The Virginia Housewife

Mary Randolph (1762- 1828) wrote The Virginia House-Wife (1824), one of the most influential housekeeping and cookbooks of the nineteenth century. Randolph tried to improve women's lives by limiting the time they had to spend in their kitchens. She gave her readers many inexpensive ingredients that could be used to make impressive meals. She popularized over 40 vegetables and introduced several foreign meals. She was the first recorded person to be buried at what became Arlington National Cemetery.