What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?
Dunlap’s Maryland Gazette (September 12, 1775).
“Mrs. TAYLOR’s BOARDING SCHOOL … [for] young LADIES.”
The first advertisement in the September 12, 1775, edition of Dunlap’s Maryland Gazette, published in Baltimore, promoted “Mrs. TAYLOR’s BOARDING SCHOOL” for “young LADIES” on Philadelphia, apparently an elite institution based on the tuition. The headmistress charged forty-five pounds per year along with an initial entrance fee of five pounds. Taylor advised the parents and guardians of prospective pupils that they would be taught “Reading and the Grammar, plain work and to make every particular for their dress, to flower Muslin after the Dresden and French method, all kind of open work, to crown childrens caps, make up baby linen, mark letters, to pickle, preserve, and to clear-starch.” The standard curriculum combined practical skills that prepared young women to run a household with some leisure activities that testified to their status.
Yet that was not the extent of the instruction that took place at Taylor’s boarding school. For additional fees, her charges could opt for additional lessons taught by tutors that Taylor hired. Students learned to form their letters from a “Writing Master” for fifteen shillings each quarter. They learned their steps from a “Dancing Master” for a guinea (or twenty-one shillings) each quarter. Although Taylor did not say so, those students presumably learned to dance with grace rather than focusing exclusively on the mechanics of minuets and other popular dances. Lessons from a “Drawing Master” cost twenty-five shillings per quarter. Taylor also listed a “Musick Mater &c. &c.” but did not note their rates. Repeating the common abbreviation for et cetera twice suggested that other tutors taught painting, French, and other genteel pursuits in addition to singing and playing instruments. Taylor operated her boarding school in the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the colonies. For pupils aspiring to gentility, she could arrange for access to all sorts of instructors, allowing her students and their families to choose which kinds of lessons they needed or desired in addition to the standard curriculum. For the gentry in Baltimore, a port growing in size and importance on the eve of the American Revolution, Taylor’s boarding school for young ladies may have looked very attractive indeed.
What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?
South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (June 13, 1775).
“MRS. DUNEAU continues her Boarding School for the Education of young Ladies.”
In an advertisement in the June 13, 1775, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, Mrs. Duneau assured the public that she “continues her Boarding School for the Education of young Ladies … at her House, opposite to the Rev. Mr. Cooper’s in New-Church-street” in Charleston. She may have intended to suggest that her proximity to the minister contributed to the “greatest Care” that she took of her pupils. The schoolmistress also provided an overview of the curriculum at her school: “English, Writing, Arithmetic, the French Language, construing and translating the same; Musick, Dancing, and Drawing.” The education they received from Duneau helped in forming her students into genteel young ladies. In addition, they learned a “Variety of Needle-Work,” likely intended to demonstrate their devotion to leisurely pursuits rather prepare them occupations to support themselves. Those included “Dresden, Tent and Cross Stitch, Tambour Work, [and] Embroidery, common and double,” along with “other fancy Works” that Duneau “learnt from the Nunneries during her Residence in France.”
Although advertisements for boarding schools regularly appeared in newspapers published in Charleston on the eve of the American Revolution, Duneau may have considered it especially necessary to insert this notice to attract students. “It having been reported,” she stated, “that Mrs. DUNEAU was going into another Way of Business, … some Ladies, by that Means, were prevented coming to her School.” What kinds of reports had circulated? Who was responsible for suggesting that she planned to pursue another occupation, perhaps putting her skill with a needle to use in the marketplace? Had a rival schoolmistress spread rumors as a means of undercutting Duneau and enrolling students who otherwise would have attended her school? Duneau did not provide further details in her advertisement. Instead, she focused on “presenting her Respects to the Gentlemen and Ladies, her Friends, and the Public in general,” expressing her gratitude for “the Favours she has received” when entrusted with students in the past and requesting “the Honour of acknowledging more.” Whatever readers may have heard about whether Duneau continued to operate her school, she wanted the parents of prospective students to know that she was prepared to teach their daughters.
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
Essex Journal (March 22, 1775).
“The mode of education adopted is similar to that of the most approved English Boarding-schools.”
When Eleanor Druitt moved to Newburyport from Boston in the spring of 1775, she placed an advertisement in the local newspaper, the Essex Journal, to announce that she planned to open a boarding school for “young Ladies.” According to her notice, she had been in the colonies for just three years, yet in that time she had established a reputation for educating young women that she hoped would serve her well in her new town. Druitt provided a “mode of education … similar to that of the most approved English Boarding-schools,” offering pupils in Massachusetts the same benefits.
The schoolmistress gave an overview of the curriculum, emphasizing that students would learn “French and English Grammatically” and “Writing, in which branch, Epistolary correspondence (that very essential though much neglected part of female education) will be introduced as an established part of their exercise.” In other words, she taught young women how to write polite letters that would serve them well in maintaining relationships with family and friends in other cities and towns. Her students also learned arithmetic, “made familiar by a method adapted to their capacities, the want of which makes that study generally disgustful and consequently often ineffectual.” Druitt had a much higher estimation of young women’s aptitude for drawing, embroidery, and other kinds of decorative “Needle-work,” asserting that she “thinks needless to insert” a longer description “as her abilities in that way are well known in Boston and many other parts of the continent.” The families of prospective pupils may have seen some of the advertisements she ran in Boston’s newspapers over the past three years since those publications circulated in Newburyport and other towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In general, her curriculum focused on “polite accomplishment[s]” to distinguish the “young Ladies” that she “tenderly and carefully looked after.”
To that end, Druitt declared that the “faults and defects of the pupils [will] be rectified by mild and gentle usage.” That meant “rewards and encouragement; rather than harsh severe treatment.” Parents did not need to worry about the treatment their daughters would receive when boarding with Druitt, though she did state that she would adopt some of those stricter methods as a last resort when “absolutely necessary.” The schoolmistress suggested that she established just the right balance of encouragement and discipline that allowed pupils at her boarding school to thrive. Families had a variety of concerns as the imperial crisis intensified in the spring of 1775, but they need not worry about the “reception” their daughters would experience at Druitt’s boarding school.
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
Addition to the South-Carolina Gazette (September 17, 1774).
“MRS. WINDSOR … has declined being connected with Mrs. SAGE, in a Boarding-School.”
In an advertisement that ran in a midweek supplement to the South-Carolina Gazette, Ann Sage announced that she opened a “New Boarding-School, FOR YOUNG LADIES” on September 15, 1774. The curriculum included “READING, TAMBOUR, EMBROIDERY, and all Kinds of NEEDLE-WORK.” Sage presumably taught reading and those feminine arts herself. For an additional price, students could learn “WRITING, ARITHMETIC, DANCING and MUSIC.” Sage may have provided some of that instruction, but another advertisement suggests that she hired tutors to supplement the lessons she provided.
Immediately below Sage’s notice, Mrs. Windsor declared that she “declined being connected with Mrs. SAGE, in a Boarding-School; which is to be opened on the 15th.” Dated September 1, Windsor’s advertisement previously appeared separately from Sage’s announcement, including in the September 13 edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal. She did not elaborate on her reasons for not joining Sage’s endeavor, instead advising “her FRIENDS in particular, and the PUBLIC in general” that she “continues, as usual, to instruct Young LADIES upon the HARPSICHORD.” Windsor requested the “Continuance of the Patronage and Encouragement of her Friends and Acquaintances.” She had her own enterprise to oversee.
What was Windsor’s purpose in even mentioning Sage’s school in her advertisement? She could have sought pupils without commenting on her refusal to be affiliated with the boarding school. Perhaps Sage had attempted to recruit Windsor as a partner in the endeavor rather than merely a tutor who occasionally gave lessons to students who paid additional fees. In that case, Sage may not have had time to continue offering lessons to her existing clientele. Her newspaper notice made it clear that she wished to continue those relationships as well as gain new students. Yet the details she provided (and those she did not) hinted at an untold story, perhaps some interesting gossip, especially when Windsor’s advertisement appeared immediately below Sage’s notice. The “Friends and Acquaintances” that Windsor thanked for the “Continuance of [their] Patronage and Encouragement” (and other readers as well) otherwise may not have thought anything about Windsor’s other prospects, but her intervention in the public prints could have prompted some to discreetly ask questions here and there to discover if they had missed out on something interesting.
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer (April 7, 1774).
“BOARDING-SCHOOL, FOR YOUNG LADIES.”
J. & M. Tanner’s notice in Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer advertised an opportunity for young women to attend a boarding school “in Smith-Street, near the corner of Wall Street.” At this school, the “YOUNG LADIES” would improve in reading, writing, needlework, music, dancing, and other subjects considered appropriate for them. The Tanners include a comparison of their new school to what a British boarding school had to offer, stating that their curriculum “was similar to that of the most approved English BOARDING-SCHOOLS.” According to Mary Cathcart Borer in Willingly to School: A History of Women’s Education, boarding schools for young ladies popped up in England as early as 1711, with nearly the same curriculum at each.[1] However, arithmetic was a subject that the Tanners’ school in the colonies included that many British schools for girls and young women did not. While still expected to stay in the private sphere, Tanners’ boarding school allowed for young women’s opportunities in arithmetic, which was not always an option for many young women elsewhere. We cannot conclude exactly why the Tanners chose to incorporate arithmetic into their school’s curriculum. However, it indicates that while still using the British model, there were variations of the boarding school systems in the colonies.
The Tanners’ boarding school seems to have been an effort to demonstrate that the colonies could also partake in the same developments that England did, particularly in women’s education and manners. Considering that this advertisement was published in 1774, a year before the first battles of the American Revolution, tensions increasingly inspired colonists to establish self-sufficiency in government and commerce and other aspects of life, such as education, without reliance on Britain. Even as that happened, it is critical to recognize that while the colonies were looking to have their own self-sufficient systems and government, they still included British ideals. Britain was still influential in colonial culture, which was especially shared through ideas of education and what made well-educated and well-mannered young ladies.
**********
ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY: Carl Robert Keyes
Rather than expand on Maria’s interpretation of today’s advertisement, I am reflecting on pedagogy and my experiences integrating the Adverts 250 Project and the Slavery Adverts 250 Project into the courses I teach at Assumption University. Throughout this academic year, including the time that Maria and her peers were enrolled in my Revolutionary America course last fall, faculty and staff have engaged in a series of programs about “awaken[ing] in students a sense of wonder” and how we seek to fulfill the University’s mission. I have learned some valuable lessons along the way, from my colleagues at those events and from my students in the classroom.
Maria and her classmates commence their responsibilities as guest curators by compiling a mini-archive of newspapers published during a particular week in 1774. I provide each of them with a list of extant newspapers that have been digitized and train them in using several databases. Once they have created their mini-archives, each student examines the newspapers for their week to identify all of the advertisements about enslaved people for inclusion in the Slavery Adverts 250 Project and to select an advertisement about consumer goods or services to feature on the Adverts 250 Project. I provide students with hard copies of their newspapers, encouraging them to work back and forth with the digitized ones.
One morning last fall, I arrived in class intending to discuss advertisements about enslaved people and what students learned from that portion of the project. We had a robust discussion, but, to my initial frustration, students did not stick to the topic for the day! Instead of focusing solely on advertisements about enslaved people, they started discussing other kinds of advertisements and asking about other aspects of the newspapers as well. I had a lesson plan, an “agenda” of material that I “needed” to cover that day, and their “off-topic” questions did not facilitate the good order that I had envisioned.
Then I realized that I was witnessing authentic wonder in my classroom, that the conversation taking place was more important than anything I scripted in my mind in advance, and that students were learning more from the experience than by following my outline for that class. I spend so much time working with (digitized) eighteenth-century newspapers that they are as familiar to me as modern media … but having a week’s worth of newspapers published in 1774 in front of them was completely new to my students. The advertisements were new to them, but so were the conventions of eighteenth-century print culture! They immersed themselves in their newspapers, learning as much as they could on their own and then asking questions about life in early America based on what they encountered in those newspapers.
When I finally understood what was happening, I jettisoned my outline so we could have a lengthy conversation about anything my students found interesting or confusing or strange in their newspapers. However unintentional, my first instinct had been to stifle their sense of wonder by attempting to rigidly follow my outline for that class. In the end, we all – professor and students – got so much more out of that class when I learned from my students that I could better facilitate how they learned about the past by giving them opportunities to express their wonder. As the semester progressed, we circled back, repeatedly, to discussing advertisements about enslaved people as my students worked on the Slavery Adverts 250 Project. At the same time, I allowed for more opportunities to “get off track” as we examined a variety of other primary sources. My students learned more and I had a more fulfilling experience as an instructor, energized by the quality of the discussions we had in class on those occasions that my students deviated from what I planned for the day.
**********
[1] Mary Cathcart Borer, Willingly to School: A History of Women’s Education (Cambridge, UK: Lutterworth Press, 1976).
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
Supplement to the Pennsylvania Gazette (June 25, 1767).
“I informed you of my Design of establishing a Boarding School in this City.”
As spring gave way to summer in 1767, Mary McCallister published proposals for opening a boarding school for young women in Philadelphia. She addressed her announcement to “the LADIES of PENNSYLVANIA, and the adjacent Provinces.” Although she may have been addressing prospective students, it was equally likely that she also intended for their mothers to peruse her advertisement and contemplate sending their daughters to her boarding school. Notably, she confined her audience exclusively to women, suggesting she believed that if she could convince daughters and wives to choose her school that would be sufficient to sway fathers and husbands concerinf “the many Advantages arising from a Boarding School Education.”
The curriculum she outlined in her advertisement likely played a role in excluding men from McCallister’s efforts to market her academy. It differed significantly from the course of study described in notices about boarding schools for male scholars. McCallister supplemented instruction in “the English and French Languages” with “Needle Work in Silks, Worsted and Linens.” Her pupils could expect to become proficient in embroidery on several fabrics. Once a week, McCallister also assisted her students to cultivate their baking skills, focusing on “Pastry” in particular. In addition, she planned to rotate through lessons “in the Arts of Painting on Glass, Japanning with Prints, [and] Wax and Shell Work, in the newest and most elegant Taste.” McCallister taught all of these subjects herself, but she indicated that the curriculum could be supplemented with “Writing, Arithmetic, Music, or Dancing,” taught by “proper Masters” who would visit the boarding school at appointed times.
McCallister envisioned a school for the local gentry and middling sorts who aspired to join their ranks. Accordingly, this was not a school devoted to general education in the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic with some sewing thrown in for good measure. Instead, it was an academy for young ladies of a certain status to learn skills in the decorative arts and other genteel pursuits that would allow them to demonstrate their affluence, leisure, and, especially, refinement to other colonists.
