Memoirs Of An American Lady: With Sketches Of Manners And Scenery In America As They Existed Prior To The Revolution

by Anne MacVicar Grant, James Grant Wilson (Contributor)

Memoirs of an American Lady is a book written by Anne Macvicar Grant that chronicles her life growing up in America prior to the American Revolution. The book is a first-hand account of the author's experiences and observations of American society during this time period. The book is divided into two parts, with the first part being a memoir of the author's life and the second part consisting of sketches of American manners and scenery. The memoir includes details about the author's family, education, and social life, as well as her experiences with Native Americans and her travels throughout the colonies. The sketches of American manners and scenery provide a vivid description of life in colonial America, including the customs, traditions, and landscapes of the time. Overall, Memoirs of an American Lady offers a unique perspective on American history and is a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning about life in America prior to the Revolution.With Unpublished Letters And A Memoir Of Mrs. Grant By Wilson.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1808

About the author

Anne Macvicar Grant, often styled Mrs Anne Grant of Laggan, was a Scottish poet and author best known for her collection of mostly biographical poems, Memoirs of an American Lady, as well as her earlier work, Letters from the Mountains.

Anne Macvicar was born in Glasgow, the only child of Duncan Macvicar. Macvicar served as an officer with the 77th Regiment of Foot in North America. His wife and daughter joined him in Charleston, South Carolina in 1758. The family then moved to the New York colony. At Albany and Oswego, Anne lived among Dutch settlers, French Huguenots, English soldiers, African-American slaves, and the Mohawk people. She learned Dutch and frequented the summer wigwams of the Indians. She could speak their language sufficiently well to converse with their women and children.

Macvicar retired from the army in 1765, and the family returned permanently to Scotland in 1768. In 1773, Macvicar was appointed as barrack-master at Fort Augustus in Inverness-shire.

In May 1779, Anne married the Rev. James Grant, the minister at Laggan, where the couple lived for the next 22 years. Of their twelve children, eight survived to adulthood, six daughters and two sons. James Grant died in 1801. In June 1803, Anne and her children moved to Woodend near Stirling. In 1806, her correspondence with friends was published under the title Letters from the Mountains. Her recollections of growing up in pre-revolution America were published under the title Memoirs of an American Lady in 1808.

In 1809, Anne move to Edinburgh, where she ran a private school. Her Essays on the Superstition of the Highlands of Scotland, with Translations from the Gaelic were published in 1811.