Despite bigamy, alcoholism, & bad debts, Ralph Earl paints some fairly spectacular portraits of Early American Women

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Ralph Earl was born on a prosperous farm in Massachusettes on May 11, 1751. Ralph was named after his father, who as a large landowner was active in community affairs & an officer in the local militia.

1785 Ralph Earl (1751-1801) Martha Spear (Mrs. John Johnston)

Ralph & his brother James(1761–1796), who was 10 years younger, both became artists, as did his son Ralph E. W. Earl(c 1785-8 – 1838).

1787 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Mrs. James Duane.

Ralph Earl was traveling as an itinerant artist in 1774, when he returned home to marry his 2nd cousin Sarah Gates, with whom he eventually produced 3 children.

1787 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Mrs. Alexander Hamilton.

Earl went back on the road soon after the wedding ceremony; and he & his wife lived apart much of the time, as he traveled from town to town painting. She delivered their first child at the home of her parents a few months after their marriage.

1789 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Clarissa Seymour (Mrs. Truman Marsh).

While trying to establish himself in New Haven, he met painter Henry Pelham, the half brother of John Singleton Copley. When visiting Pelham in Boston in March 1775, Earl admired the works Copley had left behind when he moved to England.

1789 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Esther Boardman.

Years later in the Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Massachusettes, March 5, 1800, Earl would claim that he had "received the last and finishing strokes of his art from the hands of the immortal Reynolds, West and Copley." As of now, no evidence has been found that he studied under either Joshua Reynolds or John Singleton Copley.

1789 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Mariann Wolcott.

As the war neared, Earl refused to serve in the local militia & narrowly escaped prison for refusing to pay taxes to support the American Revolution.

1790 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Sarah Tucker.

Earl’s wife joined him in New Haven in November, 1776, and they lived there until May, 1777. This 6 month period, Sarah attested after Earl's death, "was all the time we kept house together."

1790 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Mary Smith Booth.

In April, 1777, Earl & several others were accused in the Connecticut Journal as being "friends of George the third and would not take up arms against him or his troops." Their behavior was called a "glaring instance of treason."

1790 Ralph Earl (1791-1801). Jerusha Benedict (Ives).

Earl escaped to England disguised as a servant of English quartermaster general, John Money. His wife Sarah stayed behind with their three children & began living with her parents again.

1794 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Huldah Bradley.

From 1778 to 1785, Earl painted throughout the English provinces, studied with Pennsylvania expatriate artist Benjamin West, and exhibited at the Royal Academy, although he never became a member.

1796 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Apphia Ruggles (Mrs. Jared Lane).

He wrote to Englishman Dr. Joseph Trumbull, a Worcester County apothecary whose portrait he had painted, "...the picture Which I have began and finished scince You was heir is the best that eaver I painted, I intend to offer it to Copely to coppey for his improvement." Like John Singleton Copley, Ralph Earl did not lack in ego or the clever knack for self-promotion.

1798 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Mary Schenck (Mrs. Elijah Dewey).

After the dust of war settled, Earl returned to Boston in 1785, with a new English wife, Ann Whiteside (1762–1826), who would bear him a son and a daughter within the next 3 years. His arrival in Boston was announced in both the Salem Massachusettes Gazette on May 24, 1785, and in Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy, Or, the Worcester Gazette on May 26, 1785. This may have surprised his American wife Sarah, the mother of his first 3 children, from whom he was not divorced.

1793 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Ann Whiteside (1762-1826) (Mrs. Ralph Earl)

For the next 6 months he traveled with his new wife to New York by way of Providence and New London, where he tarried to paint a few portraits.

1794 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Lucy Bradley.

When he arrived in New York in October, he advertised in the Independent Journal or the General Advertiser, New York, November 2, 1785, that he intended to paint for clients "in this City, where a specimen of his abilities may be seen on calling at Mr. Rivington’s, No. 1, Queen-Street."

1794 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Mrs Charles Jeffery Smith.

Within the year, Earl became involved in several lawsuits that sent him to debtors’ lockup in the New York City Jail from September, 1786, to January, 1788, where he was encouraged to continue painting. During this period his wife and small children had to fend for themselves, while Earl painted portraits of several notable New Yorkers including Mrs. Alexander Hamilton. His portrait commissions were held in a trust until his release.

1795 Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Sarah Perry (Mrs. David Hubbell).

When he was freed, he continued painting portraits of patrons in New York as well as Fairfield, Greenfield Hill, Hartford, Litchfield, Middletown, New Milford, Norwich, & Stamford, Connecticut. He painted his subjects in familiar local landscapes or surrounded by possessions and wares that were part of their everday lives. Like Copley, he could concoct fashionable costumes for the status-conscious gentry and comfortably portray the more conservative styles of his rural clients.

1798 Ralph Earl(1751-1801). Elizabeth Eliot (Mrs. Gershom Burr).

His paintings became well known. The Litchfield Weekly Monitor of June 21, 1790, carried a notice (which Earl may have written and paid for) reprinted in the Columbian Centinel in Boston on June 30, 1790.

Ralph Earl (1751-1801) Mrs. Ebenezer Porter (Lucy Patty Pierce Merwin)

To the Patrons of the Fine Arts
The Portrait Paintings by Mr. RALPH EARL, in this town, do him honor as an American, and as an artist of great taste and ingenuity—Connoisseurs in this truly noble and refined art, pronounce several of his performances the most masterly every exhibited in the United States. Mr. Earl was pupil to the celebrated West; and acquired great reputation in London by his Pencil;—and possessing a lively imagination, and pure talent in the principles of his profession, we cannot doubt, and hope, that in this age of refinement, the "well-born and well-bred" of his countrymen will patronize him in the road to Fame.

1796 Ralph Earl (1751-1801) Mrs. Sherman Boardman (Sarah Bostwick)

After his stint in debtor's prison, Ralph Earl spent 3 years painting commissions in New York City and 13 years working throughout Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

1792 Ralph Earl (1751-1801) Mrs. Richard Alsop

The surviving account books of his client Jared Lane of New Milford, indicate that at least some patrons paid for Earl's supplies, room, and board, as well as for the portraits themselves.

1792 Ralph Earl (1751-1801) Mrs Joseph Wright

In 1798, either Earl or his 2nd wife decided stop moving the family from town to town in search of painting prospects. She and their daughter settled permanently in Troy, New York, as he continued to travel throughout New England painting. Earl's son Ralph E. W. stayed with his father to learn the art.

1791 Ralph Earl (1751-1801) Mrs John Watson

Unlike earlier 18th century colonial painters, Earl was receiving commissions to paint both portraits & landscapes in the new Republic. People might chose to have their portraits painted at some milestone in their lives such as a marriage or the birth of a child. Others clients might chose to have a painting of their new house in town or set in a broad landscape perspective or of their shop or of the gardens surrounding their home.

1790 Ralph Earl (1751-1801) Mrs Nathaniel Taylor

In 1800, accounts of Earl's goal to paint a nearly 30' long landscape panorama of Niagara Falls with Hezekiah Hutchens, an amateur artist, and Jacob Wicker, an ornamental painter, appeared in newspapers in Northampton, Worcester, Litchfield, Baltimore, and far away Charleston, South Carolina. They accomplished the physically challenging adventure, and the huge landscape painting generated publicity for Earl.

1792 Ralph Earl (1751-1801) Oliver & Abigail Wolcott Ellsworth

But soon after, at age 50, Ralph Earl died in Bolton, Connecticut, on August 16, 1801. In a diary which still exists at the Connecticul Historical Society, a local minister The Reverend Mr. George Colton recorded the cause of Earl's death as "intemperance."
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Newspaper - Virginia Runaway Slave Seamstresses

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An unusual number of the slave seamstresses and house slaves appearing in Virginia runaway notices, were mulatto. The seamstresses had a variety of skills; while all were seamstresses, some were also described as being able to spin, weave, wash, and iron. Slaves, who were children of the master or his male relatives, were often raised to work in the house, closer to the family. Perhaps they were more likely to run away, because there was at least a chance that they could pass as white.

Below are slave notices for runaway seamstresses from a survey of most 18th century Virginia newspapers.

Virginia Gazette (Hunter), Williamsburg, October 27, 1752.
RAN away...a fair Mulatto Woman Slave, named Moll, about 22 Years of Age, and 5 Feet high, with brown Hair, grey Eyes, very large Breasts and Limbs two of her upper fore Teeth are rotten and broken off...she is a very sly subtle Wench and a great Lyar; she is very handy about waiting and tending in a House, and can wash, iron and sew coarse Work. It's likely she may change her Name, pass for a free Woman and hire herself...

Virginia Gazette (Purdie & Dixon), Williamsburg, September 8, 1768.
RUN away...a bright mulatto wench called LUCY... She sews and irons well, is about 35 years old, has two moles on one side of her nose, three of her fingers on one hand contracted by a burn when young, and a large scar on one of her elbows...

Virginia Gazette (Purdie & Dixon), Williamsburg, October 20, 1768.
RUN away...a bright mulatto wench named JUDE, about 30 years old, is very remarkable, has lost one eye, but which I have forgot, has long black hair, a large scar on one of her elbows, and several other scars in her face...I have great reason to think she will pass for a free woman, and endeavour to make into South Carolina. She is very knowing about house business, can spin, weave, sew, and iron, well...

Virginia Gazette (Purdie & Dixon), Williamsburg, May 6, 1773.
RUN away...a Country born Negro Woman named SARAH, a very lusty stout made Wench, about two and twenty Years of age, very artful, and, though not a Mulatto, may attempt to pass for a free Woman...She has been chiefly a House Servant, is a fine Sempstress, Knitter, Washer, and Ironer...

Virginia Gazette (Purdie), Williamsburg, February 21, 1777

...reward for taking up and delivering PATTY, a lightish coloured negro woman, pitted with the small pox, about 30 years of age, walks well, and generally fast, is rather above the middle size, well shaped, a good sempstress...

Virginia Gazette (Purdie), Williamsburg, August 8, 1777.
RUN away...a mulatto girl named KATE, or Catharine, about 5 feet high, has been brought up in the house from her infancy, and can work well with a needle. She is 19 or 20 years of age, has a smiling countenance when spoke to, and at some times is rather impertinent...

Virginia Journal and Alexandria Advertiser (Richards), Alexandria, October 21, 1784.
RAN away...CATE, a light Mulatto, about 22 years of age, about 5 feet high, full faced, expressive eyes, of a pleasant countenance, an high forehead, fine teeth, bushy long hair, is well set, and broad shouldered...She is very handy, spins well, and has been used to both house and plantation work. SINAH, about 20 years of age, rather of a darker complexion than Cate, has a sunken bumpy face, a very unbidding look, has a decay and holes in two of her upper foreteeth, a sulky illnatured countenance, well shaped, of the middle size, low forehead, and very bushy long hair...She has been brought up in the house, is a good seamstress, and spins well...

Virginia Journal and Alexandria Advertiser (Richards), Alexandria, September 29, 1785.
RAN AWAY...a MULATTO WOMAN, named MOLLY; of a middle size...As she can read, and is handy at her needle, it is probable she will endeavour to pass for a free woman. She is very artful, and capable of inventing a falsehood...

Virginia Independent Chronicle (Davis), Richmond, July 9, 1788.
RUN-AWAY ...a likely MULATTO WOMAN, called RACHEL; about 25 years of age, 5 feet 2 or 3 inches high, thin visage, long black hair, stoops in the shoulders, and has a scar (not very visible) on her chin, occasioned by the kick of a horse when a child. She is an excellent sempstress, and it is probable will pass (from being uncommonly white) for a free woman, unless closely observed...

Virginia Independent Chronicle (Davis), Richmond, March 13, 1790
.... a low, black, well set wench for a wife, the property of a Mr. James Toolers of Charles City, the wench is a decent house servant, can sew and wash very well

Virginia Gazette and General Advertiser (Davis), Richmond, January 26, 1791
....She is about 40 years of age, and rather above the common stature, has a scar upon the back of her neck, and is a pretty good sempstress...

Virginia Gazette and General Advertiser (Davis), Richmond, January 18, 1792.
Committed to the jail of this county...a runaway negro wench who calls herself JAMIMAH, and says she belongs to a Mr. Robert Thompson of Louisa county. She appears to be about twenty years of age, very likely in person, above the middle size, strong, straight, of a very healthy and vigorous carriage, and remarkably handy in a family. She can sew plain work very well, is of a kind, obliging, obedient, soft disposition, with many marks on her back of having been severely and cruelly whipped indeed.

Norfolk Herald (Willett and O'Connor), Norfolk, May 13, 1797
....SLAVES left my residence...JAMES, A Mullato Man, about 30 years of age, ...The other slave is a dark mulatto woman called KESIAH, Wife to the above described man. She is a thin delicately formed woman, rather small, has short hair, with several grey bunches just appearing from under her cap on the from part of her head---her teeth before are decayed---She is much addicted to smoking tobacco, and is a great drunkard---She is between 30 and 40 years of age...Both these people have been bred to domestic capacities; the man is a house servant and to wait on a gentleman when travelling; the woman a lady's maid, and an excellent sempstress...

Alexandria Advertiser and Commercial Intelligencer (S. Snowden & Co.), Alexandria, May 7, 1802
....Ran Away...Patty, a likely Negro wench, about twenty years of age: she has been brought up in the house, is a good seamstress, & very capable...

Norfolk Herald (Willett and O'Connor), Norfolk, June 28, 1803
...eloped from me in August last. LUCY is about 40 years of age; rather spare made, has large eyes, and of a dark tawney complexion; I am told she can read, and perhaps write a little. She is an excellent seamstress, nurse &c...
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1770 Georgia - A little clothing for the slaves...

John Channing letter 26 June 1770 to William Gibbons, Jr. 
 
Description: Letter Channing writes to Gibbons. Gibbons will be looking after Channing's slaves while Channing is away.

"I am going out of Town for a fortnight or more and am Apprehensive Cap[tain] W...son may sail before my return have givien him directions for 5 pieces of Negro Cloth to be shiped on board him which I believe will be more than wanted, one piece is coarser the the rest which I intend for the Children. Amey, I believe can cut them out without any difficulty, indeed most of the Country born and some of the others have always chose to have the Cloth given them and their Wives and Sisters to cut it out and make them up for them and as they are better satisfyed and a matter of indifference you'll please still indluge as many as desire it the same."

 William Gibbons, Jr. Papers. (Georgia) Special Collections Library, Duke University.

Newspaper - Runaway Slaves - Carders, Spinners, Weavers, & Knitters

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Virginia Gazette (Hunter), Williamsburg, November 7, 1754.
RAN away...a Mulatto Wench, named Molly, about 26 Years of Age, of a middle Stature, long Visage, and freckled, has a drawling Speech, a down Look, and has been chiefly brought up to Carding and Spinning.

Virginia Gazette (Dixon & Hunter),Williamsburg, March 11, 1775.
RUN away... a very bright Mulatto Man named STEPHEN, 5 Feet 6 or 7 Inches high, about 22 Years of Age...His Wife PHEBE went away with him, a remarkable white Indian Woman, about the same Age, and was with Child; she has long black Hair, which is generally clubbed, and carried off with her a blue Negro Cotton Waistcoat and Petticoat, a Virginia Cloth Waistcoat and Petticoat, and a Virginia Cloth Bonnet. She can spin well...

Virginia Gazette or American Advertiser (Hayes), Richmond, February 2, 1782.
A black fellow by the name of PETER, frequently called PETER WOOD, about 37 or 38 years of age, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high, has a smiling countenance...Also a very likely black girl, wife to the above fellow and taken off by him, about 18 or 19 years old, middle size, by the name of AMIA...She is a fine spinner and Weaver, has never had a child, and I am informed has holes in her ears for rings.Virginia Gazette or Weekly Advertiser (Nicolson & Prentis), Richmond, May 11, 1782.
VIOLET, went off about eight weeks ago, and is now harboured in Williamsburg, about twenty two years old, very likely, genteel made, and knits very well.

Virginia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser (Nicolson & Prentis), Richmond, November 22, 1783.
RUN away...a negro girl named PHILLIS, but for some time passed by the name BETTY. She is about sixteen years of age, an excellent spinner, and very likely...She has for some time been harboured about Rocket's, and is very intimate and supposed lives with one Free Harry.

Virginia Gazette or American Advertiser (Hayes), Richmond, October 16, 1784.
RAN AWAY...a likely Mulatto woman named CHARITY, who carried with her three children, two boys and a girl...She is a likely wench, has an uncommon good voice, is a good house servant, and can spin and knit very well.

Virginia Gazette or American Advertiser (Hayes), Richmond, December 31, 1785
....my negro woman TABB. She is of a middle stature, rather of a yellowish cast, and thin visage, straight made, walks and talks quick...When she went off, she was clothed as Negroes generally are, which she will certainly change, being very fond of dress, and looks tolerable genteel. She is remarkable handy and industrious, can card and spin cotton and wool, equal in quantity and quality with any woman in the State; a tolerable good weaver, which she followed when she runaway before, and changed her name to Nancy Jones.

Virginia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser (Nicolson), Richmond, April 17, 1788.
RUN away...a stout well made Virginia born negro woman, named DINAH, but has changed her name to NANCY, her complexion is rather of the tawny kind, she has a scar on her forehead, and keeps her eyes rather closed when speaking, she chews tobacco, and smoaks...She last hired herself to Mrs. Jones, at Spring Garden, in Hanover, for a spinner and weaver, and had one of the house servants for her husband...

Virginia Gazette and General Advertiser (Davis), Richmond, January 18, 1792.
Run away...a likely negro woman, named URSULA, of a yellowish complexion, with some black moles on her face, 30 years of age, 5 feet three or 4 inches high, had on, when she went away, such cloathing as negroes generally wear in the summer, and carried with her a white linen coat and jacket. She is a vile creature, and for her many crimes I punsihed her with an iron collar, but supposed she soon got that off. She is very artful, has a smooth tongue, and is a good weaver, and as she has for some time imposed on the Baptist church by her pretensions to religion, she may probably attempt to pass for a free woman, and do the same again.
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About slave Jenny, the good spinster...

Robert Carter, Letter to Clement Brooke of the Baltimore Iron Works. 11 November 1776.
Description: Item is a letter and an invoice. Of interest is reference made to Jenny. The "Negroe Woman" is on board the sloop Atwell along with a host of other goods. The abstract below is from notations in the invoice and letter.

220 bushels of Indian Corn and one Negroe Woman named Jenny are no on board the Sloop Atwell the cargo mentioned abov to be delivered to you for the use of the Baltimoe [sic] Comp[any]--Pray send me a Copy of the Proceedings of the B-C[ompany] when they resolve that there Shall be an Addition of five negroe Women, to their Stock--
It is customary for me to engage my Negroes from new years day to the 31st of December following--however Geo. Wilkerson, Wool Comber, has relinquished Jenny, who is a good Spinster--Jenny is young & Stout, She has fits, accasionally, [sic] I say Accasionally, becuase her fits never happen but upon her being reprimanded for neglects; nor do those Fits leave behind any visible Effects If Jenny Should prove not to be sound, I will at a future date Send a negroe woman in her Stead--...

 From the Robert Carter Papers (Vol. III). (Virginia) Special Collections Library, Duke University.

A few 1760s-90s London prints of women doing domestic chores

Enterprising London printmakers published hundreds of popular & satirical mezzotints between 1760 and 1800, many of which quickly found their way to the British American colonies and later to the new republic. These prints were sometimes called drolls, were usually 10' by 14' and were relatively inexpensive. They could be seen in homes or in taverns & they give a glimpse into the everyday life of women in the larger British world, which is seldom found in more formal art.

The Landlord's Daughter. Haines and Son, London. 1798.

Lacemaking. John Fairburn. London. 1795.

Lady Working Tambour

March (Lady Holding Sewing). R. Dighton. Carrington Bowles. London. 1784.

The Fair Seamstress. Heilman pinxt J. Watson fecit. for John Bowles, London. 1760s.

The Tenant's Daughter. Haines and Son, London. 1798.

Love in a Village. Carrington Bowles, London, 1784

Rural Life. Robert Sayer and J. Bennett. London 1782

Rural Life Spinning Yarn Philip Mercier Pinxt. C. Corbutt fecit. Robt Sayer, 1760s London

Market Lass. Robert Dighton. Laurie and Whittle, London. 1794

Jockey and Jenny. Carington Bowles. London. 1782.

New York Business Woman Mary Alexander 1693-1760

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The Alexander Papers at the New-York Historical Society Library contain the records of the mercantile business of Mary Alexander and provide a glimpse into the life of a colonial NYC businesswoman

From the New-York Historical Society Library
Mary Alexander’s mercantile business specialized in “haberdashery,” or what today is called notions. Records from this firm include samples of fabrics that Mary Alexander had requested or purchased. According to the records, Mary ordered expensive silks and worsteds as well as plain, utilitarian materials. The sample above is from the 1730’s and includes swatches of silver lace and crepe. The fabric samples are still vibrantly colored and are beautiful to examine.

Mary Alexander was born in New York City in 1693. In 1711, she married Samuel Prevoost, an importer. The couple had three children and together ran their mercantile business. Mary contributed much of her inheritance to the business and generally acted as a business partner with her husband. After Prevoost’s death around 1720, Mary married James Alexander, a notable attorney and politician. She had seven more children in her second marriage (only five lived to adulthood) and continued to run the Prevoost mercantile business. She sold goods in her store in front of their mansion on Broad Street and soon became one of the leading merchants in New York City. With her social connections and her successful business, Mary was a prominent member of colonial society and is reputed to have served as an informal advisor to many New York politicians. Mary Alexander died in 1760 and was buried with her husband at Trinity Church.

From the New-York Historical Society Library
All information and images in this posting are from the blog of the New-York Historical Society Library. This article written by library Curator of Manuscirpts Maurita Baldock. Click here for more from the N-YHS.
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