Women and the American Revolution on Long Island

During the American Revolution, Long Island remained under British occupation for more than seven years — longer than anywhere else in the country.

On Friday, March 20, the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library will host a conference exploring how women across the island endured and navigated that extraordinary period in history. The conference, “Women and the American Revolution on Long Island,” will take place Friday, March 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, at 407 William Floyd Parkway in Shirley.

Featured Presentations

Natalie A. Naylor will present “Surviving the Ordeal: Long Island Women During the Revolutionary Era.” Naylor is a retired professor of history at Hofstra University and one of Long Island’s foremost historians.

Melanie Cardone-Leathers will present “Bearing the Nation: Enslaved Women, Labor, and the Creation of the United States.” A Certified Archivist, she is Head of the Thomas R. Bayles Local History Room at Longwood Public Library.

Karly Hoenzsch will present “Pacifism is Not Neutrality: Quaker Women and the ‘Answer of Peace’ during America’s Founding.” She is Director of Library Program and Information Resources at Friends Academy in Locust Valley and manages the Friends Academy archives, which contain more than 300 years of historical records documenting Quaker life on Long Island.

Diane Schwindt will present “Unspoken: Lice, Lard, and Lust, or, the 18th-Century Woman’s Battle Against the Odds.” A culinary and cultural historian and founder of Stirring Up History, Schwindt has spent more than two decades researching early American foodways and domestic life.

The conference will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and will include a continental breakfast, refreshments during the program, and a networking and dessert reception beginning at 1:30 p.m.

During the program’s 1:30 p.m. networking break, attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy desserts based on authentic 18th-century recipes, including ice cream and cake attributed to Martha Washington, offering a taste of the era explored in the conference presentations.

The event is free and open to the general public, though registration is required. Click here to register, To register or to learn more about the program call 631-399-1511.