Sarah K. Knight kept colonial-era journal

Map show Sarah Kemble Knight's route in 1704.

It is the birthday of New Englander Sarah Kemble Knight (1666), a plucky woman who became a real estate dealer, businesswoman, and innkeeper in Colonial America at a time when such occupations were rare for a woman. In the literary world, she is best remembered for the journal she kept about her arduous journey on horseback from Boston to New Haven, Connecticut, and then to New York in 1704. The Journal of Madam Knight (1825) gave a detailed account of colonial customs and conditions. It covered morals, social manners, and class distinctions with subtle wit and broad humor. She compared the backwoods crustiness of New England with the sophistication of New York.