Deborah Sampson's Life And Accomplishments

Deborah Sampson was born December 17th 1760 in a little town, called Plymouth Massachusetts. Her parents were Jonathan and Deborah Sampson who had six other children, besides Deborah. Her family had a tough life because her father was lost at sea and her mother could not afford to take care of the seven children. Unfortunately all the siblings were sent to different homes. Deborah was sent to her aunts house who sadly died soon after she got there. So she was sent to another house and had to work as a servant there till she was eighteen. Throughout her teenage, she was teaching herself. At the age of eighteen she became a teacher at the dame school and weaved cloth in the winter. However teaching and a weaving was not what her heart desired. She wanted to help in the continental army as a soldier during the Revolutionary war. Unfortunately for her, women were not allowed to become a soldier. This fact her a crazy idea to dress up like a man. Which in fact worked because she was taller than most women of her time and she was perfectly fit for the job. Being …show more content…
In 1785 she married Benjamin Gannett who was a farmer from Sharon Massachusetts. They had 4 children Earl, Mary, Patience and adopted a child named Susanna. However, life was never easy for her. Deborah gave speeches and lectures about her years serving in the military to get some extra money, however, it was not enough to provide for a family. They suffered lots of financial trouble. In addition she had health problems which was hard for her and her family.Therefore she began to borrow money from her extended family and friends. Her good friend, Paul Revere, helped her write letters to the government asking to give her more money because of her years as a soldier. Yet, In 1805 she was getting paid only $4 a month. She was trying to collect her money from the Congress but they would not give it to her because she was a girl when she