The Hero in a Dress
By Trinity Copeland
There are a few reasons why I chose to write about Penelope Barker . I chose to write about her because I wanted to learn about a girl
in history, for a change, instead of a boy. I also chose her because she is a girl and I am a girl! I wanted to feel like I could be a hero!
Penelope Barker was born in Chowan County, North Carolina in 1728. While she was still in her teens, her father and sister both died . Penelope began to handle her father’s plantation and took over her sister , Elizabeth ‘ s spot, caring for her children.
She married John Hodgson at a young age and was widowed at age 19. When her husband, John, died, she was left with two children of her own and a niece and two nephews, from her husband’s previous marriage. Penelope also had a large estate to manage.
Not too long after, Penelope married James Craven and they had three children. When she was 27 years old James died . He had no other family , so she got all of his estate and became the richest woman in North Carolina.
Thomas Barker was Penelope’s third husband. They had three children, but none of them lived for more than 11months. Penelope Barker was a one-of-a-kind woman in lots of ways, but she is mostly known for one thing . She is famous for hosting the Edenton Tea Party. She and 50 other women signed a declaration. The declaration protested unfair British taxes on the colonists. There was a Boston Tea Party, which inspired Penelope to host the one in Edenton. Penelope helped to make a change in our community and she is still a hero today because of what she did.
Penelope and the 50 women said this: “We, the ladyes of Edenton do hereby solemnly(sol-um-ly) engage not to conform to ye pernicious (per ni-shus) custom of drinking Tea or that we, the aforesaid (a-for-sed) Ladyes, will not promote ye wear of any manufacture from England until such time acts which ten to enslave this our Native country shall be repealed.” Barker said, “Maybe it has only been men who have protested the king up to now. That only means we women have taken too long to let our voices be heard. We are signing our names to a document, not hiding ourselves behind costumes like the men in Boston did at their tea party. The British will know who we are.”
Penelope Barker had lots of great character traits. Here are some:
She was caring because she took care of her sisters. She was brave, because she was the first woman to stand up against politics. She was courageous because she stood up for what she believed. She believed in fair government taxes. Penelope showed responsibility when she took over her father’s plantation, property and children. She also had to take care of her sister’s children when she died. Penelope could be called spunky, daring, bold, strong, resilient and irrepressible. Penelope died in 1796, she had lived a good life and made a change in the lives of her community. That makes her a hero!
