Lillian Schlissel

What was the journey like for the women who migrated west to Oregon and California in the mid-19th century? Historian Lillian Schlissel analyzes diaries, journals, letters, and memoirs of dozens of women who made this journey to form a picture of the journey from a woman’s perspective. Most of the women were young adults, quite a few were pregnant during the journey, and most were less enthusiastic about the journey than the men in their family. Schlissel breaks down her account by decade, show more allowing readers to see how the experience changed over time as the later travelers benefited from more settlements and sources of support along the trail than the earliest travelers. The book includes dozens of illustrations (photographs and maps), transcriptions of four representative diaries, and a table categorizing each of the women whose diaries are referenced by date of travel, age during the journey, marital status, number and ages of children, etc. show less

Absolutely Top Notch Analysis.

Five Stars ::: A fascinating selection of diaries, letters, and journals from the mid-1800's. Bringing her expertise to bear, Schlissel mines the thoughts of these female writers to create a vivid picture of the long and arduous journey from the frontier of Missouri to the West Coast.

Other books have similar writings, but not with this depth of analysis. Kenneth L. Holmes' series, for example, makes interesting reading, but the letters are offered virtually show more without commentary and analysis. And I would not suggest reading them without reading this book first.

There are many wonderful pictures, a map, and some charts that serve to enhance the enjoyment of the narrative. Truly an excellent read.

Pam T for http://pageinhistory.blogspot.com/ show less

More than a quarter of a million Americans crossed the continental United States between 1840 and 1870, going west in one of the greatest migrations of modern times. The frontiersmen have become an integral part of our history and folklore, but the Westering experiences of American women are equally central to an accurate picture of what life was like on the frontier.

Through the diaries, letters, and reminiscences of women who participated in this migration, Women’s Diaries of the Westward show more Journey gives us primary source material on the lives of these women, who kept campfires burning with buffalo chips and dried weeds, gave birth to and cared for children along primitive and dangerous roads, drove teams of oxen, picked berries, milked cows, and cooked meals in the middle of a wilderness that was a far cry from the homes they had left back east. Still (and often under the disapproving eyes of their husbands) they found time to write brave letters home or to jot a few weary lines at night into the diaries that continue to enthrall us.

In her new foreword, Professor Mary Clearman Blew explores the enduring fascination with this subject among both historians and the general public, and places Schlissel’s groundbreaking work into an intriguing historical and cultural context show less

This book is based on a phd thesis. I listened to this book years ago when I was renting audio books. Rarely do I remember images from a book as clearly as I do from this one. The contrast between men's and women's descriptions of the pioneering is fascinating.