ever wondered how Colonial Williamsburg interpreters know what we know? How do we know, for example, what furniture to put in the Governor’s Palace? How do we know how much it cost to buy a meal in a tavern? How do we know that Peyton Randolph owned 27 …

• Cutting to the Chase

  Getting new clothing in the 18th century was much more of a participatory process than it is today. Mantua-makers — dressmakers — used a process called “cutting to the body” to create most fitted clothing for women. Before mass-produced clothing, standardized sizing, or commercial patterns existed, fitted garments were made …

• To Makes Ends Meet: Working Women in the 18th Century

  If I had a nickel for every time someone inquired about why a woman would be working in an 18th-century Joinery, I’d have...lots and lots of nickels.Don’t get me wrong, I love to hear this question. I have devoted my career to researching, learning, and teaching about working women in …

• A Woman Computer

  Finding a practical yet reliable method for determining longitude at sea was one of the major scientific quandaries of the 18th century. In 1759, John Harrison debuted his H4 chronometer which ran reliably enough to make the longitude calculation a simple multiplication problem. Unfortunately, devices like Harrison’s “longitude watch” remained …

• Myth Busting with Martha

  “Have you heard the one about George Washington’s wooden teeth?!” Yep, I’ve heard it. I’ve also heard the one about the cherry tree, and (to my amusement) the one about Martha Washington actually being a man and George a woman—yes, you read that correctly. I hear a lot of myths …

• The Ladies Advisory Committee

  Work on the restoration of 18th-century Williamsburg was barely underway and Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin had a problem. Local residents were criticizing interior colors and furniture selections because they were all being decided upon by “Northerners.” Some even dubbed the start of the restoration work as a “Yankee invasion.”Many aspects of …