A land of her own: independent women homesteaders in Lyon and Coffey Counties, Kansas (1860-1870).

Abstract

This thesis concentrates on women who farmed independently in Lyon and Coffey counties in Kansas during the 1860s. These women contradicted the nineteenth century perception that women simply did not possess the physical strength or business sense necessary to succeed in farming. These women also called into question many midnineteenth century attitudes regarding the proper behavior of women. The most significant point of this investigation lies in confirming the view that, contrary to expectation many women, independent of husbands, did indeed farm successfully in Lyon and Coffey counties. Land laws, including the Pre-emption Act of 1841 and the Homestead Act of 1862, opened vast tracts of land to settlement. The Homestead Act in particular helped many women homesteaders since it made land available to single women for the first time. Treaties with Indian tribes and federal land grants to railroads also increased the amount of available land. The railroads, the government, land agencies, emigrant aid societies, and individual communities all advertised the availability of unoccupied lands and expressed a clear desire that emigrants should settle in these locales. The combination of these factors resulted in a tremendous influx of emigrants onto the western frontier during the midnineteenth century. Some of these emigrants were independent women who established farmsteads and endured the same trying conditions as any other settler of the time. However, the tasks they performed and the dangers they faced, as well as the societal prejudices they overcame, made success all the more difficult since they had no husbands to assist them. Yet many of these women persevered and truly made their farms a successful land of their own.