Mary Dunbar Sweet Cowley was the preeminent dance teacher in Newport from 1760 to 1790. At her school, young boys and girls learned to dance the minuet and English country dances, as well as the genteel behavior expected of them in social gatherings. She worked nearly all of her life. As a widow, she depended on her income to provide for her seven children. At various times, she used her home as a boarding house, as the Crown Coffee House, and as a bookshop.
During the British occupation of Newport from 1776 to 1779, Mary offered weekly dance parties in her assembly room for officers, gentlemen, and ladies. Lord Percy, British Commander of the Newport garrison, attended a great ball at her establishment in January 1777, and she opened the hall to General William Howe, Commander of the British forces in America, who gave a ball in February 1778. During the French occupation of Newport from 1780 to 1781, she offered a ball for Generals Rochambeau and Washington. Sixteen-year-old Margaret (Peggy) Champlin opened the ball, dancing with General Washington to the air, “A Successful Campaign.”
Biography provided by Heidi Benedict, Roger Williams University
Image courtesy of Newport Historical Society
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