Albany's 19th-Century Boardinghouse Widows

From 1813, when Albany's first city directory was published, to 1830, Albany's population doubled, while the number of boardinghouses increased by 500%--and most of the boardinghouses were operated by women.

Kevin Moody, Senior Archeologist at Hartgen Archeology Associates, Inc. will correlate documentary evidence with archeological evidence from eight boardinghouse privies excavated in downtown Albany, as he examines the roles and rights of Albany's boardinghouse widows: Did those women willingly become housekeepers for strangers, or was that career thrust upon them by financial necessity?

This Albany Heritage event is part of the Neighbor Stories series.

A native of Schoharie County, Kevin Moody was educated at SUNY Binghamton in the 1970s where he first became enamored with New York archeology. His first project of note was the archeological survey for I-88, the interstate highway extending from Binghamton to Schenectady. Subsequently, he worked on many other large-scale projects, as well as obtaining positions at the New York State Maritime Museum in New York City and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in Albany. For the past 10 years Kevin has employed his vast archeological experience as Senior Archeologist at Hartgen Archeological Associates, Inc. He made major contributions to the success of important excavations at the DASNY office building, DEC Headquarters, the SUCF Parking Garage, State Comptroller's Office Building, and Quackenbush Square Parking Garage in downtown Albany, and at Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.