Lady Deborah Moody (1586-1659)

Score: ______Women Leaders: Unit 4 Reading Study Guide by Kathleen Eilers crandall

Lady Deborah Moody (1586-1659) Mayor of Her Own Town

Directions:  Read the paragraphs in the left column. Notice the bold words.  Then fill in the blanks in the right column. Some are done for you as examples.  Then reread the paragraphs, and try to answer the critical thought questions at the end of this passage.

"A town of my own," said Lady Deborah 1. my (______) Moody, smiling in a sort of wonder. The 2. wonder Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam, William  part-of-speech ______Kieft, looked at the eager woman.  definition ______3. eager  part-of-speech ______ definition ______

"Mmmmpf," he said. "You have the land 4. he (______) now, yes. Building a town on it may not be easy. And remember, I have warned you 5. You (______) about the Indians." 6. It (______) Lady Deborah kept smiling. "I am sure I 7. terms can come to good terms with the Indians,"  part-of-speech ______she said. "And I can get the town built. I will!" She said again in wonder, "A town of  definition ______my own." ______She had never dreamed of such a thing 8. such a thing (She had never dreamed of when she set sail from England with her what? ______young son, Harry. All she had hoped for then was to find a happy new home for them in ______) America. Her husband had died a few years 9. then (when? ______earlier and left her a wealthy woman with a large manor house and many acres. ______) 10. them (______)

5/18/2018-WL4 15 11. manor  part-of-speech ______ definition ______But it was lonely at the manor with her 12. Puritan husband gone. Lady Deborah liked traveling.  part-of-speech proper N She liked people. She also thought of herself  definition person in a religion having as a Puritan. Suddenly she was remembering many strict rules that hundreds, even thousands, of English 13. do so (do what? ______Puritans were moving to America. She ______) decided that she and Harry should do so too. She sold her house and lands. She sewed the 14. she received (from what? ______gold she received into her clothes and ______) Harry's, and they boarded a ship. 15. Harry's (Harry's what? ______) 16. boarded  part-of-speech ______ definition ______They landed at Boston and it looked like a 17. landed pleasant town. The people welcomed her and  part-of-speech ______her son. So Lady Deborah bought a house and was ready to be happy.  definition ______18. it (______)

But soon she learned that her ideas of being 19. quite a good Puritan were quite different from the  part-of-speech adv. ideas of the Boston ministers. She had not  definition very; somewhat; rather had young Harry baptized because she 20. baptized thought the ceremony should wait until  part-of-speech verb/adj children were old enough to understand it.  definition become a Christian at a special religious ceremony 21. ceremony  part-of-speech ______ definition ______22. it ______)

5/18/2018-WL4 16 The ministers were horrified by this and 23. horrified argued with her day after day. Lady Deborah  part-of-speech adj. was horrified herself by the harsh way the  definition feeling great dislike Puritans treated people of other faiths. She 24. this (what? Lady Deborah Moody not was not happy either about the way they having her son baptized ) treated Indians or about the laws they had 25. harsh passed to regulate almost every minute of  part-of-speech ______life.  definition ______26. treated  part-of-speech ______ definition ______27. faiths  part-of-speech ______ definition ______28. they (______) 29. passed  part-of-speech ______ definition ______30. regulate  part-of-speech ______ definition ______

She decided to move to some other town. 31. who (______) She had made some friends in Boston who 32. as she did (what? feel about some of the felt as she did and they decided to move with strict Puritan rules ) her. The first town they tried was Salem, up the river from Boston. But they had not stayed 33. they (______) there long before they found that Salem's 34. those (who? Puritans ) Puritans were just as harsh as those of Boston.

Lady Deborah and her friends moved on 35. coast again. This time they took a small ship and  part-of-speech ______

5/18/2018-WL4 17 sailed along the New England coast until they  definition ______came to a settlement on an island at the mouth of the Hudson River. This was New ______Amsterdam, a town that had been started by 36. settlement the Dutch. By now, some English people  part-of-speech noun lived there as well as people from other  definition place where people were countries. It was not a Puritan town. establishing homes 37. mouth  part-of-speech ______ definition ______38. there (where? ______) 39. as well as  part-of-speech ______ definition ______40. It (______)

An Englishman showed Lady Deborah 41. around (what? the town of New around. They stopped on the riverbank and Amsterdam ) the Englishman pointed across the river. 42. They (______) "Long Island," he said. "The part you see is 43. riverbank called Brooklyn by the Dutch. It is rich,  part-of-speech noun unsettled land. I am sure you could buy some  definition land next to the river if you wished." 44. The part (of what? Long Island ) 45. rich  part-of-speech ______ definition ______46. unsettled  part-of-speech adj.  definition distant from areas where people have built homes

47. some (what? ______) 48. wished (to do what? ______)

Suddenly, Lady Deborah had a wonderful 49. it (______) idea. Instead of going from town to town and being disappointed, why not start a town

5/18/2018-WL4 18 herself and make it what she thought a town should be?

It was a daring idea -- but not impossible. 50. it (starting a town herself ) She still had some of the gold she had brought 51. daring from England and from the sale of her Boston  part-of-speech adj. house. A few days later, the Dutch Governor,  definition needing a lot of courage; William Kieft, was handing her the deed to a risky large tract of land on the southwest tip of 52. deed Long Island, along with permission to start a  part-of-speech ______town there.  definition ______53. tract  part-of-speech ______ definition ______54. there (where?______)

She was the first woman in America to be 55. to be granted (by whom? ______granted such a permission. But she had no ______) time to wonder about that. She was busy planning her town, with a green in the center 56. such a permission (to do what? ______and lots for houses all around, joining on the ______) fields. She was granting lots to friends who had come with her from Boston, and 57. green arranging for building to start. Most  part-of-speech n(C) important of all, she was writing the laws for  definition grassy area her town. It was to be free in every way. 58. lots There would be no slavery, and people of  part-of-speech ______every faith would be welcome.  definition ______59. all around (what? the green) 60. granting  part-of-speech ______ definition ______

61. arranging 1645 Plot Map of Gravesend  part-of-speech ______

5/18/2018-WL4 19  definition ______62. It (______)

Not everything went smoothly. There were 63. smoothly storms that slowed the building. The Long  part-of-speech ______Island Indians did try to drive Lady Deborah and her friends away. But Lady Deborah was  definition ______so generous and fair with them that before ______long they decided to be friendly. 64. drive  part-of-speech ______ definition ______65. them (______) 66. they (______) And finally, there was the town with 67. stockade houses, stockade, and a meeting house, where  part-of-speech ______Quakers, Baptists, Jews, people of any faith could worship. Lady Deborah called her town  definition ______Gravesend, after a town she had known in ______England. 68. worship  part-of-speech v(I)  definition honor and praise God

A new Dutch Governor came to rule New 69. rule Amsterdam --the hot-tempered, one legged  part-of-speech ______Peter Stuyvesant. When he visited Gravesend and found a woman in charge, he was  definition ______horrified. A woman -- the chief authority? ______70. in charge (of what?______) 71. chief  part-of-speech ______ definition ______72. authority  part-of-speech n(C)  definition person in charge; person in

5/18/2018-WL4 20 an official position

But soon Lady Deborah had won even Peter 73. won Stuyvesant's respect. He called her the  part-of-speech ______"Grande Dame of Gravesend." And that was what she was, through all the rest of her busy,  definition ______happy life. ______74. Dame  part-of-speech proper N  definition woman of authority 75. that (what? the Grande Dame of Gravesend )

Gravesend is still part of Brooklyn in New 76. recognize York City. It is a crowded place that Lady  part-of-speech ______Deborah would not recognize. Coney Island, which was also part of her land, is a world-  definition ______famous beach, and the crowds there would ______look strange to her also. But the spirit of freedom which Lady Deborah thought so 77. there (where? ______) important is still there, just as America's first 78. spirit lady mayor would have wished.  part-of-speech noun  definition attitude; feeling; mood 79. there (where? ______) 80. mayor  part-of-speech ______ definition ______81. wished (for what? ______)

Critical thought questions: (Write short answers, not full sentences, to these questions.)

1. From what country did Lady Deborah Moody come?

5/18/2018-WL4 21 2. Why did she come to America?

3. How did she get money to travel and buy land in America?

4. Why do you think she sewed her gold into her clothes?

5. Where did Lady Deborah Moody first settle in America? and why did she leave this place?

6. Where did Lady Deborah Moody and her friends go next? and why did they leave this place?

7. Where did Lady Deborah Moody and her friends go then?

8. What do we call New Amsterdam today?

9. People from what country founded New Amsterdam?

10. Why did Lady Deborah Moody like New Amsterdam?

11. What did Lady Deborah Moody do there?

12. What kind of town did Lady Deborah Moody want to set up?

13. How did the Indians and Lady Deborah Moody get along in her new town?

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14. How did Lady Deborah Moody and the new Governor Peter Stuyvesant get along?

15. What was the name of Lady Deborah Moody's town? What is it like today?

Resources: Lady Deborah Moody – A `Dangerous' 1600s Woman http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-history-hs304a,0,5912509.story

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