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The next “History on Tap” will feature the fascinating life of Madame Malvina Guimaraes of Oswego as discussed by local author Ann Callaghan Allen.
The illustrated program will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 7 in the Riverview Room at G. S. Steamers Restaurant, located in the Clarion Inn, 70 E. First St., Oswego. Admission is free.
Madame Guimaraes was a 19th century entrepreneur who survived a horrific shipwreck, endured the harsh climate of South America, spousal abuse, and the narrow confines of women’s domestic and business life during her lifetime.
She opened the South American market to the sewing machine, which was the technological wonder of its time. A bold and successful business entrepreneur, Guimaraes made her fortune as an independent businesswoman at a time when women rarely ventured beyond their homes. Much of Guimaraes’ fortune was stolen by her third husband. He used the law and prevailing convention about “a woman’s place” to wage a fierce court battle against her that played out in courtrooms in New York and Lisbon, Portugal.
Her true story involved, among other things, poison, torture with a wild monkey, an adopted daughter who was drugged and tricked into a false marriage, and an escape on an emigrant ship in the dark of night.
Author and speaker Ann Callaghan Allen presents Guimaraes’ intriguing story. Allen is retired from teaching in the Department of Communications and Film Studies at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. Allen is the author of “The Madame’s Business: The Remarkable Life and Tragic Death of Malvina Guimaraes.” After retiring, Allen returned to her hometown of Oswego where she discovered the until-now untold story of one of the city’s most colorful, fascinating and least understood historic figures.
G.S. Steamers Restaurant is located at the Clarion Inn, 70 E. First St. (NYS Rte. 481), in the city of Oswego, N.Y.
For more information about the “History on Tap” programming, contact Fort Ontario State Historic Site Manager Paul Lear at 315-343-4711 or paul.lear@parks.ny.gov. Updates and program information will be posted on the Friends of Fort Ontario Facebook page.
