Female Harvesters

Female Harvesters. . , An over 62-acre property in the early 19th century, Cliveden was a place of agricultural labor for women living in Germantown and Mt Airy. Local women and children assisted with harvesting crops including potatoes, cutting hay and raking leaves. By age 10, girls worked alongside their mothers to help both in the household and larger community, a typical practice in the region., Financial accounts from farm managers Henry Nickum and James Petit list the names and wages for the local women and children employed at Cliveden. Some of the women are known by name and others by their association with a male family member. Family names include Ricker, Axe, Ottinger, Crout, Buddy, Adams, Shaffer and Keyser. Census records show that many of these families lived in close proximity to each other., Peggy Patton , Living in German Township, Margaret "Peggy" Patton was listed as the head of her household on the 1800 census. At that time she was living with two other women, possibly her children, one between 10 and 15 years old and the other over 25. Peggy was over 45. In farm accounts from 1801, Peggy, sometimes listed as "Old Peggy," was paid for harvesting potatoes and raking with her children.