Sarah Ruston Kennedy (Character Details)

Brief Character Description

Sarah Ruston Kennedy was a wealthy Chester County woman who belonged to the local planter-class elite. She was the daughter of Job Ruston, one of the county’s prominent landowners, and the wife of Dr. Samuel Kennedy. Sarah moved within the highest levels of Chester County society and was reportedly friends with Polly and Persifor Frazer. She was also recorded as having socialized with George and Martha Washington. During the Revolutionary War, Sarah managed her household and property while Samuel served as a military physician at places like Lititz and at Ticonderoga. After British troops looted their East Whiteland home on, she, her children, and their servants fled to the Yellow Springs property. On the Kennedy’s land, a hospital complex would emerge. Yellow Springs served as the Headquarters of the Hospital Department and the main supply depot for all the hospitals in the Middle States during the war. However, the crowning feature of this medical complex was Washington Hall- a massive, general hospital that treated at least 1,000 sick soldiers during its run. Sarah maintained her household, entertained important guests, and supported her husband as he returned home from the front and was positioned as the chief physician of the complex.

However, Sarah’s formerly privileged and idyllic life took a turn when her Dr. Kennedy contracted putrid fever. He had been overextending himself to personally care for the sick in the wards deep into the night, and he caught the illness that would kill him by doing so. Sarah nursed him as he was dying and ensured that the bloodletting treatment that Dr. Otto- the other senior physician at the hospital- was not applied to him because she feared that would only hurt him more. Finally, on June 17, 1778, Samuel died. Sarah would spend the rest of her life mourning him deeply, but his death left her as the executrix of his will, the mother of young children, and the person who was now responsible for the future of Yellow Springs.

For our purposes, Sarah should be portrayed as a woman in her early forties. She was would have been a part of the elite class and would have dressed glamorously (for the day) and was known to have expensive tastes. As the daughter of a wealthy landowner and the wife of a prosperous physician and property owner, Sarah would have had access to better clothing than most women in Chester County. An actress in her late thirties, forties, or early fifties would be appropriate for the role.

Character Background in the Summer of 1778

By the summer of 1778, Sarah Ruston Kennedy was about forty-one years old and had spent most of her adult life within Chester County’s wealthy planter-class community. She was born in 1737 to Job and Mary Ruston, a prominent family whose wealth rested heavily on land and enslaved labor. Her father was a respected landowner, church founder, and militia leader. Sarah grew up in a household where hosting, education, genteel manners, social standing, and the infrastructure of the religious community were closely connected.

Sarah married Dr. Samuel Kennedy in 1763 when she was about twenty-six years old. Their marriage appears to have been based on a genuine personal relationship. Samuel later called Sarah his “beloved wife” and “partner,” while she remembered him as her “dear consort” and “best of husbands.” Together, they established a prosperous household and raised six children, although two of their sons died young.

The Kennedy family owned substantial property in Chester County. By the early 1770s, their holdings included farmland, buildings, livestock, and a tavern. Their wealth also depended upon indentured and enslaved labor. Sarah belonged to a social class that gave her access to comforts, education, and influential social connections that were unavailable to most women in the region.

The Revolutionary War changed Sarah’s life dramatically. When Samuel volunteered as a military physician, Sarah remained in Chester County to manage their household, property, servants, and children. Samuel recognized the burden she carried, writing about the “load of fatigue [and] anxiety” she faced while he was away.

After the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, British troops attacked the Kennedy property in East Whiteland. Sarah and her children fled after soldiers damaged the house, destroyed fences, scattered grain, and removed or destroyed household possessions. Sarah later credited Rina, her enslaved lady’s maid, with preventing the house from being burned completely. The estate then moved to their second property, Yellow Springs. Samuel returned and was made the chief physician on the hospital complex there. By the winter of 1777–1778, Washington Hall had been constructed on the Kennedy family’s property. Sarah lived alongside the hospital while Samuel treated hundreds of sick and wounded soldiers. As the lady of the house, she would have been responsible for hosting the influential people that came to meet at Yellow Springs.

The summer of 1778 marked a major turning point in Sarah’s life. Samuel became seriously ill after months of working with sick soldiers and died at Yellow Springs on June 17, 1778. He appointed Sarah as one of the executors of his estate in his will, shortly before his death.

Sarah was suddenly a widow with four surviving children and a large estate to manage. She also inherited responsibility for Yellow Springs while the Continental hospital continued operating on the property. Her later correspondence shows that she quickly began protecting her family’s financial interests, petitioning Congress for compensation and attempting to keep the estate productive.

For the summer of 1778 portrayal, Sarah should therefore be presented as a recently widowed, wealthy woman dealing with both grief and responsibility. She was not a nurse or soldier. Her role centered on her family, household, property, and social connections. However, because Samuel died so recently, her grief should be notable. This sense of loss should be balanced with a sense of heavy responsibility. Her position also meant that she could communicate with influential people connected to the Continental cause, including members of Congress and prominent families.

Character Physical Description

Sarah was a wealthy woman of English and Welsh descent in her early forties during the summer of 1778. No confirmed portrait of Sarah survives, so the image above is a photo mock-up based on what we know about her age, family background, and physical description. Please note that this mock-up depicts Sarah in the 1760s, well before the war and Washington Hall.

Sarah seemed to have been a woman with fairly expensive tastes, a fact that seems to have continued into her widowhood. Her attire appear noticeably more fashionable and refined than the local farm women who lived around Yellow Springs. Her appearance should reflect a woman who grew up in a wealthy household and spent much of her life moving within Chester County’s upper social circles. Sarah had access to finer fabrics and fashionable clothing because of her family’s wealth and social position. Surviving eighteenth-century gowns show wealthy women wearing silk gowns, fitted bodices, petticoats, stays, and fashionable accessories. However, she is also in mourning. She should look attractive and well groomed without appearing artificially glamorous or “done up” with modern makeup.

Because Samuel had died only weeks before the summer 1778 portrayal, Sarah should also be following the mourning customs of the time. The sort of standardized mourning etiquette we see later in the nineteenth century (especially in the Victorian era) did not exist yet in the colonial era, and so the all-black gowns that come to mind were not part of a widow’s expected attire. The Continental Congress and local town hall agreements had actively banned the purchase of new mourning clothes to boycott British imports and prevent wartime extravagance. Because of this, Sarah was likely wearing fashion that she already owned from before the war started. While black was not officially the color of mourning yet, it had been popular in the Western world since at least the time of the Romans to wear dark colors to express a deep and personal loss.

Costume Details

• Plain linen shift and corset worn beneath the outer clothing.
• Properly fitted stays beneath the gown, appropriate for a wealthy eighteenth-century woman.
• Fine, dark-colored silk gown appropriate for a recently widowed woman of Sarah’s social position.
  • A fashionable eighteenth-century gown for this time and place would include looks such as the Robe à l’Anglaise or the Robe à la Polonaise. The image we have included above features Sarah in a pre-war Robe à l’Anglaise-style gown. More detail can be seen below.
    • The Robe à l’Anglaise features a closely fitted bodice in both the front and the back. The pleated fabric at the spine is stitched completely down to the waist, allowing the full pleats of the skirt to flow naturally over the hips and petticoat underneath. Examples can be seen here.
    • The Robe à la Polonaise features a similarly tight bodice but is defined by its distinct bunched skirt. Using internal cords, loops, or exterior ribbons, the overskirt is drawn up into three distinct, voluminous swags or puffs, intentionally exposing the decorative petticoat worn underneath. Examples can be seen here, and we also previously featured a reconstruction of Sarah’s friend Polly Frazier wearing a gown in that style.
• Black or dark-colored petticoat worn beneath the gown. Wealthy women could use silk petticoats, and decorative petticoats were common during the period, although Sarah’s mourning clothing should remain subdued.
• Sarah would not wear a head-covering. Regardless of whether she was in mourning, her hair was a status symbol. In the 1770s, wealthy women used complex, highly styled hair to show off their elevated class position. Sarah’s hair would have been styled in an intricate updo, which often included accessories like pearls and lace for formal events. Even in leaner times (and even if accessories were not included on an everyday basis) maintaining the structure and style of that updo was very important.
  • Contemporary examples of this sort of hairstyle can be seen here and here.
• Black or very dark stockings.
• Fine black leather shoes with modest buckles.
• Elaborate jewelry such as pearl earrings, pearl necklaces, and broaches are appropriate.
  • TLDR: Sarah should look like a wealthy, fashionable Chester County widow in the summer of 1778. Her clothing should be noticeably finer than the more middling-class people around her because Sarah came from a wealthy landowning family and married into another prosperous household. At the same time, she had just lost her husband and the Revolutionary war was ongoing, so her attire should not be overly formal. Eighteenth-century mourning did not require Sarah to abandon fashionable clothing or all colors, but it did call for darker, cooler-toned clothing (dark blue, purple, and sometimes black) and less decorative details. Avoid head coverings or veils. Sarah should look wealthy, attractive, composed, and carefully dressed, while the darker hues of her clothing makes it clear that she is a recently widowed woman.

We can assist with costuming depending on sizing. Regardless of sizing, we have accessories available for Sarah.

Full character biography (research ongoing!) can be found here

Interested in acting as Sarah in our Town Tours and Village Walks Event in 2026?

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