Outside observers frequently remark on the strength, intelligence, and longevity of Sandy Spring women. This could stem in part from the community's Quaker influence: Friends early accorded equal rights and opportunities to women, and Quaker women were not hesitant to protect those freedoms and strive to secure them for others. Many entries in the Annals across the decades describe Sandy Spring women vigorously espousing such causes as women's suffrage and curbs on the use of alcohol, often through the Anti-Saloon League and Women's Christian Temperance Union. This limited selection of Sandy Spring ladies portrays not the crusaders but simply those who personally left their mark--and photos--for posterity.

Margaret Briggs Farquhar

Margaret Briggs Farquhar (1812-89) was a daughter of Isaac and Hannah Brooke Briggs. She was born at Triadelphia, soon after Isaac Briggs and his two brothers-in-law founded the important mill town. She became the wife of William Henry Farquhar, farmer, surveyor, and gifted author of the first volume of the Annals. Margaret and William Henry built the first home to be called The Cedars. There they raised children Arthur B., Edward, and Henry H., and there she died just before the turn of the century.