However, women have been a part of Princeton life since the school's earliest days. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the wives, mothers and sisters of the faculty and students of the College of New Jersey played important roles supporting its operation and development. We know the identities of only a few, such as Mary Crane Dickinson, the wife of the first president of the College of New Jersey, in whose home the school's first students lived, ate and studied; and Annis Boudinot Stockton, a poet and the wife of a member of the Class of 1748, who is remembered for safeguarding the American Whig Society's treasured belongings during the Revolutionary War.
In the later 19th century, while still remaining within their strictly proscribed social spheres, women's contributions to Princeton life became more visible and well documented. Isabella Guthrie McCosh, wife of Princeton President James McCosh, was fondly and publicly remembered by many students for the caring role she played in their lives, particularly during illnesses. Josephine Thomson Swann, widow of a member of the Class of 1817, donated her personal attention and considerable wealth in support of many Princeton institutions, including the fledgling Ivy Club and the new Graduate School. Late in the century, young women began attending college in Princeton, though not at Princeton University — at Evelyn College, a "sister" institution, which from 1887 to 1897 educated primarily the daughters and sisters of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary faculty and alumni.
For more details, visit the Mudd Manuscript Library's FAQ on the History of Women at Princeton.