How a 19th-Century Cookbook Can Help In the Kitchen and Out
RIHS to Present ???American Frugal Housewife??? Event With Mystic Seaport???s Katy O???Neill Day??????
(PROVIDENCE, R.I.) ??? On February 28, the Rhode Island Historical Society will present ???Learning From The American Frugal Housewife Cookbook,??? the latest in its series of food-inspired events taking place as part of Relishing RI. Katy O???Neill Day will discuss etiquette, recipes, and lessons from Lydia Marie Child???s 1829 bestseller.
Child???s The American Frugal Housewife cookbook was popular both for its unique recipes ??? including those for the first scalloped oysters and an early version of the one-crust pumpkin pie ??? as well as its practical approach to cooking. Unlike her contemporaries, Child did not assume that her readers had access to servants or staff. Instead, she sought to make her cookbook accessible to women without outside help, including those who had recently migrated to big cities or out West. She was adamant that frugality was an American virtue, dedicating her cookbook to ???those who are not ashamed of Economy.???
The cookbook offers a rare insight into the homes of these women in the early 19th century. Child is additionally known for her work as an activist for women???s rights, Native American rights, and abolitionism. Volumes of her other works, from the personal collection of Ray Rickman, will be displayed as part of the event.
O???Neill Day will offer a modern take on the cookbook, discussing its combination of recipes, detailed receipts, and maxims for living. O???Neill Day first became interested in the history of food while cooking with her grandmother Cora-Lou, who taught home economics for more than 30 years. Today, O???Neill Day can be found giving cooking demonstrations in the 19th-century kitchen of the Buckingham Hall House, part of Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Conn. She has additional experience on board historical vessels, as well as working as a costumed role player.
This free event will take place on February 28, 5:30pm, at Aldrich House, 110 Benevolent St., Providence. Those interested in attending should register at
About the Rhode Island Historical Society
Founded in 1822, the RIHS is the fourth-oldest historical society in the United States and is Rhode Island???s largest and oldest historical organization, as well as its only Smithsonian Affiliate. In Providence, the RIHS owns and operates the John Brown House Museum, a designated National Historic Landmark, built in 1788; the Aldrich House, built in 1822 and used for administration and public programs; and the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center, where archival, book and image collections are housed. In Woonsocket, the RIHS manages the Museum of Work and Culture, a community museum examining the industrial history of northern Rhode Island and of the workers and settlers, especially French-Canadians, who made it one of the state???s most distinctive areas.