1851

Kenneth L. Holmes

Unp - Bison Books, 1995 - Biography & Autobiography - 291 pages

"Kenneth L. Holmes made the very wise editorial decision not to update, revise, or parenthetically correct the quirky and often fascinating prose of these nineteenth-century women. . . . The writing is rich with the sounds of common speech and jargon."-John Mack Faragher, Western Historical Quarterly. Expectations of gold, rich farmland, and healthful climate propelled some fifty thousand overlanders. Among the women making the trip west to California and Oregon in 1850 were six whose diaries and letters give distinction to the second volume of Covered Wagon Women. Margaret A. Frink notes the scarcity of women in the army of grizzled fortune seekers. Her extended journal is "one of the classics of American history, " according to Kenneth L. Holmes. Frink describes preparations for the journey, lodging and camping along the way, landmarks, encounters with Indians, the problem of finding grass and water for the livestock, and early days in Sacramento. Like all the others going west in 1850, she is terrified by the cholera epidemic. A courageous young mother, Sarah Davis, counts the graves along the way. Mary M. Colby's record is a reminder of how women contributed to the family prosperity when they reached bountiful Oregon. Lucena Parsons, a bride, provides details about washing and cooking in the open air. Sophia Goodridge, the youngest daughter in a large Mormon family, charts the trip to Salt Lake. Anna Maria Morris travels to Santa Fe with the military unit commanded by her husband. Kenneth L. Holmes is emeritus professor of history at Western Oregon State College. Lillian Schlissel is the author of Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey. She is a professor of English and directorof the American Studies program at Brooklyn College.

What people are saying

Review: Covered Wagon Women: Diaries and Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1849 (Covered Wagon Women #1)

User Review  - Cindy Knoke - Goodreads

“Covered Wagon Women” is a fascinating non-fiction account of fourteen pioneer women traveling west in the 1840's. The book was edited and compiled by historian Kenneth L. Holmes. It is a remarkable ...

Review: Covered Wagon Women: Diaries and Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1849 (Covered Wagon Women #1)

User Review - Goodreads

This is one of those books that makes you appreciate our ancestors who crossed the continent to settle the West. Women had worked so hard to keep their families fed and cared for while traversing ...

About the author

Kenneth L. Holmes was a professor of history at Western Oregon State College. He edited and compiled Covered Wagon Women, drawing on archives and private sources.Susan H. Armitage is a professor of history at Washington State University, author of many books about women in the West, and the former faculty editor of Frontiers.

Bibliographic information

• Title: 1851; Volume 3 of Covered Wagon Women; Volume 3 of Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1890, Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1890, ISBN 0870621459, 9780870621451; Bison Books; Volume 3 of Covered Wagon Women: University of Nebraska Press, Covered Wagon Women: University of Nebraska Press
• Author: Kenneth L. Holmes
• Editors: Kenneth L. Holmes, David Duniway
• Compiled by: Kenneth L. Holmes
• Edition: reprint, illustrated
• Publisher: Unp - Bison Books, 1995
• ISBN: 0803272871, 9780803272873
• Length: 291 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / General; Biography & Autobiography / Women; History / General; History / United States / 19th Century; History / United States / State & Local / West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY); Literary Collections / Diaries & Journals; Literary Collections / Letters; Social Science / Women's Studies