Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-05-02
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Emily J. Whitted, Ph.D. Candidate in Early American History, UMass Amherst
Patching, managing, maintaining: in the home of one of America’s richest men, women contributed, without recognition, to a prosperity that eluded them.
At his death in 1831, Stephen Girard – merchant, banker, and philanthropist from Philadelphia – wasthe richest man in the United States. In his will, he bequeathed to the city of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, Northeastern United States) an exceptional gift ofabout 6 million dollars, or nearly194 million euros today.
Girard specifically requested that part of this sum be used to establish a boarding school intended for poor and orphaned white boys. Today, this institution, which welcomes students from primary school through high school, is known asGirard Collegeand admits students from disadvantaged backgrounds, without distinction of race or gender. The institution inherited material belongings from Girard, including furniture, personal papers, and clothing — among which was a pair of silk stockings extensively patched.
Their preservation may be surprising: why did the richest man in the United States wear mended clothes? As atextile historian, specialized in mending work in early America, I studied the stitches used to repair Girard’s stockings, as well as his rich archives.
Cross-referenced, these historical sources allowed me to uncover new elements about the value of textiles in America at that time, as well as about the role of women – especially those who worked in the house of the wealthy merchant – in the economic growth of the country.
What these stockings tell us
Textiles were used daily by almost all Americans of the colonial era and the early Republic and often constitutedthe most precious possessions one could have.
Despite large-scale mechanization, they were expensive due to the cost of raw materials and the skilled labor required to manufacture the fabrics; they were also frequently imported. At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, the United States saw the emergence of a national textile industry, but many Americans continued to import fabrics from abroad, notably from Great Britain and France.and India. Girard’s household bills show that he regularly bought a large part of his clothes – including his silk stockings – in France.
The high value of textiles at that time explains why even the wealthiest households rarely threw away damaged clothes. Instead, they were repaired using needles and thread. While some men also practiced mending, the vast majority of this work wascarried out by women.
The menders: Sally, Polly and Hannah
Within Girard’s household, at least three women were responsible for darning his silk stockings and his other clothes.
Although Girard was married,his wife Mary was institutionalized for mental illnessAt the Pennsylvania hospital in 1790, and the couple had no children. In Mary’s absence, Girard had several mistresses who acted as housekeepers: Sally Bickham, a Quaker woman whom Girard describes in a letter as a “tayloress,” that is, a seamstress, and Polly Kenton, a laundress. As part of their work, they managed domestic affairs and Girard’s purchases, ensuring the smooth running of his daily life.
Furthermore, a black woman named Hannah Brown, originally from Saint-Domingue, a former French colony corresponding today to Haiti, wasenslaved within the Girard householdfor more than forty years. And this, even while thelaw of progressive abolitionadopted in Pennsylvania in 1780 should have guaranteed him freedom within six months of his arrival in the United States. Progressive abolition was applied there only unevenly, allowing slave owners like Girard to circumvent its effects. Themerchant’s testamentfinally granted freedom to Hannah Brown.
All three worked in Girard’s service: they mended his stockings, handled the daily household tasks, and took care of the maintenance of the house. Thethree mending techniques visible on her stockings– like theSwiss darning, woven darning or even heel reinforcement – are all material traces of their work, alongside written archives such as household bills, letters, and receipts.
In the early days of the United States, many women, free or enslaved, performed unpaid domestic work. Yet, this work was a vital force in national economic growth in the early 19th century. Across the country, men like Girard encouraged and profited from industrialization and the expansion of commercial activities; but it was the unpaid domestic work of women that made their participation and profits possible.
If the inhabitants of Philadelphia today do not see their names on the major streets or on the city’s buildings, the combined efforts of Sally, Polly, and Hannah — hidden in Girard’s shoes and overshadowed by the extent of his historical legacy in Philadelphia — were essential to its economic success.
Emily J. Whitted received funding from The Library Company of Philadelphia.
–ref. In the patched-up socks of the richest man in the United States, the forgotten work of American women –https://theconversation.com/in-the-underside-patches-of-the-richest-man-in-the-united-states-the-forgotten-work-of-american-women-282019