Women represent almost 15% of the overall population in People of the Founding Era. This small number reflects the largely male-centered world that is represented in the documents of the Founding Fathers. It is testimony to the fact that women are often missing from the documentary record. Users of PFE will also note that women practiced very few occupations. In many cases women may have practiced professions or earned income in ways that have not been recorded in the historical record. The inclusion of the Dolley Madison Digital Edition and the Papers of Eliza Lucas Pinckney and Harriott Pinckney Horry help to offset this inbalance. Wherever possible, we have added records for wives and daughters in an attempt to create full nuclear families. This will help users trace the important social networks that existed between men and women through marriage and genetics. These often overlooked connections are critical for a fuller understanding of the Founding Era.
PFE was developed with generous grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It is a publication of Documents Compass, a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities at the University of Virginia. © 2013–2024, University of Virginia Press, All rights reserved. ISBN 978-0-8139-3253-8