Category: Women in the American Revolution

Wife of Boston Tea Party Participant Thomas Melville Priscilla Scollay was born on August 15, 1755, in Boston, Massachusetts, daughter of John and Mercy Greenleaf Scollay. In 1761, along with about fifty other men, John Scollay signed a petition which was sent to King George III protesting the illegal actions of the British revenue officers. A strong supporter of colonial claims against the empire, John Scolly was chosen to Boston’s Board of Selectmen in 1764. The honor was repeated in 1773, and the following year he was made chairman, a title he held until 1790. Scollay Square in Boston is named for her family. Thomas Melville was born in Boston, Massachusetts, January 27, 1752, the only son of Allan and…

Wife of American Patriot William Dawes, Jr. William Dawes, Jr. Mehitable May was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 6, 1751, to the well-respected family of Samuel and Catherine May. William Dawes, Jr. was born in Boston on April 5, 1745, to William and Lydia Dawes in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a fourth generation descendant of the first Dawes in America, who came to Boston in 1635. William Jr. became a leather tanner and tradesman, and was active in Boston’s militia. On May 3, 1768, Dawes married Mehitable May, who was seventeen. They would have six children together. At the time of their wedding, there was a boycott on British goods to pressure Parliament into repealing the Townshend Acts. Because…

Loyalist in the American Revolution Image: Growden Mansion Bensalem, Pennsylvania Joseph Growden built this home which was later expanded upon by his son Lawrence, Grace Growden Galloway’s father. Grace later inherited this home, but since married women at that time were not allowed to own property, her husband Joseph Galloway automatically became the owner. One of the most interesting diaries written during the American Revolution was written by Grace Growden Galloway, while the world as she had known it was completely destroyed. Her family history was typical of colonial American families. Her grandfather settled in Pennsylvania and accumulated a large amount of property. His second son Lawrence sought his fortune as a merchant in England, where he got married. Lawrence’s…

Loyalist in the American Revolution Image: Sarah Kast McGinnis Historical Marker Bath, Ontario, Canada Sarah Kast was born near German Flats, New York, in 1713, the daughter of Palatine Germans who were brought to America by England’s Queen Anne in the early 1700s. Her father, Johann Georg Kast, was born in German Palatine; her mother, Anna Margaretha Feg, in Idar Oberstein Germany. The family arrived in New York City in 1710, and settled in the frontier of the Mohawk River Valley west of Albany, NY, and opened a trading post. Sarah grew up with the Mohawk, sometimes all the children would go to the swimming hole together and play. She knew their language.

Wife of Patriot Thomas Knowlton Image: Thomas Knowlton Anna Keyes was born April 5, 1759. Thomas Knowlton was born November 22, 1740 in West Boxford, Massachusetts. When Knowlton was eight years old, his father moved the family to Ashford, Connecticut, where they lived on a farm of 400 acres. In 1755 at the age of 15, Thomas enlisted in the English army and fought under Major Israel Putnam in the French and Indian War for four years, and achieved rank of Lieutenant by age 20. In 1762, he participated in the Battle of Havana in Cuba, and was lucky enough to survive. (Of Israel Putnam’s Company of 107 men, only 20 returned home, due mostly to tropical diseases). Returning to…

American Patriot and Paul Revere of North Carolina Image: A wild Banker pony On the Outer Banks of North Carolina On the northernmost coast of North Carolina there is a string of sandy islands called the Outer Banks. Betsy Dowdy lived on Currituck Banks there, in the northeastern corner of North Carolina, ten miles south of the Virginia border, bounded by Currituck Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. Betsy had a Banker Pony named Black Bess. Banker Ponies On the northernmost coast of North Carolina there is a string of sandy islands called the Outer Banks. In the remote regions of those islands, wild ponies roam free. Banker Ponies are actually horses, but they are referred to as ponies because they…

American Patriot and Minutewoman Image: Battle of Lexington First battle of the Revolutionary War Prudence Cummings was born November 26, 1740, at Dunstable, Massachusetts, the daughter of Samuel and Prudence Lawrence Cummings. She was raised in a household that freely discussed politics, and not all shared the same opinions. Prudence married David Wright of Pepperell, Massachusetts, on December 28, 1761 and settled in Pepperell. For the next fourteen years, Prudence helped her husband, cared for her children, and was a leader among the young matrons of the town. Patriots and Tories There were two parties in the colonies: Whigs and Tories. The Whigs (Patriots) were in sympathy with democratic ideals and insisted upon representation for the colonies. The Tories included…

Steele gives Greene two bags of coins Patriot of the Revolutionary War After the Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina (January 17, 1781), Patriot General Nathanael Greene was trying to gather and equip his scattered army to attack and defeat British general Charles Cornwallis. General Greene had ridden alone toward Salisbury, North Carolina and arrived at an inn late at night, declaring to a friend there that he was “fatigued, hungry, alone and penniless!” Innkeeper Elizabeth Steele overheard his comment. After serving the general a hearty meal, Elizabeth Steele gave the general two bags of gold and silver, perhaps her earnings of years. With Steele’s help, Greene went on to unravel British control of the South, while leading Cornwallis toward Yorktown,…

Loyalist Woman of the American Revolution Off the western coast of Scotland lie many islands known as the Hebrides; the group farthest to the northwest is called the Outer Hebrides, and three of these islands were North Uist, South Uist, and Benbecula – west of the Isle of Skye. Flora MacDonald was born in 1722 in Milton, South Uist, to a well-placed family in the MacDonald clan. Flora was brought up on Skye, and received some education – the young people of the island were gathered into conveniently placed schools at various points, where a teacher from the mainland gave instruction. Image: Flora MacDonald Painting by Allan Ramsay Flora’s father had died in 1724; four years later, her mother married…