A copy of The Kentucky Housewife sits atop a table with other books of the period. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
By Auggie Brown
Glasgow News 1
The Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library in Glasgow welcomed a slice of 19th-century Kentucky history with a Kentucky Chautauqua living history program on Thursday, July 16.
Historian and educator Dr. Cynthia Resor appeared in character as Lettice Pierce Bryan, the Kentucky woman whose 1841 book The Kentucky Housewife is considered the first known cookbook written and published in the state. During the program, Resor used the persona of Bryan to teach attendees about the landmark cookbook and the world in which it was written.
Dr. Cynthia Resor speaks to the crowd about hardships faced by the Bryan family. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
The Kentucky Housewife is one of the earliest and most comprehensive Southern cookbooks, according to Dr. Resor. The 456-page volume includes recipes for food and drink, home remedies and practical household advice, offering a detailed look at 19th-century homemaking in Kentucky. The event invited the audience to “meet” Bryan in 1872, three decades after her book appeared in print, as she addressed a young women’s club. In that setting, the character reflects on a life shaped by dramatic social change, technological advances and the upheaval of the Civil War.
Dr. Cynthia Resor reads an excerpt out of The Kentucky Housewife. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
The program framed Bryan’s story as one of quiet determination, domestic devotion and literary ambition at a time when women were widely expected to remain silent in public life. Bryan, born near Danville in 1806, married physician Edmund Bryan and raised a large family while writing. The cookbook reflects not only her domestic expertise but also medical knowledge absorbed from her husband and relatives who practiced medicine in an era before standardized training and regulation.
An attendee reacts to the hardships felt by the Bryan family leading up to the Civil War. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
Kentucky Chautauqua presented the performance as part of its mission of “Telling Kentucky’s Story,” using live, costumed interpreters to introduce audiences to notable but sometimes overlooked figures from the state’s past. Kentucky Chautauqua is a statewide service of Kentucky Humanities, an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. Kentucky Humanities supports programs across the state that explore Kentucky’s history, culture and storytelling traditions.
Resor, a retired Eastern Kentucky University professor, draws on her background in history education and her research on daily life to bring historical figures like Bryan to modern audiences.
Dr. Cynthia Resor, as Lettice Pierce Bryan, explains how there is more than just cooking recipes in The Kentucky Housewife. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
Key Facts
– Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library hosted a Kentucky Chautauqua living history event in Glasgow
– Dr. Cynthia Resor portrayed 19th-century cookbook author Lettice Pierce Bryan
– Bryan wrote The Kentucky Housewife, published in 1841
– The Kentucky Housewife is considered the first known cookbook written and published in Kentucky
– The program explored women’s domestic lives and frontier challenges in 19th-century Kentucky
– The event was supported by Kentucky Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Comments