Annis Boudinot Stockton

Annis and her husband, delegate to the First Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence Richard Stockton, often hosted other leading Revolutionaries, including George and Martha Washington, at Morven, their home in Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1789, as Washington passed through Trenton on his way to be inaugurated as President of the United States, the townswomen sung her poem Welcome, Mighty Chief, Once More.

When Stockton’s husband fell ill and died in 1781, she became a widow of femme sole status, which would have made her eligible to vote in the state of New Jersey.

Princeton University Art Museum / Art Resource, NY

Annis Boudinot Stockton wrote this letter to Continental Congress member Jacob Read in 1784. She discussed news of the sudden departure of Benjamin Hawkins from the Continental Congress, perhaps because of "domestic" trouble. She also chastised other members of Congress for gambling. Stockton’s gossip deftly influenced political relationships and, thereby, shaped policy.

Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton, NJ. Gift of Robert N. Wilson