Jan 18, 2022 • 1HR 0M

Podcast: Sarah Knight's Great American Road Trip

A Boston Widow Travels Solo on the I-95 Freeway (sort of) to New York. In 1704.

 
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Annette Laing
Podcast versions of historian Annette Laing's Annette Tells Tales posts at Non-Boring History, read aloud in Annette's inimitable British accent.
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Podcast: 59 Minutes. Listen Now, or Download to Your Favorite App for Later, by clicking on “Listen in Podcast App” above right.

New York and Boston Post Roads taken by Sarah Kemble Knight in 1704 Map
Map of the New York and Boston Post Roads taken by Sarah Knight on her intercity road trip. Image: Public Domain, Wikipedia

Sarah Kemble Knight of Boston, Massachusetts, is a widowed single mother of one child, in her mid-thirties, and juggling lots of responsibilities. But she has some business in New York to do with her husband’s estate, and anyway, she’s ready for a bit of a break. So she dumps the kid with grandma, and sets off, solo.

In 1704. On a horse.

Apart from that, Sarah Knight’s tale is a familiar story to anyone who ever does an American road trip: Lousy food, issues with the road and navigation, dodgy hotels, and a constantly-changing scene and cast of characters.

This is the podcast version of Sarah Knight’s Great American Road Trip, Annette’s original post at Non-Boring History, based on a 1920s reprint of Sarah Kemble Knight’s travel journal.

Not a fan of podcasts? You can read it here instead!

Non-Boring History
Sarah Knight's Great American Road Trip
Warm Greetings, All! I am supposed to be writing to you from Sacramento, California. But this is 2022, and it already laughs (bawahahaha) in the face of my travel plans. Thanks not only to the rise of Omicron (which sounds like a Doctor Who monster), but to a lingering flu, today finds me in Madison, Wisconsin, in a snowbound Non-Boring House. My backgro…
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2 years ago · 4 likes · 2 comments · Annette Laing

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