Hudson River’s Historic Women Illuminated in Upcoming Lecture

Local Author and Docent Mary Mistler Comes to Hudson River Maritime Museum as part of Women’s History Month

December 12, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kerry Gallagher, Director of Education

KINGSTON, N.Y. (December 12, 2023) – The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to celebrate Women’s History Month with the upcoming lecture “Ladies of the Valley: Women of the Hudson Valley’s Great Estates” by Mary Mistler, author of a book of the same title. The lecture is presented as part of the Museum's on-going Follow The River Series, sponsored by Rondout Savings Bank, and will be held in-person at the Wooden Boat School on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $7 for the general public and free for Hudson River Maritime Museum members. To register, visit www.hrmm.org/lecture-series.

Mistler’s presentation will highlight several of the women of the Hudson River’s major estates and offer insights and anecdotes from their lives, which largely reflect women’s changing roles over centuries.

With names like Astor, Roosevelt, and Livingston, the women featured in “Ladies of the Valley” were born into families of great privilege, owners of large tracts of land in the Hudson Valley. These women were mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of wealthy landowners, and were often left in charge of these estates while the men were off pursuing political, military and business glories. Despite little education in these fields, these women often took on the roles of farmer, landlord, accountant, merchant, horticulturist and nurse to do what was required to maintain their families, their employees, and their properties. At the same time, they worked to fulfill their roles as society matrons, matriarchs, and philanthropists in the society of New York City and the Hudson Valley, overseeing the education of their children, arranging appropriate marriages, and insuring their heirs’ successes in that small society of Old New York.

Presenter Mary Mistler has lived in the Hudson Valley area for most of her life, has worked as an administrator and teacher, and has volunteered as a docent at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Vanderbilt Mansion and the Wilderstein Historic Site. In 2020, she published her book, Ladies of the Valley: Women of the Great Estates of the Hudson Valley. 

About the Follow the River Lecture Series
For more than a decade, the Hudson River Maritime Museum's "Follow the River Lecture Series" has hosted historians, authors, and maritime experts for engaging, illustrated talks on a variety of regional history and maritime subjects. In recent years, many of the lectures have also been recorded and are available on YouTube. For more information about upcoming lectures and to access recordings of past lectures, visit www.hrmm.org/lecture-series. The series is sponsored by Rondout Savings Bank.

The Hudson River Maritime Museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries and related industries. In addition to extensive collections documenting maritime transportation, industry, recreation, and natural science, the museum offers classes and programs at its Wooden Boat School, Sailing and Rowing School, and aboard Solaris, the 100% solar powered tour boat and floating classroom. The museum is located along the historic Rondout waterfront in downtown Kingston. Visit www.hrmm.org for more information.

Photos
Photo 1 – Mary Mistler
Photo 2 – Cover of Ladies of the Valley: Women of the Hudson Valley’s Great Estates

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