D.C. Mondays: Sally Merriam Wait’s Mission South, 1813-1831

In 1812 at the age of nineteen, Sally Merriam Wait experienced her conversion, marking the transition from childhood frivolity to the duties of a pious life. Join author Mary Tribble as she traces nearly 20 years of Wait’s pursuit of purpose, leading her from a quiet New England town into the burgeoning Baptist power structure in Washington, D.C., and then to North Carolina to assist with her husband’s founding of a college, now Wake Forest University.

Tribble will provide a rare glimpse into the role that D.C. had on the spiritual education of a young woman who successfully navigated the rise of capitalism in the market economy of the early 19th century.

About Mary Tribble

Mary Tribble is a senior advisor for engagement strategies at Wake Forest University, where she is responsible for creating meaningful experiences for approximately 70,000 members of the alumni family. Tribble graduated from Wake Forest in 1982 with a degree in art history and completed a master’s in liberal studies in 2019. A fifth generation Wake Forester, Tribble wrote her thesis on the untold story of her great-great-great-great grandmother Sarah (“Sally”) Merriam Wait, wife of Wake Forest’s first president Samuel Wait. She also oversees the Wake Forest Historical Museum at the site of the original campus in Wake Forest, N.C.

How to Participate

To participate, register online, and we will email you a link and instructions for joining the program on Zoom. Simply follow that link at the time the event starts (12 p.m. EST). When you register, you can also request to receive a reminder email one day before the program with the link included.

About the D.C. Mondays Series

Join local authors, researchers and community members online for lively discussions about Washington, D.C.’s history, politics, culture and more.