Today I'd like to welcome Anna Kathryn Lanier to History Undressed! Today she's talking about the American Frontier Women, Keturah Belknap in particular. This is a fascinating topic! Thanks for being here!First, thanks, Eliza for having me here today. I've enjoyed reading your blog and I'm pleased to be a guest on History Undressed.(change the name if I have it wrong...lol)
One day, I hope to write a story that involves a wagon train. To do research for it, I have acquired several books that retell diaries and letters of real frontier women. One book is “Covered Wagon Women” by Kenneth L. Holmes. In the book, Holmes retells the story of a dozen pioneer women, including Keturah Belknap, who made not one but two wagon trips to new homes. Today, I will discuss Keturah's trip to Iowa and her life there.
Two weeks after she married George Belknap in Ohio in October 1839, they “gathered up” their possessions and headed in search of prairie land. Her in-laws accompanied the newlyweds. Finding only timber land, they passed through Indiana, Illinois and crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa. The journey took four weeks and unlike some pioneers, the Belknaps seemed well prepared for it.
They took with them flour and meat, a dutch oven, skillet, teakettle and coffee pot. When they wanted fresh vegetables or horse feed they stopped at farms and buy it. It was planned to winter in Rushville, Iowa, but the Belknaps heard of a homestead for sale and continued on toward it. During this trip, they encountered sleet and snow storms. Keturah writes about how frozen she became while driving the wagon as her husband herded the cattle.
The homestead they purchased had a house on it, a good thing as they arrived in November. However, the couple and George's parents, who shared the small house, still needed to survive the winter. They bought “a dollar worth of coffee and the same of sugar that lasted all winter.” Her husband cut timber into timber in the freezing snow to earn grocery money.
Keturah spent the winter “spinning flax and tow* to make summer clothes.” In the spring they sheared the few sheep they had, then washed and picked the wool and sent it to be carded. Once carded, the wool needed to be spun, colored and woven. Keturah would spin and her mother-in-law would weave it, as Keturah didn't know how to weave.
To help earn money for their mortgage, the family sold butter (12½¢ a pound), eggs (6¢ a dozen), pork (5¢ a pound) and corn (12½ ¢ a bushel).
For the first few years, Keturah and George continued to share a house with her in-laws for three years. They saved money to purchase materials for their own home, which was finally completed in 1842. Family and friends built the 24x16 foot house, but George made the siding himself from nearby timber.
Interestingly, Keturah explains in her diary, when she describes making a Christmas dinner for twelve, that she has never cooked on a stove. Instead, she bakes in the hearth and cooks in a dutch oven over the open fire.
The Belknaps stayed in Iowa until 1848, when they left for Oregon. During their time in Iowa, Keturah gave birth to three children, two daughters and a son. Unfortunately, both daughters, Hannah and Martha, died as toddlers and the deaths affected her greatly. Her son, Jesse and his brother, Lorenzo, who was born on the Oregon trail, survived to adulthood.
If you'd like to read more about Keturah and her journey to Oregon, please
check out my blog today. I'm talking about the Belknap's trip on my weekly feature The Friday Record. http://annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com/
Also, you can visit me at http://www.aklanier.com/ for information on my stories.
Thanks again for having me, Eliza.
*Tow: the fiber of flax, hemp, or jute prepared for spinning by scutching; the shorter, less desirable flax fibers separated from line fibers in hackling. http://www.dictionary.com/
One day, I hope to write a story that involves a wagon train. To do research for it, I have acquired several books that retell diaries and letters of real frontier women. One book is “Covered Wagon Women” by Kenneth L. Holmes. In the book, Holmes retells the story of a dozen pioneer women, including Keturah Belknap, who made not one but two wagon trips to new homes. Today, I will discuss Keturah's trip to Iowa and her life there.
Two weeks after she married George Belknap in Ohio in October 1839, they “gathered up” their possessions and headed in search of prairie land. Her in-laws accompanied the newlyweds. Finding only timber land, they passed through Indiana, Illinois and crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa. The journey took four weeks and unlike some pioneers, the Belknaps seemed well prepared for it.
They took with them flour and meat, a dutch oven, skillet, teakettle and coffee pot. When they wanted fresh vegetables or horse feed they stopped at farms and buy it. It was planned to winter in Rushville, Iowa, but the Belknaps heard of a homestead for sale and continued on toward it. During this trip, they encountered sleet and snow storms. Keturah writes about how frozen she became while driving the wagon as her husband herded the cattle.
The homestead they purchased had a house on it, a good thing as they arrived in November. However, the couple and George's parents, who shared the small house, still needed to survive the winter. They bought “a dollar worth of coffee and the same of sugar that lasted all winter.” Her husband cut timber into timber in the freezing snow to earn grocery money.Keturah spent the winter “spinning flax and tow* to make summer clothes.” In the spring they sheared the few sheep they had, then washed and picked the wool and sent it to be carded. Once carded, the wool needed to be spun, colored and woven. Keturah would spin and her mother-in-law would weave it, as Keturah didn't know how to weave.
To help earn money for their mortgage, the family sold butter (12½¢ a pound), eggs (6¢ a dozen), pork (5¢ a pound) and corn (12½ ¢ a bushel).
For the first few years, Keturah and George continued to share a house with her in-laws for three years. They saved money to purchase materials for their own home, which was finally completed in 1842. Family and friends built the 24x16 foot house, but George made the siding himself from nearby timber.
Interestingly, Keturah explains in her diary, when she describes making a Christmas dinner for twelve, that she has never cooked on a stove. Instead, she bakes in the hearth and cooks in a dutch oven over the open fire.
The Belknaps stayed in Iowa until 1848, when they left for Oregon. During their time in Iowa, Keturah gave birth to three children, two daughters and a son. Unfortunately, both daughters, Hannah and Martha, died as toddlers and the deaths affected her greatly. Her son, Jesse and his brother, Lorenzo, who was born on the Oregon trail, survived to adulthood.
If you'd like to read more about Keturah and her journey to Oregon, please
check out my blog today. I'm talking about the Belknap's trip on my weekly feature The Friday Record. http://annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com/Also, you can visit me at http://www.aklanier.com/ for information on my stories.
Thanks again for having me, Eliza.
*Tow: the fiber of flax, hemp, or jute prepared for spinning by scutching; the shorter, less desirable flax fibers separated from line fibers in hackling. http://www.dictionary.com/
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar