{"data":{"description":"Notable Women of Early America: Biographies and Images of Adams, Ferguson, Madison, Mott, Philipse, Pitcher, Ross, Sedgwick, Warren, Washington and Wheatley","title":"Notable Women of Early America","post_type":"page","content":"You won’t find their names among the \u003cstrong\u003esigners of the Constitution\u003c/strong\u003e. Nor are they mentioned in any of the \u003cstrong\u003ehistoric documents of the day\u003c/strong\u003e. With few exceptions, they have been largely ignored by historians and textbooks on early American history.\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n“They” are the women of early America. Two hundred years ago, the traditional roles of leadership were not open to women. Their status was — at best — confining. Nonetheless, their presence was felt and their opinions were brought to bear when those opportunities presented themselves.\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nSome of the women presented here were close to the movers and shakers of the early Republic, while others took direct action on their own. In every case they made \u003cstrong\u003eimportant contributions to America’s early years\u003c/strong\u003e.\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nFrom our archives…and out of the shadows of history…we introduce you to America’s forgotten — the Notable Women of Early America.\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPlease note that all of the portraits here, except for Catharine Sedgwick, are engravings from the \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal paintings or drawings\u003c/strong\u003e. The portraits date from 1806 to the mid-1800’s, and are part of the Early American Digital Library. This is in keeping with our policy of presenting viewers with primary source reference material throughout this site.\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nThese images are for personal and non-commercial use only. Any other use is strictly prohibited and a violation of the copyright laws (see \u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/rules-of-use/\"\u003eRules of Use\u003c/a\u003e). However, commercial use of these portraits and other images at Archiving Early America are available for license \u003ca title=\"Rare Images\" href=\"/earlyamerica/rare-images/\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e.\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nNew additions from our archives will continue to appear here, so please visit again.\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nsee also: \u003ca title=\"Molly Pitcher, An American Heroine\" href=\"/earlyamerica/videos/molly-pitcher-american-heroine/\"\u003eMolly Pitcher, an American Heroine\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ad8431;\"\u003eNotable Women of Early America\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\r\n\u003ctable style=\"height: 983px;\" width=\"709\"\u003e\r\n\u003ctbody\u003e\r\n\u003ctr\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cdl id=\"attachment_5396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 160px;\"\u003e\u003cdt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/abigail-smith-adams/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5396 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/AdamsAbigail100.jpg\" alt=\"Abigail Adams\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca title=\"Abigail Smith Adams\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/abigail-smith-adams/\"\u003eAbigail Adams\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003c/dt\u003e\u003c/dl\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/catherine-ferguson/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5398 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/Ferguson100.jpg\" alt=\"Catherine Ferguson\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca title=\"Catherine Ferguson\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/catherine-ferguson/\"\u003eCatherine Ferguson\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/dorothea-payne-todd-madison/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5399 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/MadisonDollyPEOPLE75.jpg\" alt=\"Dolley Madison\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title=\"Dorothea Payne Todd Madison\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/dorothea-payne-todd-madison/\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDolley Madison\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003c/tr\u003e\r\n\u003ctr\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/lucretia-coffin-mott/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5402 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/Mott100.jpg\" alt=\"Lucretia Mott\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title=\"Lucretia Coffin Mott\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/lucretia-coffin-mott/\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLucretia Mott\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/mary-philipse/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5403 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/PhilpsePEOPLE100.jpg\" alt=\"Mary Philpse\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title=\"Mary Philipse\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/mary-philipse/\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMary Philpse\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/molly-pitcher/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5401 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/MollyPitcher75-cropped.jpg\" alt=\"Molly Pitcher\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title=\"Molly Pitcher\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/molly-pitcher/\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMolly Pitcher\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003c/tr\u003e\r\n\u003ctr\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/betsy-ross/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5397 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/BetsyRossEVENTS100.jpg\" alt=\"Betsy Ross\" width=\"120\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca title=\"Betsy Ross\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/betsy-ross/\"\u003eBetsy Ross\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/catharine-maria-sedgwick/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5407 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/Catherine_Sedgwick_crop.jpg\" alt=\"Catherine Maria Sedgwick\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca title=\"Catharine Maria Sedgwick\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/catharine-maria-sedgwick/\"\u003eCatherine Sedgwick\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/mercy-warren/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5404 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/Warren100.jpg\" alt=\"Mercy Warren\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title=\"Mercy Warren\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/mercy-warren/\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMercy Warren\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003c/tr\u003e\r\n\u003ctr\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/martha-washington/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5405 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/WashMartha2PORT100.jpg\" alt=\"Martha Washington\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title=\"Martha Washington\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/martha-washington/\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMartha Washington\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/mary-ball-washington/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5400 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/MaryWashPORT100.jpg\" alt=\"Mary Ball Washington\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title=\"Mary Ball Washington\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/mary-ball-washington/\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMary Ball Washington\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/phillis-wheatley/\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-5406 size-thumbnail\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/wheatleyPORT75.jpg\" alt=\"Phillis Wheatley\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ca title=\"Phillis Wheatley\" href=\"/earlyamerica/notable-women/phillis-wheatley/\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhillis Wheatley\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003c/tr\u003e\r\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\r\n\u003c/table\u003e","menu":[{"path":"lives-early-america","title":"Famous Lives","submenu":[{"path":"lives-early-america/autobiography-benjamin-franklin","title":"Autobiography of Ben Franklin"},{"path":"lives-early-america/ramsays-life-washington","title":"Ramsay's The Life of Washington"},{"path":"lives-early-america/adventures-col-daniel-boone","title":"The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boone"},{"path":"lives-early-america/true-story-paul-revere","title":"The True Story of Paul Revere"},{"path":"world-early-america/famous-obits","title":"Famous Obits"},{"path":"portrait","title":"Portraits"},{"path":"rare-images/last-men-revolution","title":"The Last Men of the Revolution"}]},{"path":"freedom-documents","title":"Freedom Documents","submenu":[{"path":"freedom-documents/bill-rights","title":"Bill of Rights"},{"path":"freedom-documents/declaration-independence","title":"Declaration of Independence"},{"path":"freedom-documents/u-s-constitution","title":"The U.S. Constitution"}]},{"path":"world-early-america","title":"World of Early America","submenu":[{"path":"bookmarks","title":"Early American Bookmarks"},{"path":"world-early-america/famous-obits","title":"Famous Obits"},{"path":"firsts","title":"Firsts!"},{"path":"rare-images/maps","title":"Maps"},{"path":"rare-images","title":"Rare Images"},{"path":"music1","title":"Music"},{"path":"writings","title":"The Writings of Early America"}]},{"path":"boston-massacre","title":"Boston Massacre"},{"path":"milestone-events","title":"Milestones"},{"path":"early-america-review","title":"The Review"},{"path":"home/teachers-students","title":"Teachers"},{"path":"sitemap","title":"Sitemap"}]},"success":true}