When I was younger, one of my favorite daydreams was that I was a woman back in the frontier days. I spent hours day dreaming about the adventures I'd have traveling across the country in a covered wagon. I'd see all sorts of exciting people and places. I'd get to cook over an open fire and sleep outside under the stars. Of course, that all sounds like an amazing adventure until you take into consideration the heat, storms, bugs, sickness, and danger that was all too common during that time period. That time period has always continued to be one of my favorites and when my husband and I considered setting up our own homestead in rural Vermont, it gave me a thrill to know that in a small way, I was experiencing a few things that these women did.
Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of Trailblazing Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble-Rousers by Brandon Marie Miller contains stories of women who set off from their homes to cross the country to what they hoped would be a better life. These stories are compiled by Miller based on her collection of journal entries, letters home, and song lyrics written by women who made this journey. The book contains abridged biographies, striking period photos, and a variety of resources that can be used for further study of this time period.
When I think of women of the frontier, I think of the women who traveled along with their husbands. However, there were a number who were single who traveled alone either in search of a new life or in hopes of adventure. The stories included in this book include those of women in different circumstances who were traveling for different reasons. You learn to see the trip through their eyes, which is often quite different than the trip through the eyes of a man. Women faced many challenges while on this trek, including caring for children, preparing meals, taking care of laundry, and other types of women's work. They were responsible for caring for the young and sick even when they were sick themselves. Many women traveled across country while pregnant and gave birth on the trip. I cannot imagine how difficult it was to not only give birth and care for a newborn while traveling but to also be responsible for six or seven other children and all of the chores at the same time.
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