Memoirs of an American Lady

With Sketches of Manners and Scenes in America as they existed previous to the Revolution. Mrs. Grant of Laggan, as she was called, spent several years of her childhood in America, where her father was in the military service, returning to Scotland in 1770, at the age of fifteen. The “ American lady ” who is here described is Mrs. Schuyler of Albany, an aunt of Gen. Schuyler, a lady of great character and intelligence, in whose household the young Scotch girl was for some time on a very intimate footing. The volume shows a remarkable tenacity of memory, as well as a graceful and animated pen. The first forty-three chapters (out of sixty-six) are of a general nature, giving a lively sketch of society and manners among the Dutch families at Albany, and a somewhat detailed history of the Schuyler family. The rest of the volume describes the author's own experiences, chiefly at Oswego, where her father's regiment was stationed, and afterwards at Albany.