Rebecca Trotter Drake

I'm trying to get to know my female ancestors a little better.  As a genealogist, I sometimes just want to scream at all the women I know to leave SOMETHING behind; letters, journals, photos.  I fear that the next generation is going to be for a real tough battle to find pieces of their families, now that everything has gone digital and no one saves emails.

I have been reading my favorite book about women to help put Rebecca Trotter Drake into perspective: America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines by Gail Collins.  For anyone doing female family tree research this is an absolute treasure.

Another good one to add to your library or at least check out at your library is The Colonial Mosaic American Women 1600-1760 by Jane Kamensky.

The two books work well together -- America's Women is a little chattier, but there are some great statistics in The Colonial Mosaic.

When I'm doing general research, I keep a notebook handy and jot down information that I then try to put into perspective.  For example:  The first child born in America was Eleanor Dare in 1587.  Jamestown was founded in 1607. My Elizabeth Trotter was born in 1655 in New Jersey.  Her parents -- William Trotter and Catherine Cutbury Gibbs were both born in Massachusetts.  Rebecca was a 2nd generation American.

Back in those olden days, it took approximately 2 months to cross the Atlantic, and that's if everything went well.

One of the books stated that women lived most of their lives without back support.  They sat on stools or benches and most households had only one real chair, and you know who that was always reserved for.

Gleaned from the diaries of women in the 18th century (My Rebecca Trotter Drake would have been 45 years old), some of a women's duties were:

1. Candle making
2. Soap making
3. Butter and cheese making
4. Spinning
5. Weaving
6. Dying
7. Knitting
8. Sewing
9. Dressmaking
10. Tailoring
11. Shoe making
12. Millinery
13. Brew beer

In 1656 (Rebecca Trotter would have been a one year old baby) the New England General Court ordered "all hands not necessarily employed on other occasions, as women, Girles and Boyes" be required to spin 3 pounds of thread a week for at least 30 weeks a year"!

And speaking of spinning -- in a full day of spinning a women could walk over 20 miles -- all in the one room of her house.

Rebecca Trotter Drake had 14 children.  She had six sons before a girl came along.  She had 4 boys in 4 years, then a two year break, followed by son #5, another two year break and then #6 son. Can you imagine trying to ride herd on a hip baby, a toddler, a preschooler, a kindergartner, a first grader, a second grader -- all boys! Holy cow.  And Abraham was only a year old when Sarah was born.  

Learning the Lingo -- Genealogy Speak

I'm always sad when I hear about someone who started out so passionately on their family tree research, but got  beat down by all the technicalities AND overwhelmed with all the paper that they generated.  Genealogy, family tree research, family history -- whatever you want to call -- it has a learning curve.  And like any other profession or hobby, it also has its own lingo.  The problem is that so much of the stuff we need to read is boring, dry, yawning, mind numbing.  So-- if you are a new genealogist and you want to learn about the who, whats, whys, whens and hows -- let me recommend my favorite genealogy book:  The Essential Guide to Unpuzzling Your Past by Emily Croom.  Probably not the most technical book out there, but it's actually a fun read.

You'll see as you get deeper and deeper into your family history research that there are more and more things that you need AND want to know, but you can't spend every waking minute researching.  Sometimes you just want to be entertained, so how about a book that is entertaining AND educational AND amazing.  This book is an absolute must read for anyone who has a female in their family tree.  There were parts of this book that made me furious.  And sad.  And breathtakingly proud of America's women.  This isn't about the famous dames in America's history, but about the average, every day gal.  Do yourself a favor and check it out of the library first.  I bet you'll buy your own copy.  Check out:  America's Women:  400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines by Gail Collins.