| abstract |
This paper focuses on the life and work of a prominent writer and historian, Anne
Hollingsworth Wharton (1845-1928). Wharton wrote more than fifteen books over the
course of her lifetime including, genealogical surveys, American social histories and,
later in life, travel literature and fiction. Beginning with the publication of Wharton's
genealogy of her own prominent Philadelphia family, Genealogy of the Wharton Family
of Philadelphia: 1664 to 1880 (1880), Wharton's professional life as a writer and expert
on historical topics expanded to eventually include not only books, but countless
magazine articles, editorial efforts and public addresses. With Through Colonial
Doorways (1893), Wharton began to publish regularly on Colonial, Revolutionary and
Early Republic periods in American history including a children's book, several social
histories, and the popular biography Martha Washington (1897).
As a historian, Wharton's efforts served to educate an American public on
common national themes, while preparing readers for the rapidly changing world of a
new century. Wharton's research and writings were crucial in shaping memory of our
nation's beginnings. Today, Wharton's writings remain foundational to academic
research particularly in the area of social history.
In addition to considering Wharton's professional life, this dissertation addresses
Wharton as a single woman living in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Women during this period are often viewed in light of Victorian ideals of domesticity.
Wharton's life stands in direct contrast to this assumption. Her often progressive ideals
and affiliation with women's organizations stand in sharp contrast to assumptions of
women historians of the period. As a single woman and head of her household, Wharton
chose to participate in many civic and social endeavors to effectuate change within her
chosen city, Philadelphia.
While Wharton was writing, the "historical enterprise" was changing. As the
work of history became professionalized, interest in social history waned, only to be
resurrected in the 1960s and 1970s as the New Social History, a sub-field. Today there is
an effort for historians to reconnect with a public audience, while public history
seemingly has become an area of academic interest. This paper not only addresses
Wharton's life and work, but also considers the value of early social history, writing for
the public, the choices made by the historical profession relative to a public audience, and
the more recent rise of public history as an academic focus.
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