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For any other use, or to quote extensively from the work, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder/s. “Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Postgraduate Degree programme of Doctor of Philosophy in American History, The Humanities Research Institute, Keele University” (February 2013) Single, White and Southern: slaveholding women in the nineteenth-century American South, 1830-1870 By Marie Suzanne Molloy ii Table of Contents ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................IV INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 SOURCES............................................................................................................................. 6 ORGANISATION ................................................................................................................... 9 LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER ONE: THE CONSTRUCTION OF FEMININITY IN THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH ................................................................................................... 34 THE ANTEBELLUM SETTING:CULT AND REALITY............................................................... 36 SINGLE BLESSEDNESS........................................................................................................ 55 THE CIVIL WAR................................................................................................................. 68 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER TWO: SINGLE WOMEN AND THE SOUTHERN FAMILY..................... 77 THE SOUTHERN FAMILY .................................................................................................... 78 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES............................................................................................ 84 Family Helpmeet........................................................................................................... 84 The Maiden Aunt........................................................................................................... 91 Siblings....................................................................................................................... 106 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................... 123 CHAPTER THREE: WORK........................................................................................... 126 PLANTATION MANAGEMENT............................................................................................ 130 NURSING......................................................................................................................... 151 TEACHING....................................................................................................................... 166 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................... 180 CHAPTER FOUR: FEMALE FRIENDSHIP................................................................. 182 THE DEVELOPMENT OF FEMALE FRIENDSHIP .................................................................... 183 FORM AND FUNCTION OF FEMALE FRIENDSHIP ................................................................. 187 WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH ............................................................................................... 208 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................... 214 CHAPTER FIVE: LAW, PROPERTY AND THE SINGLE WOMAN......................... 216 VOLUNTARY SINGLENESS ................................................................................................ 219 FEMME SOLE VERSUS FEMME COVERT STATUS ................................................................ 237 INVOLUNTARY SINGLENESS ............................................................................................. 247 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................... 261 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................. 267 ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................... 277 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................. 278 iii Abstract This thesis examines the lives of single, white, slaveholding women in the nineteenth-century American South from 1830-1870. The central hypothesis is that singleness, in spite of its restrictions, was a route to female autonomy that had its roots in the antebellum era and that was intensified during the Civil War and post-war years. The Civil War acted as a catalyst for accelerating personal, social, economic, and legal changes in single women’s lives. It helped to revise and expand traditional gender models by destroying slavery that had tied to the patriarchal structure of the Old South. Many of the single women discussed in this thesis did not automatically fit into the traditional model of southern womanhood. They were either permanently single, or had married late, were widowed, divorced or separated. Yet they operated their lives within a tight framework of traditional gender conventions that gradually broke down in the antebellum, Civil War and post-war years. Single women clearly understood the importance of adhering to gender conventions. However, they were often able to manipulate them to their advantage, gaining acceptance and respect in southern society that provided an effective springboard to enhance personal autonomy. In the post-war period these processes continued to gain pace, as female autonomy was heightened by protection tradition ideals about women that could be used to their advantage in seeking a divorce or to gain their due in widowhood. Thus, from conservative ideology sprang radical social change. This thesis provides a wealth of evidence in the form of letters, diaries and court records in support of the central hypothesis that in spite of its restrictions, singleness was a route to greater autonomy for women in the nineteenth-century South. iv Acknowledgments This thesis has developed out of a love for Southern History. It stems from an initial curiosity about the way that southern women’s lives were conducted within a framework of race, class and gender in the nineteenth-century South. What began as a passionate interest has slowly, but surely, taken over my life. On this fascinating journey I have accumulated both professional and personal debts. I would like to extend my gratitude to the David Bruce Centre at Keele University, for their generous financial, academic and personal support throughout my studies. This includes my supervisory team: Dr. Axel Schäfer and Dr. Laura Sandy, for their help, guidance, and support in each stage of the project. I would also like to thank Professor Martin Crawford and Professor Karen Hunt for their early input into the thesis. I am also appreciative to the Peter Parish Memorial Fund (which is part of BrANCH), the Archie Davis Fellowship in North Carolina, the Virginia Historical Society and the Royal Historical Society for the generous travel grants that helped to fund my research trips to North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia. Gathering the relevant material on single, slaveholding women has been a momentous task, but it has taken me to several incredible archives in the South. I have mainly worked in six archives, including the Southern Historical Society at the University of North Carolina, the Special Collections at Duke University, the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, the Georgia Historical Society in Savannah, the South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston, and the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina. In each repository I discovered some excellent collections in addition to helpful and knowledgeable staff. Two individual archivists who deserve a special mention v are Barbara Illie, who shared her extensive knowledge, but also her southern hospitality with me, and Frances Pollard at the Virginia Historical Society. I have also benefited from attending various conferences, the most memorable of which was a conference held by the Southern Association of Women’s Historians at the University of South Carolina in 2009. At this conference I met several leading scholars in southern women’s history, who have inspired my work on southern women. These scholars include Anne Firor Scott, Catherine Clinton, Christine Carter and Anya Jabour. The experience of discussing issues such as race,