Ledger.12.jpg
A page from the Luke Ledger, 1832.
For most young women in early Missisquoi County, the teen years marked the end of their formal education and an entrance into the working world. Many young women were hired as domestics for neighbouring families, performing such chores as laundry, sewing, cooking, cleaning and child care. Not unlike the youth of today, some young women chose to spend their earnings on the latest fashions. Betsey Rhinehart and Hannah Kreller, for example, both worked as domestics for Philip Luke and paid for their purchases in his store through their labour. Hannah's purchase of a "Navarino bonnet" indicates that she was keeping her eyes on the fashion of the day. Navarino bonnets were typically covered with silk bows and had a tall crown extending up to 54 inches (1 m, 37 cm) in the extreme; certainly a frivolous bonnet in the village of Philipsburg. (Missisquoi Historical Society Collections)
For most young women in early Missisquoi County, the teen years marked the end of their formal education and an entrance into the working world. Many young women were hired as domestics for neighbouring families, performing such chores as laundry, sewing, cooking, cleaning and child care. Not unlike the youth of today, some young women chose to spend their earnings on the latest fashions. Betsey Rhinehart and Hannah Kreller, for example, both worked as domestics for Philip Luke and paid for their purchases in his store through their labour. Hannah's purchase of a "Navarino bonnet" indicates that she was keeping her eyes on the fashion of the day. Navarino bonnets were typically covered with silk bows and had a tall crown extending up to 54 inches (1 m, 37 cm) in the extreme; certainly a frivolous bonnet in the village of Philipsburg. (Missisquoi Historical Society Collections)