Girls' Education in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630s–1690s)

Formal schooling was almost exclusively for boys. The 1647 "Old Deluder Satan Act" required towns of 50+ families to hire a teacher—for boys—to ensure Scripture literacy.

What Girls Learned

• Domestic skills: Cooking, spinning, weaving, sewing, dairying, herbal medicine, childcare.
• Reading (sometimes): Many girls learned to read at "dame schools" (informal, woman-run, in kitchens) or from mothers—primarily to read the Bible and catechism.
• Writing & arithmetic: Rare for girls; deemed unnecessary for future roles as wives/mothers.

Exceptions & Evolution

• Wealthy merchant families (Boston, Salem) might hire tutors for daughters—French, music, embroidery, basic arithmetic.
• Quaker communities (more prevalent in Pennsylvania/RI) educated girls more equally.
• By late 18th century, female academies emerged (e.g., Bradford, Ipswich), but post-date the Bay Colony era.

In short: Bay Colony girls were educated for the household, not the public sphere. The literacy gap narrowed slowly over two centuries.