The Lives of Women in History

Myra Maybelle Shirley was born on February 5, 1848, in Carthage, Missouri.  She was well educated and grew up in a family of SOuthern sympathizers and supporters of Slavery.  She eventually found her way to a life of petty crime, or really more like she just befriended a crowd of criminals.  Over the next few episodes, we will learn about the life of Belle Starr and then her daughter Pearl. 

Bonus Episode - Outlaw Woman, Bad Girls of the Frontier. In this Bonus Episode, we take a look at Victoria Woodhull and her sister Tennessee Claflin.  Victoria and Tennessee grew up with a con artist Pa and a religious fanatic Ma.  They claimed to have clairvoyant abilities and conned people all across the United States.  Victoria soon started speaking out about her beliefs that women should be able to practice "free love" and she tried to run for president. Please be aware that although there is no language used in this video there is limited talk of sex.

This week we take a look at Sarah Winnemucca, a brave Native American woman not afraid to stand up and fight for the people she loved so dearly.  

In this episode we take a short look at the possibility of separation and divorce on the frontier as well as the different kinds of work women did on the frontier.  From setting up the home to gardening, plowing, caring for the animals, making soap, spinning yarn, sewing clothes, cooking every meal, and caring for the children of a growing family women endured many struggles and hardships. 

In this episode we take a peek behind the closed doors of the Pioneer Woman living on the Frontier. We will compare and contrast the lives of Anglo women, a Native American, woman, and a Hispanic Woman.   We look at how she struggled with the day to day living out West.  Then we will sneak a peek at marriage and childbirth.

Cathay Williams was born in 1844 as a slave.  During the Civil War she was impressed into service by the Union Army as a cook a laundress.  Once the war was over she found herself needing employment.  She joined the US Army in November 1866.  This is is story of the life of Cathay Williams.  The little that is known shows us the life of woman who wanted nothing more than to be self-sufficient.

Furnishing their new home on the plains and in the west was an important step in creating a warm welcoming place for  woman's family.  But battling the issue of water, waste disposal, and lighting could be as worrisome as battling insects, rattle snakes, and critters large and small.