Pioneer Women

Who were the pioneer women of British North America? “In general, they were the women of native and European origins who inhabited the British portions of North America that later became Canada. However, the approach of this essay is to focus on the female “half” of the United Kingdom migration of the early nineteenth century.” These women were Protestant, Roman Catholic or one of several other Christian denominations such as Presbyterian. The pioneer inhabitants were the first European settlers on the land. The woman’s role in her village not considered as important as the man's role, but they filled the vital operation of maintaining the first households of British North America. Each village had its own distinct cultural or religious differences. Some of the primary duties that entrusted to women included milking cows, picking fruits, school teaching, working in factories and knitting. The children in these villages played and attended church together, and went to the same school. As they grew older, they would become engaged to or married to someone from within their community.
There are thousands of letters, poetry and newspaper articles documenting this time in history. These documents tell a story of courtship, community bonding and sometimes-family tragedy. The primary documents I have chosen to analyze are the personal letters in 1873, between, Margaret Thompson and William Donnelly. It is not difficult to realize why I have chosen these letters. “The woman Margaret had chosen as her husband a member of the ‘Black Donnelly’s’, a family deeply embroiled in feuds so virulent that they had persisted through emigration from Ireland to tear apart the New World community of Biddulph with murder and arson.”   In researching these letters and analyzing other secondary sources, I realized that pioneer women did not necessarily marry for love. They were important factors that ensured a marriage and courtship such as: the consent of the parents, the economical level... [continues]

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