By Gretchen Beilfuss Witt
Rowan Public Library

Rowan Public Library’s History Room has a few new volumes exploring the important contributions made by women in the historic events of the United States. Sudie Doggett Wike’s “Women in the American Revolution” examines the revolution from the perspective of the women who participated in it. She opens the book with a piece on Mercy Otis Warren, who was a lifelong friend of John Adams and knew many of the founding fathers and corresponded with them. They valued her ideas and her friendship. Mercy wrote the first history of the American Revolution, “The History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution,” published in 1805. Wike also writes about experiences and battles in both northern and southern theaters. She includes some earlier events that are connected to the Revolution including the Regulator movement in North Carolina and relations with the Cherokee. Women played important roles in the success of the fight for Independence.

Along with Wike’s book, the History Room has acquired a copy of Cynthia A. Kierner’s “The Tory’s Wife” about Jane Spurgin, the wife of William Spurgin, a Rowan County farmer and justice of the peace. William Spurgin is the only Rowan County magistrate who maintained his loyalty to the king throughout the Revolution, fighting as an officer with the loyalist militia. Jane Welborn Spurgin was a Whig and espoused the cause of independence. She and her husband spent much of the war apart. They had 12 children, many of whom lived with her. As was her right, Jane petitioned the North Carolina legislature to return the land confiscated from her family during the war due to her husband’s loyalty. Kierner’s fascinating story of how the war affected a “backcountry” Carolina family and their fortunes.

Women’s activity in history is not always easy to find. From Colonial and Revolutionary times up through recent decades, women were tied to either husbands, fathers or brothers. They often lost their specific identities because they adopt their husband’s surname. Name changes can make tracing women in records more complicated and genealogically more difficult. If you are interested in tracing the women in your family, a genealogy class will be offered Saturday, March 22, at RPL South (China Grove) from 10-11 a.m. in the meeting room. This genealogical class, designed for adults, is co-hosted by the Genealogical Society of Rowan County and RPL’s Edith M. Clark History Room. Registration is suggested but not required. To register online, go to https://bit.ly/RPL_Gen_Women. To learn more, call 704-216-8232 or email Gretchen.Witt@rowancountync.gov. Hope to see you there!