“Not a Poor, but a Very Inportunate Widow” Sarah Kennedy and the American Revolution in Pennsylvania

In June 1778, Sarah Kennedy’s husband, Samuel, died while serving as a physician at the American hospital at Yellow Springs, Pennsylvania, a military hospital constructed on the Kennedy’s property. Samuel’s agreement with the Continental Army complicated Sarah’s widowhood, drawing her into a prolonged and complex relationship with the army, the hospital and its convalescents, the Pennsylvania government, and a tenant with claims to the land. For years, this “importunate widow” wrote letters and petitioned to regain full control of Yellow Springs. Her efforts mirrored those of countless Pennsylvania women who also sought to ameliorate the impacts of wartime disruptions, giving us greater insight into how these women experienced the Revolutionary era.

Dr. Camille Kaszubowski holds a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware and was the 2022-2023 Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Library Company of Philadelphia. She is Assistant Professor of History at Seton Hill University teaching courses on Colonial and Revolutionary America, Women’s History, and Pennsylvania History. Dr. Kaszubowski is currently working on a book project titled Left in Distress: Women on Their Own in Revolutionary Pennsylvania.

Hosted by the Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch Program in Women’s History