A Woman’s Place

From the establishment of Mrs. Abby Fisher & Company to the publication of What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Old Southern Cooking, Abby Fisher demonstrated not only her business acumen but her intelligence and professionalism, making visible the labor of Black women in the domestic sphere.

Catharine Beecher was one of the earliest and most prominent domestic advisors of the nineteenth century, whose work shaped the domestic science movement’s complicated–and often contradictory–views on motherhood.

While there was no single originator of domestic science, Ellen Swallow Richards was a public health expert whose career was dedicated to applying scientific principles to home life. Her approach was simultaneously constructive for and damaging to women, which makes her legacy challenging to untangle.

A leader in the principles that defined the modern correctional educational movement, Janie Porter Barrett dedicated her life to social reform and social justice, envisioning the correctional system as a place of fostering relationships, trust, and community.

Louisa Knapp Curtis was the co-founder and first editor of Ladies Home Journal, one of the most popular magazines in American history. She was a trailblazing presence in early publishing for the way she used the Journal to create an engaging and empowering community for women.

Lucy Craft Laney was a groundbreaking teacher, founder and activist who spent her life advocating for the rights of Black youth and women in the South. Her relationship with domestic subjects was complex; she taught them, but only so her students could safely gain access to rigorous academic training.

Malinda Russell was a champion of validating and celebrating Black women as trained and skilled professionals in the culinary arts, particularly in the realm of baking.

Margaret Murray Washington worked tirelessly to equip young Black women for success in a society that didn’t value them. She is an undervalued leader of domestic science who illuminates the field’s purpose in a Black, Southern, rural context.

Maria Parloa was one of the most influential culinary figures of the nineteenth century. Her work as a teacher, author and entrepreneur increased the cultural and financial value of culinary instruction and served as a career model many women have since followed.

An exceptional writer and nationally recognized domestic authority, a “genius in the art of homemaking,” Marion Harland elaborated the glorified woman’s role through her myriad books and articles and was devoted to elevating the morality and divinity of housework.

Fighting racism and sexism and with access to few resources, Nannie Helen Burroughs dedicated her life to providing quality education to young Black women, with a mission to enhance their personal, moral, and intellectual development.