Pasque flowers: the first blooms of spring
The pasque flower plays a prominent role in “Proving Her Claim.” I chose it for its color and because it is one of the first signs of spring — something that we’re desperately waiting for this year on the prairie. The flowers bloom in a range of colors, from deep purple to pale lavender, and […]
Divorced women on the frontier
The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed “any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years” to file for a homestead. Many of these female homesteaders were single, widowed or divorced women. By stating that “any person” was eligible, Congress included women in this landmark legislation. As USD […]
What is a ‘spinster’?
“Why are they called ‘spinsters’?” That was a question I heard at a recent book event. The press release for “Proving Her Claim” opens with this line: The Civil War created countless spinsters and widows. Anna Olson was one of them. Like many words in the English language, “spinster” historically refers to women who literally spun […]
Fur trappers and traders made their mark
Proving Her Claim is set in Rendezvous, Dakota Territory. According to the story, the town was founded during those halcyon days when French Canadian and Scots fur trappers were the only white men in this new wilderness. The town was named for the rendezvous — the annual gatherings where fur trappers and traders would meet to celebrate […]
What does “proving a claim” mean?
Recently someone asked me about the origins of the term “proving a claim.” It’s a good question, and not a term that we use much today. History geek activatedThe Homestead Act in 1862 opened up 270 million acres of land to homesteaders. It specified that American citizens who were 21 and the head of a household could […]
The congressmen laughed
The Homestead Act of 1862 was, no pun intended, landmark legislation that changed the course of our nation. Professor Hannah Haksgaard, a Property and Family Law professor at the University of South Dakota, has researched and written about the impact of the Homestead Act. One of her white papers, Including Unmarried Women in the Homestead Act of 1862, […]
Little soddy on the prairie
In her letter to her mother, Anna describes her new home: My home is what they call a “soddy.” It is small, about the same size as your dining room and kitchen, Mamma. Most of the homesteaders live in sod homes like mine. There are few trees on the prairie, so we make do. The sod […]
Letters home tell the story
One of my beta readers commented that it appeared I’d done a lot of research while writing Proving Her Claim. She was right. I wanted to learn about the lives of real women homesteaders, and there was no better resource than reading their accounts in letters sent “back home.” These letters documented the challenges and triumphs […]