THE PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM
Presents
TALKS ON THE LIFE AND LABOR OF ELIZABETH PORTER PHELPS
In Conjunction With
FAMILY DAY, September 19, 2009

HADLEY, MA—On Saturday, September 19th, 2009, noted scholars Kristina Nies and Elizabeth Pendergast Carlisle will speak on the life and labor of Elizabeth Porter Phelps (1747-1817) at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum’s annual Family Day. The presentations will begin at 2:00 p.m., and the event is free and open to the public.

Kristina Nies’ paper, which explores Elizabeth Porter Phelps’ cheesemaking, is entitled, “What Did Elizabeth Porter Phelps’s Cheese Taste Like?” In addition to the various crops and animals raised by Charles and Elizabeth Porter Phelps at their “Forty Acres” farmstead, the family also presided over a thriving dairy operation, producing milk, butter, and cheese for sale. Most of the work involved in the family’s dairy business fell to Elizabeth, and she continued to labor at cheesemaking into her old age. By all accounts, the cheese produced by Elizabeth Porter Phelps was regionally renowned for its quality.
Nies is an expert in 18th century dairy production, having received her master’s degree in Gastronomy from Boston University in September 2008, where she completed her thesis entitled: “Chore, Craft & Business: Cheesemaking in 18th Century Massachusetts.” She has presented her research at the PCA and ASFS conferences. She has been published in the Boston Globe, Edible Boston and Appetite. Her paper promises to shed some interesting light on this integral and profitable piece of the Porter-Phelps’s farmstead.

Elizabeth Pendergast Carlisle holds master’s degrees in English and Art History, as well as a doctorate in Museum Studies. In 2004, Simon and Schuster published her first book, Earthbound and Heavenbent: Elizabeth Porter Phelps and Life at Forty Acres, 1747-1817. The book provides a fascinating profile of Elizabeth and her family, as Carlisle uses her extensive diary entries as a window through which to interpret the lives of those living and working at Forty Acres and the critical epoch of American history in which they lived. Carlisle will give a talk entitled “The Role of Writing in the Life of Elizabeth Porter Phelps.” The talk will focus on the important role that the written word played in Elizabeth’s life, focusing especially on the diary she kept throughout her life. The talks will be followed by a question and answer session, and then our annual family story swap. The public is welcome at the story swap, as it is an opportunity for all to learn more about the last three or four generations of family not currently represented at Forty Acres.

Descendants of Moses and Elizabeth Pitkin Porter are also invited to come to the Museum before the talks on Family Day. Events will include a tour of the museum at 11:00 a.m., a picnic on the back veranda at noon, and a family portrait at 1:30 p.m. Following the talks by Nies and Carlisle, family members are encouraged to tell about a special parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle. This is a chance for family to get to know one another and to discover common threads in their relatives’ histories. There will be ample informal time just to meet and get to know extended family.

This event is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, located at 130 River Drive (Route 47) in Hadley. For more information, please call (413) 584-4699, or go to HYPERLINK "http://www.pphmuseum.org" http://www.pphmuseum.org.