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Widow Pratt’s Possessions: Individuality and Georgianization in Newport, Rhode Island

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The Materiality of Individuality

Abstract

The widow and shopkeeper Elizabeth Pratt lived in Newport, Rhode Island, during the first half of the eighteenth century, as Newport grew from a minor port to a commercial and cultural center (Fig. 1). Pratt was one of many entrepreneurial traders in the town. During the 1720s and 1730s, her store of goods included finished clothing, accessories, at least 16 types of coarse and fine textiles, and comestibles such as chocolate, sugar, pepper, butter, and coffee. Pratt sometimes rented a shop for her goods. She also likely sold items from her small house on Spring Street. Pratt lived there from 1723 through at least 1739, probably through 1749. This small lot, now known as the “Wood Lot,” is part of the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard historic site, which is owned and maintained by the Newport Historical Society. The existence of Widow Pratt and her household was forgotten until recent archaeological excavations (Hodge, 2007).

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  1. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Christina J. Hodge

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  1. Anthropology Dept., University of Nevada, Reno, N. Virginia Street 1664, Reno, 89557-0096, U.S.A.

    Carolyn White

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Hodge, C.J. (2009). Widow Pratt’s Possessions: Individuality and Georgianization in Newport, Rhode Island. In: White, C. (eds) The Materiality of Individuality. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0498-0_11

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