Sarah Winslow Deming

A woman of means who educates her nieces to become accomplished ladies.

Thanks to her niece’s letters, we know that Sarah Deming was as involved in politics as an 18th century woman could be. She took part in the boycotts against taxed British imports, which meant shunning goods like tea and fabric. This wasn’t as simple as buying alternate brands, though. These boycotts required a change of lifestyle, like making clothes out of rough homespun fabric, and acceptance that their lives were diverging from the British norm.