Author. Artist.
In honor of Women’s History Month, each of my blogs this month will introduce an artist or writer, mostly from the nineteenth century, all with fascinating stories. I first encountered Hannah Ropes story in researching my book about Kansas Territory. Her story fascinated me and […]
I learned about Samuel J. Reader early on in the research for my book. I believe our paths were meant to cross-his diary entries provided me with inspiration as an artist and writer. Once I saw Reader’s journals, I knew we were kindred spirits. Watercolor […]
One year ago the stories of the sixty men and women in Hope Amid Hardship: Pioneer Voices from Kansas Territory made their first public appearance. The journey I have taken with these incredible pioneers as I share their personal diaries and letters has been a wonderful experience. I have traveled through Kansas, Missouri, and Virginia relating, in their words, their experiences in early Kansas from 1854 to 1861. I have met dozens of interesting, friendly people including Tammy, the Register of Deeds in Jackson County, Kansas and Jim Stickler, a land surveyor in Topeka, Kansas. Others have shared stories of Kansans in their family tree. At book talks, historical sites, museums, research rooms, and in book stores, the people I have met, without exception have been gracious, helpful, and incredibly friendly.
In one small town on highway 54, I stopped for gas and had some difficulty with my rental car. I pulled up to the pump without knowing which side the gas cap was on. As I got out to check, the alarm on the keyless ignition fob went off. I got back in, moved the car to the other side of the pump, got out and remembered the fob alarm just as the shrill alarm sounded again. As I finally put the handle into the gas tank, a kind-looking gentleman walked toward me from his older-model Chevy pickup and asked if everything was okay.
“You look like you are having some trouble young lady,” he said as he eyed the car. “Just wanted to check to see if you needed any help.” I explained that the car was a rental and I hadn’t quite gotten used to it, but that I appreciated his concern.
“Okay, just checkin’,” he called over his shoulder as he walked back to his truck. This friendly demeanor is not unusual or unexpected in Kansas- one of the many reasons I like visiting.
I continued east and north to Mound City, formerly Sugar Mound, population 700. After researching the location of a lumber mill owned by pioneer Joseph Trego at the Court House, I walked a few block to the mayor’s home. A friend of mine has a farm in Mound City and introduced me (via email) to the mayor, Shayna Lamb. We had a glass of wine and spent a couple of hours chatting in her kitchen while she cooked dinner for a group of turkey hunters. What fun! And how refreshing. A bit different than the political scene in Northern Virginia where I live.
I am so grateful for the many people whose stories I have heard as I have traveled around sharing the stories of pioneers. Old or new, I never tire of hearing people’s stories. They connect us. The words and pictures give our history its personality.
So, at this the one year anniversary of my first book, I would like to thank all of those who have given me their support, encouragement, and friendship. It has been a wild and interesting ride. Now I am back to the archives to begin researching my next book. Stay tuned!
This is the third post in honor of National Women’s History Month. Like most citizens of New England, Lucy Larcom had never seen the broad expanse of Kansas. But also like most citizens of New England in 1855, she had heard about, and had strong […]
This is the second in a series of blog posts for Women’s History Month Boasting forty-two members from a population of two hundred, the Moneka Women’s Rights Assocation of Moneka, Kansas Territory, committed themselves early on to fight for equality for women. Chartered in February […]
This is the first in a series of blogs for National Women’s History Month
“I tell you but for the women of Kansas, it would have been abandoned in one week . . .”
On September 15, 1879, James Rogers spoke these words at the Old Settlers meeting in Bismarck Grove, Kansas. The gathering celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of Kansas settlement. He went on to describe the character of a woman in Kansas Territory:
“It seems to me that she must have been inspired of heaven during all those hours of our distress, for when the man grew weak, the woman grew strong. When the men became timid, the women became the more brave. When the men despaired, the women inspired them with hope.”
One of those women, Julia Louisa Lovejoy, attended the meeting. Mrs. Lovejoy traveled with her husband, Reverend Charles Lovejoy, and their three children, to Kansas in 1855. Shortly after arriving, the couple’s youngest daughter, Edith, died after contracting measles. At the settlers’ meeting, she expressed her thoughts about those early days and her feelings about Kansas:
“In 1854 we christened Kansas and oh! I remember it well. Everybody seemed to be enthused with the spirit of freedom’s crusade . . . We mothers have passed through a trying ordeal, but we can look back over the ground with a swell of pride in our hearts when we think of the glorious results as we have them before us now.”
February 26, 2013 What do pioneer diaries and your personal journal have in common? They are both part of history. For my book, Hope Amid Hardship: Pioneer Voices from Kansas Territory, I read the diaries of many Kansas pioneers. With few exceptions, none of these […]
