How Women Survived on the Frontier

When we think of the early frontier, we think of the men that blazed the trails and settled down to work the land trying to make a new life for themselves and their families. The women that walked and rode beside their men and shared in their hardships and dangers are often times forgotten. She is truly the unsung heroine in the history of our country.

Life was hard and full of hazards on the frontier; women had to have patience, courage and fortitude to stand beside her man in a day-to-day struggle for survival. Some of the things she had to deal with were droughts, prairie fires, torrential rains, blizzards, cyclones, locusts, rattlesnakes, wolves and Indian raids. There were few if any doctors available or close by, she had to be a wife, mother, nurse, doctor and teacher along with managing the household and garden. Everything had to be home grown, animals had to be taken care of, gardens maintained, food had to be preserved for winter use, all this more times than not fell upon the women to do.

She was foremost a mother and wife. Usually families on the frontier were large compared modern families. The harsh life on the frontier was especially hard on children. Sickness and disease took a heavy toll, sometimes wiping out whole families. Every child that was born was an extra hand to help on the farm, making it easier to survive. If the wife was lucky, there would be a neighbor or older daughter to help her deliver her new baby, most of the time, she was alone, just her husband to assist her.

As a wife, she had to take care of her husband. Meals had to be prepared, shirts, pants, socks all had to be washed and maintained. She had to be a companion, a nurse, a friend to lift up his spirits when times were especially hard. Often times she would work beside her husband during times of floods, blizzards, and when farm animals needed care.

Being a mother brought the frontier women many more responsibilities. She was a role model, a teacher and a nurse to her children. She was the religious teacher, teaching her children values and what was right and wrong. She had to be a seamstress, for there were no department stores so everything had to be handmade. Clothes for her children, her husband, herself, she had to sew.

From morning to night she was busy, early morning the animals had to be fed, milked and put out to pasture. Breakfast early for her husband, for usually he started work very early, then the children had to be fed. Washing had to be done and hung out, garden had to be tended to and house cleaned. Depending on the time of the year, food had to be preserved and put away for winter use. Lunch had to be ready when the husband and older children came in from the fields. Children had to be taught school lessons, how to read, write, math and whatever else she could teach them. Soap, butter, and candles had to be made, no stores available. Supper time was important, after a hard days work, a good meal was necessary. If she could find time in the evening, any sewing or mending that needed to be done she would do. Children had to be washed and put to bed. Maybe she could get a much needed rest that is if no emergencies happened during the night.

Not all times were hard, there were times when hard-working families relaxed and enjoyed the company of others. As Mary Lyon stated "Don't think that all our time and thoughts were taken up with the problems of living. We were a social people. We never waited for an introduction or invitation to be neighborly, any day or any night might see a wagon load of neighbors drive to the door and introduce themselves. And they never stayed a less time than the day, and possibly all night. Our houses were small but they had a wonderfully expansive quality, and I never heard of anyone being turned away for want of room"[1]

The pioneer women were expected to be a good host. If a family of new settlers arrived at night fall she would make fresh coffee (if available) and cook a meal for them. No stranger was ever turned away.

Today, we have large and spacious houses, with many rooms both upstairs and downstairs, a far cry from what the pioneer women had. When she first arrived on the frontier most likely all she had was their wagon or some other temporary shelter. Most permanent housing was a one-room log cabin or what they called a "Soddy", made out of sod bricks. If they settled in an area where trees were available, then maybe a more elaborate house was built, with outhouses and a barn. No electric lights, no running water, no central air or heat, none of these things that today we consider necessary to survive. She had candles made out of animal fat, if she was lucky a stream was close by, sometimes water had to be carried for miles. Heat was provided by a wood stove and wood had to be cut and hauled to the house.

I'm sure many pioneer women dreamed of have dresses made out of silk, or some other fine material. Most of her dresses were made out of Calico or gingham. She made do with whatever was available in cloth. Make-up was unheard of, her skin was rough and dry from days working out in the hot sun and winds that dried her skin out. Life was hard and she did the best she could for herself and her family. If a town or settlement was within a day or two ride, maybe the husband on one his few trips would bring her some special piece of cloth that came from the East so she could make a special "Sunday Go Meeting" dress or perhaps some special things for the children. Any little special items was always appreciated and would make life just a little more bearable.

Danger was always present and would come from many different ways; rattlesnakes would sometimes crawl in through holes of the cabin, or crawl up in the rafters. Hungry wolves and other wild animals would be a danger when out working the land. Indians on the warpath was one of the main concerns. Many families were killed and broken apart by bands of warring Indians. Children and women would be taken captive and adopted into the tribes if not tortured or killed.

Ida Koch Lane stated: "A caravan of ox-drawn wagons slowly wended its way through wooded roads and prairie trails from Hannibal, Missouri, to Big Springs, Kansas, in the early winter of 1854. In the hearts of the pioneers who were traveling in those covered wagons was the same spirit which prompted the pilgrims of the May Flower to seek a land of freedom. The State they were leaving was avowedly a slave state, and these people were hoping that in the Territory to which they were going they would find a home of freedom. Freedom for thought, speech, action and slaves. They had no vision of the terrible strife, tragedies, privations and suffering which they were to endure, with fortitude, courage, loyalty, sustained by a deep abiding love for home and state, in order to establish that freedom. They could not visualize that before that dream came true there would frequently be: At bedtime, a happy family group-Father, Mother and Children gathered around the fireside. In the morning, a sad fatherless, husbandless home. In the evening, horses housed and resting for the work of the following day. In the morning only empty stalls. In the evening, a cozy log cabin with the cheery glow of candles at the windows and a peaceful family within. In the morning, a hopeless mass of blackened ruins."[2]

A story in William W. Fowler's Book, Frontier Women, describes how the wife of Mr. John Merrill protected herself, and her husband against an Indian attack on their cabin. The dogs were barking sothe husband went outside to check it out. He was shot by six or seven Indians braking his arm and thigh, but he managed to crawl back into the cabin. Mrs. Merrill, with Amazonian courage and strength grasped a large axe and killed, or badly wounded, four of the enemy in succession as they attempted to force their way into the cabin. Next the Indians ascended the roof and attempted to enter by the way of the chimney, but Mrs. Merrill seized the only feather-bed which the cabin afforded, and hastily ripping it open, poured its contents upon the fire. The smoke and fire brought down two of the Indians and as they lay upon the floor, she seized the axe and she dispatched them. She then rusted to the front door where the only remaining Indian was trying to enter, using the axe she cut a gash on the Indian's cheek causing him to leave and go back Chillicothe, where from a report of a prisoner, he gave an account of the fierceness, strength and courage of the "Long Knife Squaw".

A good example of what these women accomplished by heroic deeds is reflected by what Mrs. Hendee did as she was working alone in the field by Royalton, VT. Her children was kidnapped by Indians and braving the powerful current of the nearby river, as well as the tomahawks awaiting her on the other side, Mrs. Hendee not only rescued her own children, but succeeded in bringing back fifteen others who had also be kidnapped.[3]

Women faced many challenges on the frontier; they had to make much of what the family needed to survive, becoming self-sufficient. They took care of the home, raised the children, provide medical care, raised livestock and grew vegetable gardens. Things like butter, candles and soap was homemade by these women. A very necessary skill for survival was preserving food for the winter months when no food could be grown in gardens, keeping the family clothed kept them extremely busy.

We must give credit and respect for these frontier women. Life was challenging and dangerous and many did not live long, accidents, Indians and complications from childbirth all took their toll. As the old saying goes "Behind every successful man, is a woman" this was true back in the frontier days and also is true today.

[1] Pioneer Women, Voices From the Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton

[2] Pioneer Women - Voices From The Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton

[3] Frontier Women by William w. Fowler