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Three Mantua Makers’ Revolutionary Partnership on Elfreth’s Alley
In 1762, two women did what few could – they bought their own home.
Mary Smith and Sarah Melton paid 280 pounds for house number 126 on Elfreth’s Alley and set up a dress shop in the front room. They made fancy gowns with silk and special stitches for all types of Philly ladies.
When Mary died four years later, she left everything to Sarah, not a male relative. Sarah later took in Elizabeth Carr, who had left her husband…