Mary Pratt Swan

Mary Pratt Swan was born in Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America, in 1632. Her father was Phinehas Pratt and her mother was Mary Priest Pratt and she was one of 8 children. She married John Swann III, a native of England, and had 4 children (some sources say she had 8 or 9 children). Mary died in 1702 in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her grandfather, Degory Priest, was a passenger on the Mayflower.

The Mayflower

She was raised during a time of Puritan settlement in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Plymouth Colony was established in 1620, so Mary was raised during the very early years of English settlement in the colonies.


Early Plymouth Colony


The Cambridge area still had large march areas at this time and was very underdeveloped. Due to the rough nature of life in the colonies, Mary likely would have taken on duties not commonly undertaken by women at the time such as farming and building settlements, though Puritan colonies were much more traditional so it is difficult to determine if Mary would have worked outside of her household duties.


Map of Cambridge 1777

She also likely would have witnessed interactions and conflicts with the indigenous peoples of the Massachusett area. Mary also lived through King Philip’s War (1675-1678), during which Plymouth Colony lost a number of citizens.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weld Boathouse

Image
The Weld Boathouse The Weld Boathouse, built by the George Walker Weld family in 1906, sits on the bank of Charles river on the east side of John F. Kennedy Street. The grand boathouse is several stories high with two docs to walk down to the water. It has a reddish roof with red brick accents on a beige facade. With large arched black steel windows and two symmetrical chimneys the boathouse also features a balcony on the riverfront. Weld Boathouse from the Intersection of JFK St and Memorial Dr The boathouse sits at the halfway point of the Head of the Charles course, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The Weld family hoped the boathouse would encourage “university-wide rowing” and the house is a close walk to Harvard University, Harvard Square, and the surrounding Cambridge area. Weld Boathouse (upper right) and the Head of the Charles Regatta The boathouse has become a famous Cambridge landmark denoting one’s arrival at the historic Harvard University and Cambr...
Read more

The Tradition of Slavery in Harvard's Faculty

Image
This is an entry from Benjamin Wadsworth’s diary. Wadsworth lived from 1696 to 1737, was the pastor of the First Church of Boston from 1693 to 1725, and the 8th president of Harvard College from 1725 to 1737. In this diary entry Wadsworth discusses his purchase of a black woman named Venus. He refers to Venus as a “negro wench.” Wadsworth’s prominent role in the early foundations of Cambridge as well as his role as a religious leader can be seen as an example of the attitude many settler’s held at the time towards people of color and the slave trade. (Wadsworth, Benjamin. 1696. Papers of Benjamin Wadsworth, 1696-1736. Harvard University Archives.) Alongside his diary entries, I would also include this portrait of Benjamin Wadsworth. Placing the entries around the portrait would exemplify how Harvard’s presentation of Wadsworth glorified him but did not acknowledge or condemn his actions. ("Benjamin Wadsworth (1669/70-1737) (Unidentified Artist) (Benjamin Wadsworth) , H3,” Harvard ...
Read more

Religious Institutions and History in Cambridge

Image
Locations: First Church in Cambridge Christ Church Cambridge The First Parish Cambridge The Old Burial Ground Harvard University  Memorial Church  St. Paul’s Parish  Old Cambridge Baptist Church  The tour I have designed is a tour of religious institutions and religious history in Cambridge. Cambridge boasts some extremely historical and beautiful churches and Harvard University itself began as a seminary. The first stop will be the First Church in Cambridge which was founded in 1636 as the 11th church in Massachusetts. The next stop will be the Christ Church in Cambridge which was built in 1759 by a missionary. This church was also the sight of numerous historical civil war events. The third stop on the tour will be the First Parish Cambridge which is located right by Harvard University and is locally involved with the Y2Y homeless shelter. The fourth stop will be the Old Burial Ground connected to the First Parish Cambridge to discuss the history of the burial grou...
Read more