Daughters of the Revolution: Martha and Elisabeth Ryan’s Cyphering Book, Circa 1780

Abstract

There are three independently remarkable characteristics of this manuscript, and there is a fourth feature which is also of special interest. The first extraordinary characteristic is the patriotic fervor of the two sisters who prepared it. Illustrations of ships and patriotic inscriptions reflecting the Revolutionary times—such as “Liberty,” “George Washington,” and “Poor freedom is better than rich slavery”—are to be found on many of the pages. The second extraordinary aspect of this manuscript is that although it was prepared by two teenage sisters around 1780 the arithmetic went well beyond the rule of three to topics like alligation, fellowship, equation of payments, and single and double false position—it was very unusual for females at that time to study such topics. The third, and most obvious, remarkable aspect of the manuscript is the extremely high quality of the penmanship, calligraphy and artwork. Martha and Elisabeth Ryan lived in North Carolina, and this manuscript is an example of an early “southern” cyphering book—of which relatively few of those prepared by girls have survived.