Amateur sleuths unveil the women behind 132-year-old Boston Harbor adventure journal
On the toasty morning of July 15, 1891, four middle-aged women met at Rowes Wharf in Boston, boarded a boat and set sail for one of the outermost harbor islands: Great Brewster.
At the time, its rugged landscape was home to little more than a smattering of structures — including "huts of refuge" for potential shipwreck survivors — and a single cow that roamed the island.
The women were leaving their husbands, children and responsibilities behind for more than two weeks in search of adventure and the joy of female friendship.
Their provisions included food, art supplies, literature and one leather-bound journal.
And it’s that journal that, over a century later, mesmerized Boston-based author Stephanie Schorow when she came across the volume in Harvard’s Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America.
“But there was one big problem with it,” Schorow said. “We knew the identity of one of the women in the diary. But we didn’t know the other three women. Now, we had their photos — but we did not have their names.”
Wow! What a fascinating story and really cool women!
@Muse @Dogs of the Federation
#women #history #books #adventure
