Learning History With Samantha Parkington

Meet Samantha Parkington and American Girl

       "Samantha is an only child growing up during the Edwardian period (although American Girl designated her as Victorian). Her year is 1904. Orphaned at age five and raised by her wealthy Victorian-era grandmother, Mary Edwards, whom she called Grandmary, in fictional Mount Bedford, New York, Samantha befriends a poor servant girl named Nellie O'Malley. Eventually Samantha, Nellie and Nellie's young sisters are adopted by Samantha's uncle Gardner Edwards and aunt Cornelia. 

       The themes of Samantha's books include women's suffrage, child labor, and classism. Red Om Productions produced Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, in cooperation with American Girl. The show premiered on WB Television Network in November 2004 and was released to DVD soon thereafter. American Girl introduced the concept of "archiving" in October 2008 when it announced plans to cease production of Samantha and her collection (including Nellie). Samantha was then officially archived on May 31, 2009, but was later re-introduced in August 2014 as part of the BeForever reboot." Wikipedia

• Susan S. Adler and Sarah Masters Buckey and Valerie Tripp
• Meet Samantha Parkington an American Girl
• Samantha Parkington BeForever American Girl
• Teacher's Guide to Manners and Mischief (PDF)
• Look up the meaning of the name, Samantha

       Nellie O'Malley, Samantha's best friend, is an Irish immigrant who works for Samantha's neighbors and is befriended by Samantha. She personifies the working-class immigrant experience of the time and teaches Samantha about the conditions faced by children who are part of the work force. Nellie and her sisters, Bridget and Jenny, are orphaned and later adopted by Samantha's relatives, Gardner and Cornelia Edwards. In 2004, American Girl introduced a new line of Best Friend dolls with Nellie O'Malley debuting as Samantha's Best Friend in conjunction with the Samantha DVD release. Nellie was marketed with a small collection of clothing and a book written by Valerie Tripp, Nellie's Promise, which chronicles the character's growth and adjustment to her recent adoption. As Nellie was part of Samantha's collection, she was archived at the same time as Samantha. In 2014, with the return of Samantha and the release of BeForever, American Girl decided to move away from the Best Friends line. It is unlikely that Nellie will be re-released. 

•  Nellie O'Malley Doll, Best Friend Doll
  

Our Artifacts for The Samantha Parkington Doll:

• Paper Dolls and How To Make Them, published in 1857 (during the Civil War era)
• Social Reformers: Anna Dickinsin and Susan B. Anthony
• All Victorian Ephemera - my collected and restored ephemera site dedicated to The Victorian Era, school aged children may print pictures from this website to decorate their lapbooks and journals.
• Portrait of A Survivor Lesson Plan (about the Titanic)
• New Year's Wishes...1887 - something found in her grandmother's attic
• The Doll Wedding by Lena Miller - a short story about a childhood memory.
• Doll Sized Spelling Printables - 1841
• A Quincy, Massachusetts, 1906 Maxwell
• At The Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, 1901
• Dollhouse window printable includes stained glass...
• Soda Fountain/ Ice Cream Parlor Clip Art Pages 
• Printable dollhouse door hardware, page 1
• Since Will Turned Into a Boy...
• How the old folks made camp...
• The doll's Full English breakfast...
• DIY an east plum pudding craft for a doll's Christmas
  
• How to make ice-cream parlor desserts
• What came with Samantha's ice cream parlor?

Crafting In the Past: What kinds of crafts were popular in 1904?

• Printable Victorian Calling Cards
• DIY a doll sized needlepoint and hoop
• Cutting snowflakes and drawing snowman...
• Paper cutting & Silhouette Crafts Index
• Glue together a shell mosaic box
• Leaf print pictures and rubbings

Online Research for American Girl, Samantha Parkington, According to Themes Covered in The Books:

Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Parlors and Tea Rooms:

• Aunt Martha's Victorian Tea Rooms
• Example and How to make Victorian Ice Cream

Economic Class in America 1900:

• American Labor and Working -Class History, 1900-1945
• Social Class in America
• Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900

The Industrial Era in America:

• 1920s Industrial America Classroom Activity Guide
• The Development of the Industrial United States (1870 - 1900)

The Orphan Trains:

• National Orphan Train Complex
• The American Orphan Trains
• Placing Out Documentary about the Orphan Trains
• The Orphan Trains from Prairie Public 
• Orphan Train Rider Tells His Story

The Journey and Tragic Ending of The Titanic:

• Letters From the Titanic
• Survival Stories of Former Titanic Ocean Voyage 
• Titanic: The Facts Told by Real Survivors
• 5 Real Titanic Survivors & Their Stories
• Titanic: The Unsinkable Molly Brown and her story told through a popular musical 
• Titanic Classic Documentary (1987)
• NOAA Titanic Expedition 2004: Breathtaking Wreck Footage

Samantha Parkington Books by Pleasant Doll Company and American Girl Doll Company:

1. Meet Samantha
2. Samantha Learns a Lesson
3. Samantha's Surprise
4. Happy Birthday, Samantha!
5. Samantha Saves the Day
6. Changes for Samantha
7. Samantha and the Missing Pearls
8. Samantha's Special Talent
9. Samantha's Winter Party
10. Samantha Saves the Wedding
11. Samantha's Blue Bicycle
12. The Curse of Ravenscourt
13. The Stolen Sapphire
14. The Cry of the Loon
15. Clue in the Castle Tower
16. Danger in Paris
17. Welcome to Samantha's World
18. Samantha's Ocean Liner Adventure
19. Samantha's Wedding Memories
20. Samantha's World
21. The Lilac Tunnel
22. Real Stories from My Time: The Titanic

Samantha Parkington Doll Fan Videos:

• American Girl Doll House - Samantha's Bedroom
• Room Tour, 1904, Victorian Inspired Bedroom
• Differences Among The American Girl Samantha Dolls
• A Bedroom for Samantha Parkingon
• Samantha's Special Day Dress
• Samantha Parkington & Nellie Outfits
• Outfits, Accessories and Books for Samantha Doll
• Opening Samantha Outfits
• Samantha's Bathing Costume
• My Entire American Girl Samantha Doll Collection

Film and Theater About Young Girls from Samantha's Time: Rags to Riches Themes:

• Annie on Broadway and Film trailer from 1982 version starring Carol Burnett and Bernadette Peters
• Pollyanna Trailer starring Hayley Mills by Disney

Advanced Reading: Historical Fiction that takes place during at the turn of the 20th Century, The Victorian Era, The Industrial Era in America:

• Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, RMS Titanic, 1912 by Ellen Emerson White 
• A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
• Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North, Chicago, Illinois, 1919 by Patricia McKissack
• A Time for Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C., 1917 by Kathryn Lasky
• Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City, 1909 by Deborah Hopkinson