Covered Wagon Women

by Holmes, Kenneth L.

• ISBN13: 9780803272989
• ISBN10: 0803272987
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

"The diaries and letters . . . throb with excitement, pain, and mind-boggling determination."-Kliatt. "An outstanding collection of primary sources written by women moving west."-Wagon Tracks.In their simplicity is their poignancy. On August 7, 1865, Mary Louisa Black noted in her journal that they were "nooning on a nice stream in a valey in the mountains." A day later she observed that one of the men in the overland expedition had "buried an infant here yesterday-still born." One can only imagine her emotional turmoil-she had buried her own daughter three months earlier, just as she and her husband set out for Oregon.While each diarist and letter-writer had her personal joys and sorrows, collectively these invaluable accounts demonstrate the passion and courage of these nineteenth-century pioneering women who led and followed their families into the West, pursuing dreams of better economic or social situations. One can only marvel at their ability to persevere under conditions that sent many scurrying back home to the East.An associate professor of history at Southern Methodist University, Sherry L. Smith is the author of The View from Officers' Row: Army Perceptions of Western Indians.

Author Biography

An associate professor of history at Southern Methodist University, Sherry L. Smith is the author of The View from Officers’ Row: Army Perceptions of Western Indians.

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction	p. 7
Iowa to Oregon, 1864
Introduction	p. 13
The Diary	p. 16
A Trip to the Idaho Mines, 1864
Introduction	p. 35
The Diary	p. 36
Seven Months on the Oregon Trail, 1864
Editor's Preface	p. 55
Introduction	p. 55
The Diary	p. 59
To California by The Mormon Trail, 1865
Introduction	p. 87
The Diary	p. 91
Liverpool to Utah in 1866
Introduction	p. 151
The Diary	p. 152
California to Texas in 1868
Introduction	p. 163
The Diary	p. 163
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