Pioneer Mothers of the West; Or, Daring and Heroic Deeds of American Women

by John Frost

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

Genres: Nonfiction

348 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1854

About the author

John Frost graduated from Harvard in 1822. He was principal of Mayhew School in Boston and conducted a school for young ladies in Philadelphia until 1838, when he was appointed professor of English literature in the central high school of that city. He resigned this post in 1845, and devoted himself to the compilation of histories and biographies, of which, assisted by a corps of writers, he published over 300. Marietta College, Ohio, gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1843.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Deanne Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quoted from the book, "The stories, dating from the French and Indian War through the 1850s, recount desperate situations from the lives of westward-bound settlers, including encounters with the Native Americans they ultimately displaced.

Our female ancestors were no softies, the life they had to look forward to was not an easy one, especially with their men folk asway for long periods of time, working and hunting.
Several different stories told from the perspective of pioneering woman and the hardships they endured, keeping the children safe, the exhaustion they endured, daily life and more.
I am grateful how life has progressed and that we don't have to endure what they had to.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

[Denice Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It's not often you get to read or hear of how daily life was lived by our ancestors. The focus is typically on major events and on the actions and consequences of those pioneering men...women were just along as supporting characters.

When you actually look at how pioneer life was lived, men would be absent from their homes for long stretches of time so it was the women...no matter the age or size....that kept the home safe and their families fed and healthy. When your closest neighbor is miles away and you have no means of transportation except walking and any medical help is even further away, your life and your family's life depend on the skills the wives, mothers, sisters and others learned and shared.

Daring Deeds of Pioneer Women includes multiple stories that paint an often grim picture of survival, but the women managed because there was no other choice. John Frost has done an excellent job of painting a picture for readers that is fascinating and inspiring. 5 stars because that's all that's allowed!

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insanely racist. Published in 1859, they couldn't kill enough Indians. Crazy. Murder, government sanctioned genocide. Those "heroic" mothers, probably 100 stories about illegal immigrants stealing land and then butchering as many Indigenous people as they could. Important read though, just for the Historic racism.