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| WOMEN AND WORK IN CECIL COUNTY |
| By Eileen Coulter Ondra |
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| "How much happier that woman is, who can cheerfully take up the work |
| she likes, than the one who toils daily at uncongenial employment". -Mrs. M. L. Rayne, 1893 |
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| Recently, I found an occupational handbook for women, written in 1893, in my great- grandmother's trunk. Based on factual stories and studies, the book provided a philosophy of women and work during the late nineteenth century. It is my hope that information from the book, What Can A Woman Do? and research from primary sources will expose the true conditions of women and work in Cecil County during the nineteenth to early twentieth century. My grandmothers were widows and residents of Cecil County. They worked for meager salaries and supported their families by thrift, ingenuity and hard work. This article is a tribute to their inner strength and determination to survive. |
Home Sweet Home |
| According to census reports of the nineteenth century, the majority of women worked in their home in Cecil County. Duties included: cooking, cleaning, nursing the sick, home-educating the children and instructing the servants. Occasionally, homemakers took in piecework to supplement their income. Cecil County was a rural community and many homes were located on farms. Women worked in the home and also assisted with care of the livestock and assisted in the fields. |
| Most small farms in the county were slaveless and nine out of ten women did their own chores at home. Conditions were not always favorable for women on these small farms, as Sidney Fisher, a "gentlemen" and caretaker of Mount Harmon pointed out in his diary (June 7, 1837). He wrote of the Ridgeway couple, who lived in the Earleville area. "The house is wretched, very small & falling to pieces, without a tree, & not even grass around it. He has his beautiful wife with him, who looked very lovely & I think him very wrong to bring so young & exquisite a creature, accustomed all her life to luxury & indulgence to so comfortless and miserable a place." |
| Many travelers were stranded because of the deplorable road conditions in Cecil County. They depended on the many taverns and boardinghouses located along the roads in the county. Taverns were found about every ten miles on the back roads of Cecil County. A few widows in the county owned taverns, but most women ran boarding houses. Mrs. M. L. Rayne stated that nearly all boarding houses were kept by women and that "it is an established fact that men are unsuccessful and unpopular in the business". According to Mrs. Rayne, the landlady was not seen and ran the business from an office, where the boarders came to her. |
| Women often received instruction in domesticity from newspaper articles and periodicals written specifically for homemakers. In 1847, Catharine Beecher (sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe) wrote a publication for homemakers, A Treatise on Domestic Economy (1841). She offered advice on household duties and even included illustrations of the human body. Reprinted fourteen times and followed by American Women's Home, these books became manuals for the American homemaker. Single women, young girls and widows left the sphere of the home to labor in business, mills, education and non-traditional employment. |
| The Mill Women |
| Cecil County was a farming community and also an industrial region. George Johnston, in the History of Cecil County Maryland, stated that there were fifty-three grist and merchant mills, a forge at North East and the Octoraro, slitting mills, a nail factory at Marley, fifty saw-mills, four fulling-mills and two oil mills. Although many of these mills employed men; women worked in the paper and cotton mills. In 1816, a report was issued that 66,000 women were employed in the United States in textile mills. |
| The Cecil County census of 1870 listed by name and occupation a large number of women between the ages of 14-68 who worked in cotton and paper mills. These mills were located in Elkton and Elk Mills. Also, a paper mill was owned by a widow - Hannah Meeter. The building was 100 feet long, 45 feet wide and four stories high. |
| The author could not obtain records of conditions of the mills in Cecil County; but relied upon information written about similar mills in Massachusetts. Conditions in textile mills were less than favorable. Women worked thirteen hour workdays in hot, dirty conditions. They tended drawing frames, spinning machines and power looms. "Doffers", children who replaced bobbins, gave workers much-needed breaks (it took about fifteen minutes to replace bobbins). Noise was overwhelming. A mill worker said, "When I went out at night the sound of the mill was in my ears, as of crickets, frogs, and jewsharps, all mingled together in strange discord. |
| What Can a Woman Can |
| Brugger, in Maryland A Middle Temperament, mentioned the canning industry on the Eastern Shore. Between 1870 and 1890, women and children were brought from Baltimore to Harford and Cecil County to labor in this rural industry. An average farm worker earned $1 daily. Women probably earned less, as this was a statistic for the male worker. Canneries were located in Colora, Rising Sun and Elkton in the late nineteenth century. Seasonal canneries were located close to the fields and barrack-like sheds were constructed to house the workers. |
| Widows and Their Work |
| Disease, war and extreme working conditions increased male mortality during the early and mid- nineteenth century. Sources, such as the tax assessment records of 1845, ads placed by women in the Cecil Whig and architectural records revealed many businesses owned by widows. According to English law, only single women over the age of twenty-one and widows had legal rights to make contracts and hold property in their own names. Sarah Beaston built and operated a tavern on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in 1845. According to records, Sarah sold the tavern before her death to Richard H. Bayard. It is now known as the Bayard House and is the earliest brick building in Chesapeake City. |
| On March 11, 1843, an advertisement in the Cecil Whig read: "The undersigned will continue to carry on the Blacksmith & Wheelwright business at the shops on Main Street, Elkton, for several years past occupied by her last husband (Moses Scott dec'd). She will keep employed experienced hands in both branches of business, and all work entrusted to them will be done in a neat and durable manner. She respectfully asks of the public share of patronage. MARY SCOTT." |
| A prominent widow, Mrs. Rebecca Creswell; owned a wharf, tavern, storehouse and home in Port Deposit, Maryland. A not well-known fact is that she was sister to Caroline Webb, Jacob Tome's first wife. Her wealthy husband, John Creswell (grandson of the founder of Creswell's Ferry or "Port Deposit") died at the young age of 29. She parented three daughters and one son. Her son, John A. J. Creswell, became the first postmaster general of the United States and worked under President Grant. Her ledgers, now housed at the Paw Paw Museum in Port Deposit, revealed that she collected money from renters, loaned money to local businesses and sold goods to watermen and sea captains. |
| Guyas Cutlas, a resident of Port Deposit and writer for the Cecil Whig in the late nineteenth century, mentioned that her wharf was located in front of the Washington Hotel. The tax assessment records of 1845 indicated that she owned a wharf, tavern, storehouse, nine vacant lots and 255 acres of land. She remarried later in life to a prominent physician, Dr. Thomas Murphy; but not before she arranged a prenuptial agreement that protected her property and rights as a landowner (A.J. Creswell, her son, then a lawyer arranged the agreement). |
| The Turkey Point Lighthouse was manned by four women lighthouse keepers, of which three were widows (Elizabeth Lusby, 1844-1861; Rebecca L. Crouch, 1873-1895 and Fannie Salter, 1925-1947). Fannie Salter was the last civilian woman lighthouse keeper in the United States. Logs were kept daily of the weather and daily activities. A sample of Mrs. Salters log read: April 1, 1925: "Northwest fresh, cloudy. Received telegram that I have been appointed permanent keeper of this Station by Pres. Coolidge. Went to North East for supplies. Painted in lantern. Cleaned lens today." In Instructions to Light-Keepers, "A light-house must never be left wholly unattended." The woman lighthouse keeper could never leave her "voluntary prison" and must persevere in hazardous weather conditions, hard labor and a solitary life. |
| Women on Plantations |
| The diary of Martha Forman of Rose Hill described her life as a wife of a wealthy plantation owner. The plantation mistress "oversaw garden: dairy; food processing, preservation, and preparation; the manufacture of clothing; and the health of blacks and whites alike. She performed arduous physical labor and shouldered substantial managerial responsibilities." On December 12, 1820, Martha wrote:, "Killing hogs, cold and raw, did not finish rendering the gut fat until eleven o clock at night. I have not left the kitchen since 6 o clock in the morning. Killed 43 hogs weight 6581 pounds, averaging 153 pounds" (Diary in historical room at Cecil County Public Library). |
| She mentioned doctoring the sick, making clothing for her "black family", entertaining daily, canning and supervising repairs on the mansion and grounds. Martha accompanied her husband (General Forman) to Annapolis, Philadelphia, Cape May, Wilmington, Columbia (PA) and Washington, D.C. Women in slavery at Rose Hill did not enjoy the freedom and luxuries that Mrs. Forman enjoyed. These slave women endured hard labor, extreme weather conditions and separation from family and friends. (One incident in both the diaries of Sidney Fisher and Martha Forman involved a slave girl who was sent to the southern plantations. She begged Sidney to buy her, so she would not be separated from her family. |
| Women in Slavery |
| Maryland had the largest number of free blacks in the United States during the mid-1800s. Before the Civil War, free blacks worked and owned property in Cecil County. In the 1850s, there were 844 slaves and 2,623 free blacks. 21.8% of those lived in Port Deposit and 20.6% in Elkton. Free blacks in Port Deposit lived in a community of laborers and merchants called Snow Hill.There were close to two hundred dwellings in Snow Hill. Tax records reveal Thomas Ringgold owned much property and a general store in Snow Hill. After his death the store was run by his widow, Mary Ringgold. |
| Many of the slaves in Cecil County worked on the plantations located in the southern part of the county. Slave women cleaned, hauled water, cooked, laundered, ironed, cared for the children, tended gardens and livestock; helped the mistress cure, salt and preserve the family's meats and other foods and prepared herbal remedies to nurse the sick. They also sewed for themselves and the white household. On July, 1824, Martha Forman (mistress of Rose Hill) mentioned that her black dairymaid sold 215 pounds of butter. The dairy business was thriving in Cecil County during the early and mid- nineteenth century. This slave laborer made the butter and was sent to town to sell it as well. After the Civil War, freed slaves worked in agriculture and domestic service. A former slave said, "women do double duty, a man's share in the field, and woman's part at home. They do any kind of field work, even ploughing, and at home the cooking, washing, milking and gardening". |
| What can a Woman Preach |
Revivals in Cecil County, such as those held at the Woodlawn Camp Meetings, were often frequented by a large number of women. Belinda Naile, an orphan of the Civil War and participant in  the campmeetings, became a circuit preacher for the Methodist Church. Her home, Pleasant Home, located in Bayview was shared by her dear Aunt Hannah Warburton, who had adopted herat a young age. Their home was a religious meeting place for the community. Her memoirs, owned by Mr. Kermit Deboard (who was so kind to share them) of North East, contained accounts of services at Union M.E. Church, the Brick Meeting House at Zion, the Woodlawn Camp Meeting, Lewisville, Kimbleville, Free Methodist Camp, Mt. Rocky M.E. Church and Mt. Olivet Church. Belinda shared a concern about being called a "woman preacher". "One of my trials is being called a lady preacher, the very thing I shrank from". Belinda died Monday, August 9, 1880, after several years illness at Pleasant Home. |
| Women Also Worked As |
| Women in Cecil County also were employed as teachers (mostly single women), post office mistresses and government clerks (Fannie Foard in Chesapeake City is an example), teamsters, washer women, in domestic service, milliners, dressmakers and as owners of businesses, taverns and boarding houses (Data from 1870 census). Doctor Anna Georgetta Crothers labored as a dentist in Calvert and was the first woman dentist in Maryland. S. Corrine Jamar of Elkton was a miniature portrait artist and Jennie Taylor, a funeral directress in Rising Sun. Also, much has been written about Martha Finley, author of the Elsie Dinsmore books. For more information on these women and their occupations, consult the Cecil County Historical Society. (Located in previous copies of the Historical Bulletin) |
| In Conclusion |
| The experience of searching for information about women and their occupations of the nineteenth and early twentieth century was an enlightening one. I found that most women worked in the home or on farms in Cecil County. Single women and widows owned and operated their own businesses in Cecil County and some were quite prosperous. Many women turned to non-traditional occupations after the death of their husbands and continued the work they knew best. |
| Epilogue |
| This information on women who lived and worked in Cecil County during the nineteenth century, was collected from newspaper ads, tax records, diaries, letters and scholarly research by authors, such as Robert J. Brugger of Johns Hopkins and Sara Evans, a leading author of women's history. This research provided me with a glimpse of what the working woman encountered in Cecil County during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. I am looking forward to more research this subject and may later share more with the citizens of this county. |
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| BIBLIOGRAPHY |
| 1. Rayne, M. L., What Can A Woman Do, H.A. Lewis, 1893, 302-303. |
| 2. Cayton, Mary Kupiec, Encyclopedia of American Social History, Charles Scribner & Sons, 1993, 1413. |
| 3. Fisher, Sidney, Mount Harmon Diaries of Sidney George Fisher, 1837-1850, The Historical Society of Delaware, Wilmington, DE 1976, |
| 4. Blumgart, Pamela James, At The Head of the Bay, Cecil Historical Trust, 1996, 42,43. |
| 5. Rayne, Mrs. M. L., What Can A Woman Do?, Eagle Publishing Company, Petersburgh, NY, 1893, 270. |
| 6. Ashby, Ruth and Ohrn, Deborah, Her Story, Viking Press, 1995, 88. |
| 7. Johnston, George, History of Cecil County Maryland, 403. |
| 8. Evans, Sara M. Born For Liberty, The Free Press, New York, N.Y., 61. |
| 9. Blumgart, Pamela James, At The Head of the Bay, Cecil Historical Trust, Inc. 1996, 88. |
| 10. Selden, Bernice, The Mill Girls, McClelland & Stewart, Ltd. 1983; 22, 23. |
| 11. Brugger, Robert J., MD A Middle Temperament 1634-1980, Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1988, 348. |
| 12. Chapelle, Suzanne Ellery Greene, Maryland A History of Its People, Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1986, 200. |
| 13. Evans, Sara M., The Free Press, 1989, Born For Liberty, 121. |
| 14. Guyas Cutlas, Cecil Whig, Letter No. 1 "Forty Years Ago and Now", Jan. 30, 1876. |
| 15. Roberts, Nancy; Copy of Prenuptial Agreement, Paw Paw Museum. |
| 16. Clifford, Mary Louise, Women Who Kept The Lights, Cypress Commications, Williamsburg, VA, 162. |
| 17. Ibid, 143. |
| 18. Ibid, 111. |
| 19. Evans, Sara M., Born For Liberty, The Free Press, New York, N.Y., 88. |
| 20. Wilson, W. Emerson, Plantation Life At Rose Hill: The Diaries of Martha Ogle Forman: 1814-1845, The Historical Society of Delaware, Wilmington, DE 1976. |
| 21. Blumgart, Pamela James, At The Head of the Bay, Cecil Historical Trust, 1996, 101. |
| 22. Muse, Eva, The Internet, Cecil County Historical Society, 1996. |
| 23. Indices to Cecil County Maryland, Marriage Licenses 1865-1885, p. 93. |
| 24. Cayton, Mary Kupiec, Encyclopedia of American Social History, Charles Scribner & Sons, 1993, 1424. |
| 25. Jensen, Joan M., Loosening the bonds, Mid-Atlantic Farm Women 1750-1850. Yale University, 1986, 84,85. |
| 26. Evans, Sara M., Born For Liberty, 121. |
| 27. Author Unknown, Memoirs of Belinda Naile, Philadelphia, 1885, 98. |
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