Jemima Grey, Amabel Grey, and Mary Grey to Catherine Talbot, 15 November 1765 In which Jemima Grey and her two daughters, Bell who is 14 and Mouse who is 9, provide a very comical update about their life near Cambridge. Kathryn Gehred is joined by Dr. Natasha Simonova, Gwyneth Emily Rankin Official Fellow and Lecturer in English at Exeter College, University of Oxford.

Jannote Roustant to Jean Roustant, 1 July 1745 AND Johanna Fredericha Teller to Ambrosius Teller, 28 May 1798. In which two separate women deal with the fallout of their absent husbands. I'm thrilled to post this episode that I recorded last July with Dr. Lucas Haasis (@LHaasis) and Lisa Magnin, researchers with the Prize Papers Project. This is an incredible project that is going to be a great resource for people studying just about any aspect of history. Resources: The project: https://www.prizepapers.de/ Magnin's work: https://www.prizepapers.de/stories/case-studies/case-study-french-prizes/the-amphitrion/the-diligente-1 Haasis's book: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-power-of-persuasion/9783837656527

Sarah Livingston Jay to Samuel Lyon, 14 Nov. 1794 In which the wife of a diplomat writes to a man about a horse, and things get REALLY messy, really fast. Many thanks to my wonderful guest, Robb Haberman, for talking about this letter with me! Further Reading: The letter: https://exhibitions.library.columbia.edu/exhibits/show/john_jay/item/12342 The Jay Papers Volumes on Rotunda: https://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/JNJY.html The scanned, digitized Jay Papers: https://dlc.library.columbia.edu/jay

Mary Secutor to Eleazar Wheelock, 28 July 1768 In which a woman of the Narragansett tribe politely but firmly departs from Moor's Indian Charity School. Thank you so much to my guest, Dr. Ivy Schweitzer, professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College, for telling me about this fascinating letter and the wonderful Occom Circle project! Resources: The letter, Mary Secutor to Eleazer Wheelock: https://collections.dartmouth.edu/occom/html/diplomatic/768428-2-diplomatic.html Edward Deake to Eleazer Wheelock, 21 June 1768: https://collections.dartmouth.edu/occom/html/diplomatic/768371-2-diplomatic.html Wyss, Hilary E.. "Mary Occom and Sarah Simon: Gender and Native Literacy In Colonial New England." New England Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 3, 1 Sep. 2006, pp. 387 - 412.

Eleanor Parke Custis (Lewis) to Elizabeth Bordley (Gibson), 14 May 1798 In which rumors are dispelled, patriotic songs are sung, and girls draw on large mustaches with burnt cork. Many thanks to returning guest Samantha Snyder for coming on the show to talk about this letter! Note: at the time of recording neither Samantha nor my book had come out yet. Now both of them have! Please do check them out. Thank you for your patience while I worked on this episode! Brady, Patricia. George Washington’s Beautiful Nelly: The Letters of Eleanor Parke Curtis Lewis to Elizabeth Bordley Gibson, 1794-1851. Expanded ed. edition. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina Press, 2006. “Founders Online: From George Washington to George Washington Parke Custis, 15 A ….” University of Virginia Press. Accessed November 8, 2022. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-02-02-0165. “Founders Online: To George Washington from George Washington Parke Custis, 2 Ap ….” University of Virginia Press. Accessed November 8, 2022. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-02-02-0148. The Papers of Martha Washington. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5473. Women in George Washington’s World. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5720.

Ellen Wayles Randolph to Martha Jefferson Randolph, 29 March 1819 In which Ellen Wayles Randolph passes quite a few judgments on some ladies in Richmond, and asks an old friend for a favor. My guest this week is the incomparable Danna Kelley, tour guide and house tour supervisor extraordinaire at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Further Reading: The Letter: https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/1498 Alan Taylor, Thomas Jefferson's Education, W. W. Norton & Company, 2019. Thomas Jefferson's Granddaughter in Queen Victoria's England: The Travel Diary of Ellen Wayles Coolidge, 1838–1839 Ellen Wayles Coolidge. Edited by Ann Lucas Birle and Lisa A. Francavilla. Mary Randolph Randolph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Randolph#:~:text=Mary%20Randolph%20(August%209%2C%201762,books%20of%20the%2019th%20century.

The Testimony of Anne Moody Part the last of Martha Washington's In-Laws! In which Anne Moody explains how she came to own so much silver plate with engravings of parrots. Also featuring: John Custis IV, and this time, he's REAL cranky. Further Reading: "an answer (incomplete) n.d., of Mrs. Anne Moody and Matthew Moody to a bill of complaint of Daniel Parke Custis in an unidentified court in Virginia." http://librarycatalog.virginiahistory.org/final/portal.aspx?lang=en-US My book: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5473 John Custis to William Byrd II, 20 July 1724, ; John Custis to [Thomas Dunbar] 15 January 1724/25, in Custis, John, and Josephine Little Zuppan. The Letterbook of John Custis IV of Williamsburg, 1717-1742. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005, pg. 64, 68. John Custis IV Encyclopedia Virginia: https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/custis-john-1678-1749/ Daniel Parke Custis in Encyclopedia Virginia: https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/custis-daniel-parke-1711-1757/

Sarah Stewart to Dolley Madison, 5 July 1844 In which an enslaved woman who has been arrested (because Dolley Madison's son was in debt, and she and her community were held as collateral) writes to her enslaver. This week I am joined by Hilarie M. Hicks, Senior Research Historian at James Madison's Montpelier. Further Reading: Sarah Stewart to Dolley Payne Todd Madison, 5 July 1844, in The Dolley Madison Digital Edition, ed. Holly C. Shulman. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2004. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/dmde/DPM1385 (accessed 2021-01-15). Watch this wonderful video exhibit from James Madison's Montpelier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsvQEdsSZ_8 Check out "A Mere Distinction of Colour": https://www.montpelier.org/resources/mere-distinction-of-colour Here's some of Hilarie's excellent work with the Naming Project: https://digitaldoorway.montpelier.org/2020/12/11/the-naming-project-catharine-caty-taylor/ This book rules: Taylor, Elizabeth Dowling. A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. And SUPPORT THE MONTPELIER DESCENDANTS COMMITTEE! https://www.change.org/p/support-the-montpelier-descendants-committee?recruiter=77829525&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=bbdcac5f-be54-4e53-b035-9ecbdb6b6b3c&share_bandit_exp=initial-32812090-en-US&utm_content=fht-32812090-en-us%3A0

In which John Custis IV and Frances Parke make an attempt to live "peace quietly" together. Part IV of the Martha Washington's in laws series. References: A Marriage Agreement. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Jul., 1896, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jul., 1896), pp. 64-66. John Custis: https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/custis-john-1678-1749/ Custis, John, and Josephine Little Zuppan. The Letterbook of John Custis IV of Williamsburg, 1717-1742 / Edited by Josephine Little Zuppan. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. Brady, Patricia. Martha Washington : an American Life / Patricia Brady. New York: Viking, 2005.

Elizabeth Sharaf-un-Nisa to "Philo" In which a Mughal woman who co-habitated with and eventually married a white employee of the East India Company writes to her son about fat babies and beautiful black pigs. I am joined by Dr. Megan Robb, the Julie and Martin Franklin Assistant Professor of South Asian Religion at the University of Pennsylvania, who is creating a digital archive of Sharaf-un-Nisa's letters. This fantastic project is called Unstable Archives, and you can visit it here: https://unstable-archives.com/

John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough to Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, 13 Aug. 1704 In which Daniel Parke meets his Tragical End. References: I used the ODNB for research but because of capitalism that's behind a paywall. So here's Abel Boyer's Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Boyer The Political state of Great Britain. London, Eng. : Printed for J. Baker and T. Warner, January 1710-11, 335-39. “Virginia Gleanings In England,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Oct. 1912, 372-381 Micajah Perry to William Byrd, 12 May 1711. The Correspondence of The Three William Byrds of Westover, Virginia 1684-1776. Ed. Marion Tinling (Charlottesville: The University of Virginia Press) 280.   kXTc3Olw3HaLdAjpUKdE

Selina Powell to Rebecca Powell, 7 Jan. 1850 In which a modern day accountant finds more in common with a Virginia family from the Civil War than she might have expected. Alison Herring joins me this episode to discuss her work in transcribing and publishing the letters of the Powell family. We talk about reading parties, genealogy, kissing bees (way more fun than spelling bees, imo), and more! MORE INFORMATION: More about Alison Herring: https://www.alisonherring.com/ Collections of Powell Papers at William & Mary: https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991033314735403196&context=L&vid=01COWM_INST:01COWM_WM_NEWUI&lang=en&search_scope=WMCWF&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Powell%20Family

William Byrd II to Lucy Parke aka “Fidelia”, ca. 1705-6. In which there are a lot of old timey fart jokes. This is the second part of the Martha Washington’s In-Laws series, featuring a letter from Colonial Virginian slave-holder and satirical writer, William Byrd II. Heads up, this episode contains mentions of brutal treatment of enslaved people and sexual violence. The Letter: Byrd, William, William III Byrd and Marion Tinling. The Correspondence of the Three William Byrds of Westover, Virginia, 1684-1776. Charlottesville: Published for the Virginia Historical Society [by] the University Press of Virginia, 1977. 1: 254-56. Further Reading: Paula A. Treckel, “The Empire of My Heart”: The Marriage of William Byrd II and Lucy Parke Byrd,” in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Spring, 1997, Vol. 105, No. 2, pp. 125-156. Peter Wagner, “The Female Creed”: A New Reading of William Byrd Ribald Parody, in Early American Literature, Fall, 1984, vol. 19. No. 2, Special European Issue, pp. 122-137. Cameron C. Nickels, and John H. O'Neill. "Upon the Attribution of "Upon a Fart" to William Byrd of Westover." Early American Literature 14, no. 2 (1979): 143-48. Accessed August 22, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25070929. Willie T. Weathers, “William Byrd: Satirist,” in The William and Mary Quarterly, Jan. 1947, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 27-41 Byrd, William, Wright, Louis B. (Louis Booker) (ed) and Tinling, Marion (joint ed). The Secret Diary of William Byrd of Westover, 1709-1712. Richmond, Va: The Dietz Press, 1941. Lockridge, Kenneth A., and Institute of Early American History and Culture (Williamsburg, Va.). The Diary and Life of William Byrd II of Virginia, 1674-1744. Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., by the University of North Carolina Press, 1987.

Martha Washington to Mercy Otis Warren, 26 December 1789 In which Martha Washington hits a very low point in her life, but tries to hide that fact from Mercy Otis Warren, a poet. historian, and satirist of Early America. I am joined by friend of the podcast Alexis Coe, the New York Times Bestselling Author of "You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George of Washington," now out in paperback, and "Alice+Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis," soon to be a major motion picture. MORE INFORMATION: The text of this letter will be published VERY soon in the collection of Martha Washington's Papers that Kathryn is working on. Mercy Otis Warren: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mercy-Otis-Warren George Washington's New England Tour: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0112

Martin Van Buren to Judith Rives, 1 April 1835 In which Martin Van Buren chides his friend Judith Rives about being a Mrs. Nobody, patriotism, abolitionism, and New York tactics. I am joined this week by my respected colleague and name twin, Kathryn Blizzard. We only reference Seinfeld twice. REFERENCES: Martin Van Buren: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Van-Buren The Martin Van Buren Papers: http://vanburenpapers.org/ My ever beloved source on Parlor Politics: Allgor, Catherine. 2002. Parlor politics: in which the ladies of Washington help build a city and a government. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. "Bring Louis Phillippe to terms": https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3a12355/ The Toledo War: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1206135823&disposition=inline Thomas Ritchie ID: https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi00174.xml The Cabells and their kin; a memorial volume of history, biography, and genealogy. Brown, Alexander, 1843-1906, Richmond, Va., Garrett and Massie, 1939, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89058675919.

Jane Ludwell Parke to Daniel Parke, July 12, 1705 In which Jane Ludwell Parke has HAD ENOUGH. This is the first part of what will be a multi-part series on Martha Washington's in-laws and the havoc they wreaked on Colonial Virginia. If you have a catchier name for this series, please submit it! Further Reading: The Text of this letter comes from: "Some New Aspects of the Life of Daniel Parke," by Edward W. Greenfield in The Virginia Magazine of Hiistory and Biography, Oct. 1946, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 306-315 Not to cite myself but uh... (kinda citing myself) https://millercenter.org/president/washington/washington-papers/dunbar-lawsuit James Falkner's entry on Daniel Parke in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Rosalie Stier Calvert to Marie Louise Stier, Riversdale, March 2 1804. In which "Madame Bonaparte" (Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte) scandalizes Washington by showing up to a party pretty much undressed, by U.S. fashion standards. Thomas Law, of course, writes a dirty poem about it. Aaron Burr is also involved. Thank you SO MUCH to my amazing guest, Dr. Cassandra Good. Everyone buy and read her book! The Letter: Callcott, Margaret Law, ed., Mistress of Riversdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795-1821, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 77-78. More from Dr. Good: Good, Cassandra A. 2015. Founding friendships: friendships between men and women in the early American republic. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. https://cassandragoodhistorian.com/ Resources: Louisa Catherine Johnston Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 11 Feb. 1804, Early Access Document, Adams Family Papers. Boyer Lewis, Charlene M. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte: An American Aristocrat in the Early Republic, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. Also see her objects at Maryland Center for History and culture: https://www.mdhistory.org/digital-resource/?search=elizabeth+patterson+bonaparte Riversdale House Museum: http://www.pgparks.com/3023/Riversdale-House-Museum

Martha Jefferson Randolph to Septimia A. Randolph, 29 Jan. 1829 In which Priscilla Hemmings, an enslaved nurse-maid to Thomas Jefferson's white grandchildren, refuses to do what the white family wants her to do. I'm joined this week by the delighful Lora Cooper, the Continuing Education Coordinator at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Further Reading: The letter: https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/2485 MJR to TJ, 31 Jan. 1801: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-32-02-0375 More on Priscilla Hemmings: https://www.monticello.org/mulberry-row/people/priscilla-hemmings More on John Hemmings: https://www.monticello.org/mulberry-row/people/john-hemmings More on the sale of Monticello: https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/sale-monticello

Elizabeth Lichtenstein Johnston to William Martin Johnston, January 15, 1784 In which an exiled wife of a British loyalist teases her husband for maybe not knowing how old his son is, tries to figure out what to do once Britain cedes Florida to the Spanish, and tries to avoid ending up in Jamaica. Kathryn is joined by her friend from graduate school Sian Leach, who used this letter along with hundreds of others in her graduate thesis about loyalist women. Further Reading: Recollections of a Georgia Loyalist, Elizabeth Lichtenstein Johnston, New York and London, M. F. Mansfield & company, 1901. 217-219 for this letter. On Elizabeth Lichtenstein Johnston: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/elizabeth-lichtenstein-johnston-1764-1848 “Shot Round the World but not Heard” Elizabeth Lichtenstein Johnston, by Ben Marsh, University of Stirling, December 2007. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/9049509.pdf The Other Side of Revolution: Loyalists in the British Empire, Maya Jasanoff, The William and Mary Quarterly Third Series, Vol. 65, No. 2 (Apr., 2008), pp. 205-232. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25096784

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler Church, 8 Nov. 1789 Shortly after her husband became the first Secretary of the Treasury, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton had to once again part from her beloved sister Angelica, who was returning to England after a short visit to the United States. Public historian Jessie Serfilippi joins Kathryn to discuss the now famous Schuyler sisters, their relationship, and the Schuyler family as a whole, BEYOND just what you see in Hamilton. We also discuss Jessie's excellent article on Alexander Hamilton as a slaveholder. Further Reading: Jessie's Article: https://parks.ny.gov/documents/historic-sites/SchuylerMansionAlexanderHamiltonsHiddenHistoryasanEnslaver.pdf?te=1&nl=new-york-today&emc=edit_ur_20201111 Jessie's interview with Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/new-research-alexander-hamilton-slave-owner-180976260/ Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton to Angelica Church, 8 November 1789: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-05-02-0297-0002 Angelica Church to Alexander Hamilton, 5-7 November 1789: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-05-02-0290 Schuyler Mansion Historic Site Blog: https://schuylermansion.blogspot.com/search/label/slavery