Tag Archives: Territory

by

The 1860’s Woman Part 3: On The Santa Fe Trail

While many women headed west on the Santa Fe Trail with their families, some hired on with the Army or freighters.

Regardless of why these women traveled west, their responsibilities remained the same.  Cooking, laundry, and medical care were their primary responsibilities.  If they had small children, they squeezed caring for their children in between other duties.

What stood out to these women along the journey?  Diaries and journals showed most women were concerned about the number of grave markers along the trail.  Some documented the varying plants, animals, and landscapes along the trail.  Disease and death topped their list of things feared.

Despite the tough journey, many women traveled west.  While their presence was often seen as objectionable on the wagon trains, their presence alone prompted better sanitation, better meals, and the men traveling with them tended to take fewer risks.

 

References:

Dary, David. The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends and Lore. New York: Penguin Group, 2000.

Georgi-Findlay, Brigitte. The Frontiers Of Women’s Writing : Women’s Narratives And The Rhetoric Of Westward Expansion. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1996.

 

by

The 1860’s Woman Part 2: Perception & Pursuits

In the 1860’s, while eastern states began to see women more as equals, that was not often the case in the west.  The patriarch still ruled in the west, partly out of necessity.  Often women moved west with their husbands, brothers, or parents.  Many women worked long hours in the home on a farm or ranch, seeing to their families’ need for food, clean laundry, mended clothes, etc.

While many women were educated at least through the eighth grade level, the prevailing mindset of the period, especially in the west, was that women were not capable of understanding complex subjects like politics and statistics.  Socially acceptable interests for women included:  domestic subjects, geography, botany, history, zoology, and ethnology.

One source calls the mindset towards women as “feminine understatement”*.  Women’s intellect and reasoning ability was often downplayed, even by women themselves in both their writing and speech.

 

References:

Georgi-Findlay, Brigitte. The Frontiers Of Women’s Writing : Women’s Narratives And The Rhetoric Of Westward Expansion. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1996.

Savage, Pat. One last frontier : a story of Indians, early settlers and old ranches of Northern Arizona. New York: Exposition Press, 1964.

by

The 1860’s Woman Part 1: Occupations

Western women in the 1860’s worked in a variety of occupations.  Traditional occupations included: school teacher, domestics, boardinghouse worker, and laundry and sewing services.

During the territorial days of Arizona, women worked in numerous non-traditional roles as well.  One source sites women working as type setters for newspapers, clerks for the territorial legislature, and even mining.  As the territory grew, some women worked as photographers, attorneys, mail carriers, hotel clerks, and missionaries.

On the western frontier, many women worked in the medical profession, often providing the only care when military or male doctors were not present.  Numerous women learned various remedies for common aliments.  They were also called upon in emergencies, sometimes working on severe injuries.  Very few had any sort of formal training.  But, life in the wilderness called many people to rise above the circumstance and their knowledge—improvising as needed.

In 1865, the legislature passed a law that allowed married women to act as an independent business person from their husband as long as they took in ad in the newspaper announcing their intent to operate as a “sole trader”.  Women who sold eggs from their ranches, operating as a sole trader, had legal rights to keep that money as her own.

For the single or widowed woman in territorial Arizona, a variety of career options were available, providing a secure income in a safe environment.

 

References:

Banks, Leo W. Stalwart Women. Phoenix, Ariz.: Arizona Highways Books, 1999.

Savage, Pat. One last frontier : a story of Indians, early settlers and old ranches of Northern Arizona. New York: Exposition Press, 1964.

Sharlott Hall Days Past Archives. 4 4 2010 <http://www.sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/days_show.pl?name=2004_09_05&h=%3Ecattle%20ranching%3E>.

 

 

by

California Column: Not Your Average Day Hike

In my last post, I introduced the California Column and their role in the settlement of the west, especially the Arizona Territory.  But, what was it like to like to trek across miles of untamed wilderness as a volunteer?

The worst hiking trip I have been on was a backpacking trip a few years ago.  I carried a 40 pound bag, compressed close to my body.  In my white short sleeve breathable shirt and convertible shorts (those ones with the pant legs that zip off), I blazed across the rugged mountain terrain in the eastern Superstition Mountains in 80 degree temperatures.  I had the benefit of a hat that protected my neck from the sun, wick-away socks, sturdy thick-soled hiking boots, and my trusty hiking sticks.  By the end of the seven mile hike, the heels of my feet were raw—then I got in my truck and drove the fifteen miles in air conditioning back to the main road, then on to my air conditioned house.

The California Column soldiers and cavalry did not have the benefit of getting in a vehicle and driving away.  They covered hundreds of miles across the Arizona Territory.  Imagine, walking on foot over rocky terrain as much as twenty miles in a day.  The sun is beating down on your back.  The temperature is somewhere around 95 degrees.  You are wearing a pair of trousers over drawers (long underwear), a wool shirt (seriously, wool!), forage cap, and great coat.  And it’s dark blue, thirstily absorbing the rays of the sun.  Strapped to your back is nearly 60 pounds of gear, clothing, supplies, and a canteen with three pints of water.  Your shoes are thin soled.  Once the soles wear out, you walk in your stockings or even bare feet.  You haven’t eaten in two days and you just hope that you come across a javelina or desert quail so you can eat tonight.

Those were the conditions the volunteers faced on a daily basis.  Despite the poor conditions, they were successful with their mission to protect the citizens of Arizona.