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ProfessorPioneer women did a lot of things! Yes, many of them acted as the traditional housewife raising the children, sewing for the family, cooking, and cleaning (which is now and was then a full time job in and of itself) but hardwork from ALL members of a pioneer family was very important. Many women would help with the animals and building, especially if the family had just moved to wherever they were now, because it would often be a race against time to get thier shelter up before the weather turned against them. Women would often be very active in the church and community. Many women would make quilts on top of the clothes they made for themselves and thier family, and when a family lost their homes to a fire or twister these quilters would be right there with quilts for the family.
Many unmarried women became schoolteachers, which was an very important job especially since many towns and settlements didn't always have a school, and so many mothers (and fathers!) would have to do thier best to teach thier children at home or in the wagon as best they could. Teachers, be they men or women would usually spend a month or week living at the house of each student rotating through, as a way of supporting thier living in return for teaching especially since teachers probably wouldn't be able to afford thier own land. Teaching at a one room schoolhouse was challenging for teachers because they had to teach to students of a very wide range of ages, kids who were just learning to read, and young men and women not much younger then themselves who were studying to pass examinations allowing them to become teachers themselves.
Contrary to popular belief, although pioneer women were very skilled in and spent a lot of time cooking, thier work to keep thier family and neighbors safe and cared for went far beyond that and other work of that nature, and often involved much more physical labor then modern society tends to think was involved in being the Matriarch of a family. The very act of being a pioneer was physically and emotionally taxing, as the journeys they undertook to reach thier new life was very dangerous, and even looking after the kids in the wagon, was often a test of strength to not let on that the adults were scared. Women often helped with animals, and made lots of quilts, for thier own families, and others who needed them more, or as a source of income for the family. Many unmarried women were teachers in one room schoolhouses. The women of the pioneer era were strong and resilient, and were the heart, soul, and strength of the homestead movement.
If anyone's interested in learning more about the pioneer women, and that era of history in general here are a few places I would recommend starting. None of them are strictly non-fiction, but they are all historically accurate and based off real stories.
Laura Ingels Wilder's Little House books were based off her life growing up in a pioneer family. While they could be written off as kids books, they are considered classics and a wonderful read regardless of your age.
The American Girl Kirsten books are even easier to write off as for little girls, but they're very well written, grounded in history, and a good place to start if you don't know much about this time in history.
Finally, I would like to recommend the musical Quilters by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek. This musical tells the stories of generations of brave frontier women and girls. These women went through a LOT, and thier stories are just as relevant now as they were then. This musical is beautiful, and performed by a cast of just seven women, all of whom play many different women of many different ages throughout the show. Sadly, the show doesn't get produced very often. There are a few recordings of different productions online, and I'm sure you could easily find a script if you just want to read it (but really, just watch the recording, nothing can compare to actually hearing the music). If you ever get an opportunity to see this show PLEASE go see it, you won't regret it.
The Pioneer women did so much more then cook, and never JUST stayed in the kitchen.
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What was the role of the pioneer woman?
Back then, usually normal what women did back then. Cook, clean, take care of children, once in while they would get some wood, but mostly household stuff.
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Which role in musical life was socially acceptable for eighteenth-century women?
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class,s
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