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Settlers' Children: Growing Up on the Great Plains
Discusses the conditions of pioneer children on the Great Plains, including farm labor, limited access to schooling, the nearness of danger, and other aspects of their life
252 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1991
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September 25, 2025
A book about the children of settlers (specifically in North Dakota) based on anecdotal accounts of those who lived there in the late 1800s and early 1900s, ranging from letters to accounts people gave decades later.
I found it interesting, especially since the author is unusually critical of many of the settlers, not only for the part where they displaced the natives (and decades later spouted stereotypes about them), but because for many of the women and children who followed men out, life on the prairie was extremely difficult and might well have been worse than that where they came from. Families were usually removed from their support networks and extremely isolated by the requirement of living on the homestead, far from town, and children often had shoddy access to education, were sent to work at young ages at a time when child labor was become a contentious issue in more urban areas, had little shelter from abuse when so isolated, and were often put in danger simply by the move itself. The author tells the story of one family where the mother and four of the six children died before they ever got to their final destination in the west. Even when they survived, parents didn't always have the greatest ideas about how to treat children: there's one family whose diary relates being concerned about their months-old infants being too "willfull" and hitting them to teach them to sleep without being rocked.
Of course, there are happy memories and success stories, too, some of which are shared as well - families who put everything they had into education their children (which tended to eventually lead to leaving the area) or did their best to provide for children and paid attention to their needs despite harsh circumstances.
I did find that the book was somewhat disorganized; some of the anecdotes seemed like they had little relation to the theme of a particular chapter, and while some of the stories were quite interesting, I felt some of the direct quotes and retellings went on too long, which made my attention wander.
I found it interesting, especially since the author is unusually critical of many of the settlers, not only for the part where they displaced the natives (and decades later spouted stereotypes about them), but because for many of the women and children who followed men out, life on the prairie was extremely difficult and might well have been worse than that where they came from. Families were usually removed from their support networks and extremely isolated by the requirement of living on the homestead, far from town, and children often had shoddy access to education, were sent to work at young ages at a time when child labor was become a contentious issue in more urban areas, had little shelter from abuse when so isolated, and were often put in danger simply by the move itself. The author tells the story of one family where the mother and four of the six children died before they ever got to their final destination in the west. Even when they survived, parents didn't always have the greatest ideas about how to treat children: there's one family whose diary relates being concerned about their months-old infants being too "willfull" and hitting them to teach them to sleep without being rocked.
Of course, there are happy memories and success stories, too, some of which are shared as well - families who put everything they had into education their children (which tended to eventually lead to leaving the area) or did their best to provide for children and paid attention to their needs despite harsh circumstances.
I did find that the book was somewhat disorganized; some of the anecdotes seemed like they had little relation to the theme of a particular chapter, and while some of the stories were quite interesting, I felt some of the direct quotes and retellings went on too long, which made my attention wander.
Displaying 1 of 1 review