Berengera worked in the carding room of the Amoskeag mill in Manchester, New Hampshire, putting in 12-hour days and earning on average $3.25 per week.
Despite the long days, textile operatives enjoyed many evening activities including shopping, exhibitions, lectures, and strolling along the factory canals.
In the early summer of 1849, Caswell met a young machine operative named William Long. Their relationship became intimate over the summer – a behavior of which middle class moralists highly disapproved.
