Born October 22, 1746
London, England
Died September 18, 1780
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Organization leader

"If these great affairs must be brought to a crisis and decided, it had better be in our time than our children's."
Portrait: Esther De Berdt Reed. Reproduced by permission of Archive Photos, Inc.

Esther De Berdt Reed was a patriot and the head of a women's group that provided goods needed by the soldiers of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War (1775–83). Her involvement in public affairs and her often-criticized efforts to involve women in patriotic activities broadened the role of women in the new country.

Esther De Berdt, born in 1746 in London, England, was one of two children of Martha Symon De Berdt and Dennys De Berdt, an English businessman who traded with colonists in Delaware and Massachusetts. The fair-haired, attractive young Esther was a lively talker and a lover...