Domestic Beings - The Eighteenth-Century Woman explores New England in the 1700s from the perspective of middling and working class women. The audience engages in an investigation of surviving original material that includes diary entries, letters, paintings, and objects to gain greater understanding of what it meant to be an English woman in America prior to the Revolutionary War. This program is part of a series that investigates New England’s diverse populations.

Gail White Usher is an educator and researcher working in New England’s history. She is the Education Coordinator for Historic New England Roseland Cottage and Arnold House and is based at Roseland Cottage in Woodstock, Connecticut. Gail is a principle of Through 18th Century Eyes, a group that presents programs and lectures on diverse topics informing on life in New England to audiences at historic sites and public venues. These include Historic Deerfield, the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Fort Ticonderoga, and most recently the Mashantucket Pequot Museum. She is the current Chairperson of the Woodstock Historic District Commission.

Gail’s research centers on women in the 17th and 18th centuries, domestic life, and reform movements in New England. She is particularly fascinated by the dynamic interactions between cultures and the personal stories of individuals