Submitted by Beverly Clinkingbeard

Here we are, celebrating the birth of our United States of America. We do so with fireworks, parades, picnics and whatever a family tradition is. Fourth of July usually dawns summer hot in our area and our Colonial Fathers labored long and hard in the heat of Philadelphia to craft and ‘get it right’ in writing the Constitution and Declaration of Independence – a framework we still live by. Surely, we owe the 56 signers and deceased patriots our honor and respect.

However, an article by Emily McMackin Dye published by American Spirit magazine entitled, ‘Deputy Husbands’ Kept the Home Fires Burning” focused on the many responsibilities someone – usually the wife – of the 56 signers had. They had farms and businesses. Some signers traveled great distance by colonial transportation over rough trails. This meant leaving their means of livelihood behind to create a government system that had never been tried before. It also extended their time away from home and security.

So, who picked up the slack? Some signers had slaves, but they didn’t work without direction. Others had family to help out, children who shouldered additional duty. There were crops to plant or harvest and livestock to care for. Some lived with the threat of Indian uprising or leftovers from the war, disabled soldiers and refugees. Many wives were capable of handling a weapon and using it. Not all of society was safe from bitterness of war, robbers and malice.

While well-known wives’ – Martha Washington and Abigail Adams – efforts are better recorded, there were the others who managed with a husband away, managed without basic necessities or with limited supplies. They performed what they may have thought initially was an impossibility.

Colonialists adhered to the common law of “Coverture.” Under this provision “a married couple functioned as a unit, forcing the wife to surrender her legal identity to her husband’s ‘wing, protection and cover.’ The wife could not sign contracts, buy or sell land, file a lawsuit, write a will, own property, or control any earnings . . . even the clothes on her back became her husband’s property.”

Thus, we can surmise that given the legal limitations imposed, the mothers and wives of the signers contributed to the birth of our country with brave hearts and purpose. Let us appreciate their selfless efforts. Present was the danger of retribution and death by the appearance of their husband’s name on the new documents.

It would be a treasure to read these women’s surviving letters and hear of their experiences. Perhaps Mrs. Schuyler could tell how she burned the wheat crop to prevent the Redcoats from having it. Or, tell of how they worked to supply the Patriot Army with food from their garden and meat of their livestock.

No doubt about it, these wives and mothers contributed to the birth of a nation with as much self-sacrifice as the 56 signers. ’Til next time.