This past month, I discovered with mixed emotions that my daughter celebrating her ninth birthday means that by some definitions, she is technically a tween now. I’m barely over the fact that I can’t connect with the moms of babies and preschoolers anymore since my youngest is about to graduate kindergarten, and now my oldest is a tween. In celebration of her birthday and in the spirit of independence, she received the Felicity American Girl doll, which is a historical doll growing up in Virginia in 1774.

Celebrating Independence with the Felicity American Girl Doll

Check out the description of the doll to see why it was the perfect pick for a ninth birthday!

Felicity Merriman is a spunky, spritely girl growing up in Virginia in 1774, just before the Revolutionary War. Felicity grows impatient doing the “sitting-down kinds of things” that colonial girls are expected to do. She much prefers to be outdoors, especially riding horses! Felicity learns about loyalty and responsibility to her family, her friends, and her country, and what it means to be truly independent.

For our photo shoot to celebrate my daughter’s newfound independence on her ninth birthday, we decided to take photos at a nearby historic mansion. Since we live in the northeast where many English colonists first settled, we were interested to learn that a Revolutionary War era mansion was not far! In the 1700’s the governor and his bride had actually lived here!

Although now the historic mansion is used as a wedding venue, it was very interesting to see the original plantation’s quarters and corn crib, which showed what colonial life would have been like. Bringing Felicity along added to the adventure and learning experience!

Since Felicity is known for her love of the outdoors, I wasn’t surprised that my daughter took off into the woods. She loves exploring and it very spirited, just like Felicity!

Another reason this colonial Williamsburg-era doll is the perfect fit is that we took a vacation to Williamsburg this past summer. We had the most memorable vacation and we enjoyed seeing the historic triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, while we stayed at the KOA campgrounds and spent a day at Busch Gardens.

Did you know that Felicity Merriman was loosely based on a daughter of the Powell family, who were residents of Williamsburg during the colonial period? You can bring history to life and really get your child to understand the history of the doll by visiting and touring there!