Shaping Their World
The War of 1812 disrupted the lives of women throughout the Niagara District, forcing them to take on additional work and increase their involvement in social and economic activities to support their families and communities. Yet the end of the war did not bring an immediate return to the prewar status quo. In the wake of loss and displacement, women inherited sole responsibility for maintaining family estates, managing finances to create short and long-term stability for their families, and negotiating marriage and career opportunities for their children. While the goals of such activities were driven by intensely pragmatic personal or familial needs and concerns, women’s efforts made a larger contribution to the recovery of the district in the postwar era. As administrators of inherited wealth and recipients of compensation payments from the government, women used their purchasing power to hire artisans to rebuild their homes, some of which are still standing today. Women who endured the harsh arrival of war went on afterward and expanded their farmlands, produced crops for local, regional, and distant markets, and invested in their family’s future. In some instances, women operated commercial enterprises and participated in the growing mercantile system. Other women used their financial position to engage in profit-making land-speculation, accumulating wealth to provide security and stability for themselves and their children. By identifying and negotiating opportunities for their children, women also had a lasting effect on the shape of familial and professional networks in the district, the province, and beyond. While women may not be as visible in official records or histories of the postwar recovery, their activities were unmistakably integral to the processes of rebuilding, reinvesting, and reconnecting in the Niagara District.