Unlike my usual historical shitposting after clambering out of a research rabbit hole, today I present an actual historical post...
Sarah Manning Vaughan
(1754-1834)
Source: American Philosophical Society, courtesy of the Vaughan Homestead. Artist Unknown.
The above is a portrait of Sarah Manning (Sarah Manning Vaughan after marriage). She was an elder sister of Martha Manning Laurens, John Laurens’ wife, making her Laurens’ sister in law.
Though older, Sarah married later than Martha, as she had to wait for her husband to complete a medical degree (a condition of marriage, as her father had very different views to her husband, and stipulated he had to get a medical degree first).
Sarah was married to Benjamin Vaughan, a frequent correspondent of Benjamin Franklin. She and Vaughan did not live in America until 1797, after Vaughan was forced to flee England due to his radical political and religious beliefs. They settled on the Kennebec River with their seven children, in the Vaughan Homestead, which still stands as a house museum today.
Sarah was widely known as being very well educated, and insisting on the importance of children’s education. She and Vaughan owned a library of over 10,000 books, which rivalled Harvard’s at the time.
Though Sarah is apparently around 36 years old in this portrait (older than Martha ever was) it is interesting to wonder how alike they may have looked! As far as I’m aware (& I could be wrong) no portraits of Martha exist.
Source information here
