By Paolo Zannoni

On October 2 , 1704 , a young woman named Sarah Kemble Knight , a teacher , recently widowed , left Boston , Massachusetts on a five-month round-trip to New Haven in neighboring Connecticut , in order to visit relatives . Traveling on horseback , she kept a diary of her trip . The Journal of Mme Knight , first published in 1825 , has become one of the most celebrated chronicles of early Colonial America .

Sarah Kemble Knight ’ s journey on horseback ( 1704 – 1705 ), crossing Massachusetts , Rhode Island and Connecticut . Twice .

It is also important evidence in the history of the emerging nation ’ s great financial revolution : the creation of an entirely new kind of monetary system , without the use of coins ; a banking system established with the express purpose of supporting the state ; and the eventual establishment of a truly national bank with a national currency , engineered from bank debts and promises .

Intricate Ways of Trade

After the death of her husband , Knight took control of her financial affairs : having begun her career as a schoolteacher , she eventually became a property investor and successful businesswoman .

Her trip ’ s purpose was to settle the inheritance of a wealthy cousin ; it also proved to be a useful education in financial literacy . She recorded vivid descriptions in her journal of the characters she encountered during her journey and made detailed notes on the nature and use of money in Colonial New England .

A few days of hard riding after her departure , Knight crossed into Connecticut , near New London , where she spent some time lodging at the house of a local merchant . Curious about how others conducted their business , she closely observed her host . When locals and travelers came into the merchant ’ s store looking for wares , he would ask them how they wanted to pay . “ What do you want to

12 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Summer 2024 | www . MoAF . org