From the beginning, women in Marblehead have been strong, self-reliant and enterprising. Marblehead has always had an industrial community, starting as a commercial fishing seaport that welcomed vessels from many ports of call. Many businesses supported the fishing trade including sail making, ship building and suppliers of the vessels. Women worked in many of these trades, since a large percentage of men were often away at sea for long periods of time. They worked by necessity, but they were successful at their jobs, developing the resilience and toughness that was necessary to support their families.
There was a variety and abundance of work necessary to support the fishing and later the shoe industry, and to keep households operating in the absence of the men. Whether it was work or war that called them away, many men were not at home for large parts of each year. Beginning at around the age 8 or so, boys, with their fathers and uncles and brothers, went to sea for months at a time, fishing offshore throughout the year and on the frigid Grand Banks in spring and in fall. They also served on merchant vessels crossing the Atlantic and, later, into the Pacific. Women at home ran taverns, operated dry goods stores and worked or managed trades while their husbands were away at sea, or at war, or dead. They were part of the shore-based support industries for fishing. Wives and daughters from the earliest times labored at piece work, particularly sewing shoes in their homes for additional income or sometimes as their sole means of support. Marblehead women were hard workers as well as prolific and dedicated mothers.
Throughout their lives, Marblehead women endured unspeakable losses, as fathers, brothers, husbands and sons were lost at sea or perished on distant shores from disease, accident or maritime warfare, never to return again. Many an entry in Marblehead death records reads “fell off a mast,” “drowned off (some faraway place),” “died of (some exotic and/or debilitating disease)” contracted in foreign lands or on unsanitary ships. While many women married several times, others remained widows, often relying on their community for support. In the 1800s, those who lived to old age often died “in the poorhouse.” It was this significant social need that impelled women’s groups and churches to offer relief funds. Social welfare organizations such as the Marblehead Female Humane Society (1816) were established very early on in Marblehead.
Most women were and are part of the sisterhood of community support that has persisted throughout time, helping less fortunate neighbors and friends as much as possible. Some women made distinct contributions to social welfare, religious and academic developments, and the socio-cultural vitality of the town. In one way or another, women have contributed to the nurturing of the Marblehead community. This spirit of involvement for the betterment of the community is alive today, in the many social, health-related, environmental and cultural groups that thrive in Marblehead.
Pam Peterson chairs the Marblehead Historical Commission. She is the former Marblehead Museum executive director.
