THE GOOD WIFE Elizabeth Bray Allen

Image created by Katie Nelson
gown held in the Colonial Williamsburg Costume Collection

What makes a good wife? In 1700s Virginia, there was one clear path for colonial women: Marry. Have children. Preserve the family wealth. Fail at this, and you’ve failed at life. But what if the family wealth you were tasked to preserve was an old mansion…and a slave plantation?

Katie takes us on location to Bacon’s Castle, one of America’s oldest houses.

You can read Elizabeth Bray Allen’s will here, and take a 3D tour of the entire house here! You can also see more photos and information about the house and the family here.

Modern photo of Bacon Castle, home of Elizabeth Bray Allen. A large brick home standing on a grassy lawn. There are two sections of the home which are clearly different from one another in architectural style. — Bacon’s Castle, home of Elizabeth Bray Allen
photo by Katie Nelson

Elizabeth Bray Allen's signature in black ink on parchment — Elizabeth Bray Allen’s signature (when she was Elizabeth Smith)
image courtesy of the Library of Virginia

An old black-and-white photo of a white-painted frame building standing among trees on a gravel road. — The Smithfield Free School, founded by Elizabeth Bray Allen
photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress

A scanned page of the Feb. 24, 1774 Virginia Gazette newspaper — Page two of the Virginia Gazette from Feb. 24, 1774, which includes Allen’s death notice near the bottom of the page.
click to view the full issue on the Colonial Willimsburg Official History site.

Katie and a few of her students touring Bacon's Castle with Carol Wiedel in 2021 — Katie and a few of her students touring Bacon’s Castle with Carol Wiedel in 2021
photo by Mariia Volkanova

Carol Wiedel is the site coordinator at Preservation Virginia’s Bacon’s Castle in Surry County where she has worked for 9 years. She is a strong member of the community, serving on the Chamber of Commerce as well as the Tourism Advisory Group. She lives in Surry with her husband and their chickens and has 4 grown children and 7 grandchildren. Carol loves Bacon’s Castle and all of its many years of history and works to make more people aware of its importance and place in the greater community. She enjoys introducing new guests to the castle as well as building relationships with those who have family or other connections to the site.

THE GOOD WIFE Elizabeth Bray Allen

Music featured in this episode includes:

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