Portsmouth women: madams & matriarchs who shaped New Hampshire's port city

Description

Bridget Cutt Daniel Graffort, 1651-1701 : Portsmouth's Widow Philanthropist / by Kathleen A. Shea -- Allice Shannon Hight, 1715-1780 : 18th Century Mom & Tavern Keeper / by Elizabeth P. Nowers -- Sarah Haven Foster, 1827-1900 : Grandmother of Portsmouth Tourism / by Maryellen Burke -- Ellen & Helen Gerrish, 1835-1940 : Forgotten Sailors / by Kate Ford Laird -- Mary Baker & Alta Roberts, 1855-1940 : Madams of Portsmouth's Red Light District / by Kimberly Crisp -- Susan Ricker Knox, 1874-1959 : Famed and Forgotten Artist / by Jane D. Kaufmann -- Rose Rizza Fiandaca, 1893-1980 : North End Matriarch / by Laura Pope -- Mary Carey Dondero, 1894-1960 : An End to Politics As Usual / by Denise J. Wheeler.;In the history of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, countless women rose above a rigid society to make their marks on the seaport city. In the eighteenth century, Alice Shannon Hight became a successful tavern keeper, outliving two husbands and providing for ten children. Others flourished in more scandalous ventures, like Alta Roberts, otherwise known as the Black Mystery of Portsmouth - always donned in black, she operated a successful brothel at the Roberts House Saloon in the nineteenth century. Even greater achievements would come in later years from the likes of Mary Carey Dondero, who became one of the first women elected mayor in New England. This collection of essays, compiled by author and historian Laura Pope, celebrates the victories - large and small - of Portsmouth's notable women.