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Lindsay Keiter is a historian of women, gender, and the family in early America who is interested in how the law and the development of capitalism shaped and were shaped by evolving gender and family ideals. She earned bachelor’s degrees with interdisciplinary honors in history and women’s studies from Penn State before completing her master’s and doctoral studies at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.
At Penn State Altoona, Keiter teaches courses on early American history as well as on women, sexuality, and the family from pre-contact through the present. She regularly seeks out undergraduate students to participate in research with her, where they gain valuable experience deciphering and interpreting 18th- and 19th-century documents.
Keiter’s book project, under contract with University of Virginia Press, examines the role of marriage in the family economy in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British America. She demonstrates how coverture shaped nuptial choices and constrained the burgeoning ideals of romantic love as the basis for marriage. Prior to joining Penn State Altoona, she gained experience with public history and interpretation with the National Park Service and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
“Connubial Adventurers: Playing the Matrimonial Lottery in British America,” Early American Studies 21, no. 4 (Winter 2023): 1–41.