Noble Deeds of American Women: With Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent

In Short

This collection functions as a Victorian-era gallery of moral and physical courage, showcasing women who navigated the demands of the American Revolution, frontier settlement, and missionary work. By documenting these lives, the work seeks to provide "patterns for daily imitation" for its readers. It has endured as a primary source for understanding how mid-19th-century society codified female virtue, blending domestic piety with a rugged, frontier-hardened independence. It is an act of historical reclamation, intended to ensure that the contributions of women were not lost to posterity.

The Story

The narrative arc of the book is not a single linear plot, but a collective portrait of endurance that spans the early history of the American experience. It begins with the domestic stability of figures like Martha Washington, who is framed as the ultimate model of dignity and "practical duties." From this foundation of colonial order, the stories move outward into the chaos of conflict. We encounter women forced to negotiate with soldiers, defend their homes from attack, and manage estates while their husbands were away at war. The tension escalates as the setting shifts from the organized parlors of the East to the perilous wilderness of the Kentucky frontier.

In these lawless territories, the stakes become life-or-death. The narrative highlights women like Mrs. Merrill, who defended her cabin against an Indian attack with an axe, and the Martin sisters, who used tactical deception to capture British dispatch riders. These exploits are presented not as aberrations, but as evidence of a latent, iron-willed strength. As the country moves toward the mid-19th century, the focus shifts from physical defense to social and spiritual labor. Figures like Mrs. Judson, a missionary in Burma, embody the transition toward global humanitarianism, enduring chronic illness and long separations to further their religious causes.

The final movement of the book chronicles the rise of institutional philanthropy. The efforts of women to fund the Bunker Hill Monument through fairs—moving from sewing circles to managing thousands of dollars—demonstrate a shift in influence from private endurance to public organization. The book concludes with the tireless work of figures like Margaret Prior, who moved through the "houses of infamy" in New York City to provide moral guidance, and Dorothea Dix, whose work in reforming institutions for the vulnerable serves as the culmination of the book’s vision. Each story affirms the same trajectory: from the private home to the public sphere, the American woman acts as the moral anchor of the nation, using her influence to refine, protect, and heal. The stories end by cementing these women as secular saints, whose suffering and labor were necessary to build the framework of a civilized society.

How It Unfolds

The foundation of domestic duty The book establishes the home as the primary site of character formation. It argues that women like Martha Washington achieved greatness by bringing quiet, steady order to the spheres they were permitted to govern.

The crucible of revolution The focus shifts to the era of the American Revolution, where women’s virtue is tested by the presence of invading forces. Here, "noble deeds" involve the protection of property and the defense of husbands from capture.

Frontier survival The narrative moves to the violent isolation of the western territories. These stories highlight the necessity of physical self-reliance, where a woman’s ability to wield a weapon or hold a prisoner at gunpoint becomes essential for the survival of her family.

The missionary impulse As the scope expands, the narrative tracks women who leave the United States to labor in foreign fields. Their heroism is defined by endurance, religious zeal, and the ability to navigate complex cultural and physical dangers.

The age of public reform The final section documents the organization of women into a powerful, collective force. Through the creation of charities, schools, and monument funds, the text illustrates how female influence became a structured, permanent feature of American civic life.

The People

Martha Washington serves as the archetypal matriarch, defined by her composure and her ability to manage extensive estates, setting a standard for "feminine proprieties." Mrs. Judson represents the martyr-missionary, whose health is sacrificed for the sake of global religious expansion, demonstrating a relentless, singular focus. Mrs. Merrill and the Martin sisters act as the "Amazons" of the text; they are defined by their quick wit and physical audacity, turning the tables on their adversaries in the heat of danger. Mrs. Howe offers a more complex study in resilience, navigating the precarious reality of being a captive and a slave, where her "purity" and manners serve as her only shields against exploitation. Finally, figures like Margaret Prior and Dorothea Dix emerge as the modern reformers. They are the most sophisticated participants in the narrative, leveraging their moral authority to enter the darkest corners of urban poverty and institutional neglect, transforming their personal piety into broad, systematic social change.

In Its Own Voice

"Facts are more sublime than fictions; and American women have actually performed all the good, and grand, and glorious deeds which the honest and judicious novelist dares ascribe to the female sex."

(The author asserts in the preface that historical reality is more compelling than any invented tale.)

"The patriotic spirit of the mothers of the Revolution was now warm in the hearts of their daughters, and ten thousand hands, engaged in the work of preparation, were 'plying the needle with exquisite art.'"

(This passage captures the transition from domestic labor to organized civic action during the effort to complete the Bunker Hill Monument.)

"The sweet communion I have with my Saviour more than compensates me for all I suffer."

(The book presents this as the ultimate justification for a life of extreme, prolonged physical agony.)

What It's Really About

The central argument is that the character of the American nation is essentially domestic in its origin but public in its impact. The book posits that "noble deeds" are not merely the products of battlefield glory, but of the persistence of the female spirit against adversity. It asks: How does a society measure the worth of a life? Its answer lies in the total surrender of the self to duty—whether that duty is managing a plantation, defending a cabin, or converting the "heathen." It defends the idea that a woman’s sphere, if properly occupied, is as consequential to history as the actions of any chief magistrate.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of gender roles will find this book a fascinating, if sometimes rigid, artifact of mid-19th-century thought. It provides a rare look at how the American public was encouraged to view the "heroic" female figure in 1857. The prose is earnest and elevated, reflecting the high-minded sentimentality of its era.

However, a modern reader must be prepared for the book's limitations. The tone is heavily didactic, and the perspective is deeply rooted in the exclusionary social attitudes of the time. The accounts of interactions with Native Americans and the enslaved are filtered through an aggressive colonial and missionary bias that modern readers will find jarring and problematic. There is little room for nuance here; the world is divided into the pious and the "abandoned." Yet, there is something moving about the raw, desperate survival stories buried within these pages. If you can move past the moralizing, you will find a visceral, sometimes brutal account of what it meant for women to live on the knife-edge of a developing nation. It is a slow, methodical read that asks you to inhabit a mindset where duty is the primary language of existence. It stays with you not for its literary polish, but for the stark, unshakable resolve it ascribes to its subjects.