Sailor's Departure
Women were normally expected to remain at home while their men went to sea. While a merchant seaman could have some idea of the length of a voyage, a naval man enjoyed no such knowledge. His family lost his income and support until he returned from the sea—if he returned at all.
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The Sailor's Adieu
Nathaniel Currier, lithographer and publisher
The Mariners' Museum |
The women and children left behind attempted to survive by plying a variety of trades in ports and harbors or by returning to live with their families in rural areas. Some women survived, though in poverty, by providing needed services such as laundry, sewing, or mending; by selling supplies, food, or mementos; or by running taverns and boarding houses for sailors coming into port.
 | Looking Out to Sea
George Hitchcock
The Mariners' Museum |
Activity:
Discussion questions:
What types of jobs would be available to women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Would there be a difference in what a married or single woman could do? Brainstorm how jobs have changed for women in the twenty-first century. Check your theories at the section on Modern Women. |
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Section 1 of 4 |
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