Yesterday was a fun day.
The second session of my Osher class on the Pinckney family of South Carolina was yesterday afternoon, and the two women in the picture above were there. Mary Pickney is, of course, a descendant of that storied family. Peggy is a historian and biographer who has written two books about the formidable women who were the “power behind the throne,” managing households and plantations while the men were serving in public office and fighting in the American Revolution. She didn’t look like this when she was in my class this afternoon; she was dressed in 18th-century clothing and portrayed Eliza Lucas Pinckney in a 25-minute presentation for the members of my class.
Here's how this came about. Last fall, a member of a class I was teaching (Bob Jackson) came up to me after class and said “I just saw the catalog for the spring, and I noticed you’re teaching a class about the Pinckney family of South Carolina.” I acknowledged that was accurate. He went on to say “I have a Pinckney in my family.” That was Mary. Bob gave me Mary’s contact information and I proceeded to link up with her. She lives in Washington, DC, where she serves as a docent at the Larz Anderson House – the home of The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati. She invited me to come see her in Washington so she could give me a tour of the house and associated library, so that’s what I did one day in December of 2022. We had a great time, and figured out a way to get together again – this time in Bluffton, South Carolina, where Mary and a lot of her Pinckney relatives had lived. Mary gathered eight people or so for lunch – including Peggy Pickett. Peggy and I saw together and hatched a plan for her to come and “be” Eliza Lucas Pinckney for my class.
The logistics for this were significant. Peggy drove up from South Carolina (with her granddaughter, who did most of the driving), and Mary and her husband drove down from DC to meet at the Wightman Cup Room on the William and Mary campus for my 1:30 class. Tim picked up Peggy and I picked up Mary and Skip, and we all got to the right place at the right time. Everything worked for my class (there’s always a bit of uncertainty about the reliability of the technology) and it went off seamlessly.
Peggy went back to her hotel to change into 21st-century clothing, Mary and Skip went walking in Colonial Williamsburg, and Tim and I went home to prepare dinner. Our dinner party consisted of Bob (the originator of my Pinckney connection) and his wife Diane, Mary and Skip, Peggy and her granddaughter Rachel, and Laurie and Tom Hesser (Laurie is the director of the Osher program).
Dinner also proceeded without a hitch. It was a simple meal (it had been a busy day) capped off by the cake.
Everyone headed home by about 8:45 – Mary and Skip drove back to DC when they left my house, so they wanted to get on the road.
A pleasant and convivial end to a fun day!
How wonderful! Simply over the top!! Thank you for sharing.
Fab! Fab! Fab! And what a cake! Congratulations on an all around great success.