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Secondary sourceBook1898

The Historic Tea-Party of Edenton, October 25th, 1774

Richard Dillard · 1898

An 1898 booklet by Richard Dillard giving an early detailed account of the Edenton Tea Party Penelope Barker organized.

This early biography and study is devoted to recounting the Edenton Tea Party that Barker organized and led.

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The Historic Tea-Party of Edenton, October 25th, 1774PDF · 24 pages
Richard Dillard, The Historic Tea-Party of Edenton, October 25th, 1774, 1898. Scanned book, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This short book, written by Richard Dillard and published in 1898, is one of the earliest detailed accounts of the Edenton Tea Party of October 25, 1774. It is dedicated to a local historical association and includes a reproduction of a portrait said to be of Penelope Barker, described as President of the Edenton Tea-Party.

Why it matters

Written more than a century after the event, this booklet shaped how later generations remembered Barker and the Edenton protest. It shows how local historians preserved and shaped the story of women's political activism in the Revolution for future readers.

Look closer

  • Why might a writer in 1898 want to document an event from 1774 in such detail?
  • What biases or gaps might appear in a history written over a hundred years after the event?
  • How does the dedication to a historical association tell us about who valued this story and why?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Penelope Barker on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Penelope Barker sources

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Black-and-white engraved print of a woman with light hair pulled back, wearing a low-necked 18th-century gown with lace trim and holding a small flower bud. Below the image is a printed caption naming Mrs. Penelope Barker.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Penelope Barker

Exterior of a two-story white clapboard house with weathered wooden siding on its upper gable, two tall red brick chimneys rising above the roofline, multi-pane sash windows, dark shutters, and a porch with white columns and railing against a blue sky with wispy clouds.Artifact

Primary source

Barker House, Edenton

Thomas and Penelope Barker · c. 1782

Printed broadside of the Continental Association, dated Philadelphia, October 20, 1774, with large headline text and columns of dense type. Lists of signatures of delegates from colonies are printed at the bottom. Handwritten marks and notes appear at the lower left.Document

Primary source

Continental Association

First Continental Congress · 20 October 1774

Scanned newspaper clipping in old black-letter type. At top is a letter extract from North Carolina dated Oct. 27, describing provincial deputies resolving not to drink tea, followed by an Edenton resolution dated Oct. 25, 1774, and a two-column list of signatures of 51 women, including Abigail Charlton, Mary Blount, and Elizabeth Johnston.Newspaper article

Primary source

Edenton Tea Party Resolves and 51 Signatures

16 January 1775

Engraved print in grey tones of a 1775 satirical scene: a group of fashionably dressed women in tall hairstyles gather around a draped table in an interior with a window and curtains. One woman writes at the table while others look on; a dog and a small seated child figure appear in the foreground, and men stand at the left doorway. Caption reads 'A Society of Patriotic Ladies, at Edenton in North Carolina' with publication details below.Painting

Primary source

A Society of Patriotic Ladies at Edenton in North Carolina

Philip Dawe · 25 March 1775

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