FALL 2018 DISPATCH Newsletter of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an educational institution of the Commonwealth of Virginia ‘TENACITY’ Special Exhibition to Reveal Personal Stories of Women in 17th-Century Jamestown and Early Virginia Special Yearlong Exhibition Launches 2019 Commemoration, American EvolutionTM Women’s roles Evolution™, a national ine stories of the first recorded African woman in the events of early observance of the to arrive in Virginia in 1619, and the Virginia Virginia history were 400th anniversary of Company of London’s effort that same year to rarely recorded. His- key historical events encourage the growth of the Jamestown colony tory gives us only that occurred in by recruiting single English women. From fragments of their Virginia in 1619 women’s roles to women’s rights, the exhibition lives – a name here, and continue to will connect issues of the 17th century and a date of arrival there, influence America their relevance today. a court case, a today. It is the first Along with the Jamestown-Yorktown marriage or a death. of a series of 2019 Foundation’s collection of 17th-century ob- Some of their stories events and programs jects, the special exhibition will feature more have never been told. launching the com- than 60 artifacts on loan from 22 international “TENACITY: memoration. and national institutions, including the Victo- Women in Jamestown This story-driven ria & Albert Museum, Museum of London, and Early Virginia,” a special exhibition Master and Fellows of Magdalene College special yearlong will feature artifacts, Cambridge, The Shakespeare Birthplace exhibition opening images and primary Trust, National Archives, Museum of Early November 10 at sources – some on Southern Decorative Arts and the Virginia Jamestown Settlement, display in America Department of Historic Resources. will explore little- for the first time – to “TENACITY: Women in Jamestown known, captivating examine the struggles and Early Virginia” is funded in part by the personal stories of real women in Jamestown women faced in the New World and their Commonwealth of Virginia, James City and the early Virginia colony, and their tena- contributions. Visitors will hear stories of the County and 2019 Commemoration, American cious spirit and impact on a fledgling society. first English women in the Virginia colony Evolution™, with additional support from the The special exhibition is a legacy project of beginning in 1608 and the Powhatan Indian Robins Foundation. the 2019 Commemoration, American women they encountered. Exhibits will exam- (continued on page 2) Jamestown Settlement Exhibition Galleries Refreshed for 2019 Commemoration Experiential Theater, Immersive Displays to Enhance 17th-Century Virginia Story At Jamestown Settlement, exhibit cases in expand on historical events marking one-third of the museum’s 30,000-square-foot 400-year milestones, such as the first gallery space are being prepared for the second legislative assembly in the New World, phase of a $10.6 million gallery enhancement the first recorded Africans in Virginia, to begin this fall. Curators and registrars are and the influx of English women to the carefully removing some of the museum’s Virginia colony, all of which occurred centuries-old treasures and loaned artifacts in 1619. in sections of the galleries in advance of work The museum’s expansive gallery that by next spring will expand the storyline of exhibits, which debuted on the eve of 17th-century Virginia. America’s 400th Anniversary commem- Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation assistant registrar Lisa Jamestown Settlement will be a year- oration in 2007, explore the Powhatan Bishop works to remove artifacts in sections of James- round stage for the 2019 Commemoration, Indian, English and Angolan cultures town Settlement exhibition galleries in advance of exhibit American Evolution™, with a new gallery to that converged in Virginia in the 1600s renovations to begin this fall. The second phase of gallery enhancements will be ready by Spring 2019. (continued on page 3) 1 ‘TENACITY’ Special Exhibition Opens November 10 (continued from page 1) Rare artifacts featured in the special • Court Cupboard, circa 1650-1670: On loan from the Collection of exhibition will include: the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, a court cupboard thought • Ferrar Papers, circa 1621: On loan to have been crafted in James City County is one of the oldest-known pieces for the first time in America from the of Virginia-made furniture. The cupboard is associated with Mary Peirsey Master and Fellows of Magdalene College Hill Bushrod, who arrived in Jamestown in 1623 at the age of 10. Cambridge, United Kingdom, the Ferrar The exhibit will offer interac- Papers are a key source of information tive experiences, including a touch- about the English women who arrived in screen Legacy Wall that will allow Virginia in 1621 and 1622. Compiled by visitors to explore stories of women the family of Nicholas Ferrar, a merchant from 1607 to the present day in five in London, the Ferrar Papers include themes — occupation, citizenship, business documents of the Virginia marriage, education and health- Company of London, and list the names, care — as well as add their own references and qualifications of many of stories to the Legacy Wall. Another A Ferrar Papers interactive, the 56 women recruited to go to Virginia interactive, “Should I Stay or Should presented near the original Ferrar in 1621 to become wives of the settlers. I Go?” — formatted similarly to Papers on loan from the Master and Fellows of Magdalene College A touch-screen interactive display near 21st-century online review sites — Cambridge, will allow visitors the original documents will allow visitors lists positive and negative reviews of to gain insight to the 56 women to delve into passages of the papers to 17th-century Virginia that lets listed in the 1621 Ferrar Papers Court Cupboard, ca. 1650-1670, with the touch of a screen. learn more visitors determine if they would have courtesy of Museum of Early about these stayed in England or gone to Virginia. Southern Decorative Arts. early English women. A series of special programs, • Ducking Chair, traditional 17th from public lectures to performances, century: An English ducking chair, a recent will complement the special exhibition through January 5, 2020. Among acquisition to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foun- them is “Mother Tongue,” an original play written by regional Emmy- dation collection, represents the use of public award winning scriptwriter Abigail Schumann. The play tells the story of humiliation as punishment that was common three women whose lives and cultures intersected at Jamestown who come in England and America from the early 17th together to consider if, and how, the future will remember them and why it to 19th centuries. Offenders – usually women matters. “Mother Tongue,” made possible in part by Dominion Energy, will – were strapped to a sturdy chair, which was debut in May 2019 at Jamestown Settlement and travel to other venues in fastened to a long wooden beam, and dunked Virginia. into a body of water. A 1634 Virginia court Ducking Chair, ca. 1600s, Learn more about the real women of “TENACITY” at Jamestown-Yorktown n case recorded that Betsey Tucker was punished Foundation collection. https://www.historyisfun.org/tenacity. in this way for “brabbling” or gossiping. ‘TENACITY’ Exhibition Themes Parallel Stories in ‘Jamestown’ PBS Television Series Curator Blog Connects Women’s Stories in Show’s First Season The first season of the PBS television drama series “Jamestown,” of the church con- created by the producers of “Downton Abbey,” draws attention to the stories gregation wearing of women in the 17th century who traveled from England to Jamestown only a white sheet, or as brides for the male-dominated Virginia colony. The current season of being strapped to a “Jamestown” is available on PBS Passport and PBS Masterpiece with Prime chair and repeatedly Video Channels and will broadcast on some PBS stations this fall. ducked underwater. The series draws inspiration from true stories, beginning with the Among the artifacts Virginia Company’s decision in 1619 to recruit single women for the colony. to be on display in The 400th anniversary of this historical event will be commemorated in the “TENACITY” 2019 with Jamestown Settlement’s upcoming special exhibition, exhibition are a rare “TENACITY: Women in Jamestown and Early Virginia,” opening survival of a 17th- November 10. Exhibition themes paralleled in “Jamestown” are explored in century linen sheet a series of blogs by Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation curator Bly Straube. on loan from The The “Jamestown” television series, produced by Carnival Films, a NBC Shakespeare Birth- Universal International Studios company, follows the struggles of three place Trust and a women in the group of “maids to make brides” brought over in 1619 as they period ducking chair adapt to the new world wilderness of 17th-century Virginia. Though des- from the Jamestown- tined to marry among the colonists, the women add a new dimension to life Yorktown Founda- in the colony. Following each of the “Jamestown” episodes, Straube explores tion collection. the emotional core of the story while highlighting the women’s shared experi- Learn more A scene from the “Jamestown” television drama. ences connecting the true stories of women in the “TENACITY” exhibition. about the “James- Courtesy of PBS. Though the characters in “Jamestown” are fictional, their experiences town” television with the laws of the period sometimes resulted in real consequences and series and Jamestown Settlement’s “TENACITY” special exhibition by humiliating punishments, such as being locked in stocks, standing in front accessing the blogs at https://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown-tv-series/. 2 Galleries Refreshed for 2019 (continued from page 1) through artifact-filled cases, dioramas and short films. A decade later, new historical research and new technology are being incorporated in gallery exhibits to present history’s events to visitors in innovative ways, including interactive touch screens, immersive exhibits and a multimedia experiential theater.