Women In the Old South
Homan's place* was supposed to Im* in the
home, and those who would depart there¬
from had a difficult time during’ the Ante¬
bellum period.
By MRS. E. R. McKETHA*
women —
in
“ТПЕ
life of the women of the
1
0Ы
South appeared in a family
B setting."
“The ideal woman of the Old South
was modest, innocent, cultivated in
the arts of dancing, music, drawing
and embroidery."
These two quotations are symbolic
of the life of the women of this pe¬
riod.
In searching the records in quest
of business' and professional women,
we find that up to the opening of the
War Between the States, there were
only two professions open to womei
teaching and journalism — and
some rare cases nursing.
Thomas Nelson Page says in his
“Old South,”: "The mistress was the
keystone of tl»c domestic economy,
which hound together all the rest of
the structure. From early morn until
morn again, the most important and
delicate concerns of the plantation
were her charge and care. From su¬
perintending the setting of the tur¬
keys, to fighting a pestilence, there
was nothing which was not her work.
She was mistress, manager, doctor,
counsellor, seamstress, teacher, house¬
keeper, all at once.”
Plenty of Work
In addition to looking after the
house cleaning, and the children, the
wife must supervise the making of all
clothes of the family, and the
canning and preserving ; as all f _ m
products on the farm must he
saved. She always super¬
vised the soapmaking, again
utilizing material on the plan¬
tation. In many houses can¬
dles were used, and often these
had been made under the di¬
rection of the mi stress. Many
mothers preferred tutoring
their children— too proud to
have them educated in a pub¬
lic school.
It was easier for a woman
to carry on a trade than to en¬
ter a profession. She was sel¬
dom given a chance to prove
her ability in either law or medicine.
In medicine the only field left entirely
to the women, was obstetrics. A mid¬
wife functioned more often at child¬
birth than did a doctor. In other eases,
a doctor was not called except in eases
of extreme illness. Every provident
and thrifty housewife kept on hand a
supply of medicines, which she had
made from herbs she had grown, or
those found wild. They knew how to
dry them or brew them for medicine.
And so a doctor was not called except
when homo remedies failed.
Retail Shopkeepers
One of the trades women entered
was that of the retail shopkeeper.
Many specialized in millinery mid
gown-making. They were also in such
occupations as dyeing, starching and
laundering.
Wo find the following advertisement
of a shop in Raleigh. North Carolina,
in 181 S: “She has Silk and Snttin
Bonnets of the newest fashion; plain
and open-work Straw Bonnet-, Ruff*
and Turbans; Ladies Kid Gloves,
Band Boxes by the dozen or single
ones, also a good assortment of Per¬
fumery. She flatters herself she will
bo able to give general satisfaction, ns
her Millinery and Dresses will bo
made in the newest fashion, having
weekly correspondence from New
York, and by keeping up a good and
general assortment.”
Many women had a profitable busi¬
ness in the sale of eggs, butter, chick¬
ens, and vegetables from their own gar¬
dens. Even those in the upper classes
carried on this practice. Miss Janet
Schnw tells of a visit to Mrs. Cornelius
Harnett, and finding her a “pattern
of industry.” “They tell me that the
house and everything in it was the
produce of her labor. She has n garden
and supplies the town with vegetables,
melon- and fruits. She even descend*
to make minced pies, cheese cakes, tarts
and little biskits, which she send* to
town once or twice a day, besides her
eggs, poultry and butter. All her little
commodities arc contrived so as not
to exceed one penny a piece."
I n several states we find women en¬
gaged in agriculture. Early Virginia
papers reveal this fact, when we rend
of them offering land and farm prod¬
ucts for sale and bouses for rent.
Women often kept inns and taverns,
and a boarding-house operate! by
women was most worthy. Many of
those places for travellers wero prob¬
ably kept by widows, whoso husbands
had probably started the business. We
find rare instances where women kept
or ran a ferry.
Maker of Gunpowder
There is a most interesting
-
я
story and a very unusual one,
where one woman followed as
4 ^ a trade, the making of gun-
yfl powder. This woman was
Mary McKechen, who had
' learned this trade when a girl
in England. When she mar¬
ried John Patton and carno to
live in the mountains of Ten¬
nessee, she continued the busi¬
ness, selling the powder for $1
per pound. This historic story
goes on to say that the powder
she made and gave ns n free
gift, had an important part in
winning the battle of King*
Mountain. The five hundred
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