Customer Reviews

American Grit: A Woman's Letters from the Ohio Frontier (Ohio River Valley Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Compiled and edited by Emily Foster, American Grit: A Woman's Letters From The Ohio Frontier is an inherently fascinating collection of correspondence from the first half of the nineteenth century, written by Anna Briggs Bentley, a devout Quaker wife determined not to lose contact with her mother and sister. Filled with emotion, a willingness to work, love for her family and her many children, and a great deal more, American Grit provides contemporary readers with a compelling and enjoyable look through a kind of "window of time" at daily life in rugged terrain. A fine work enhanced with brief annotations for clarity, American Grit is very highly recommended for Women's Studies and American History Studies collections and reading lists.

I found this book in my local library, but it is so good and contains so much information, I intend to buy it.

Anna Bentley's letters are the unwritten, unsaved letters that all of us whose ancestors crossed the mountains before the Civil War wish we had. Covering the years 1826 through 1881, they tell of experiences common to most pioneers--from the cabin in the wilderness to the dispersion of children to the West. Some of the letters are repetitious--the yearning to see her mother and siblings back east, the sicknesses of her family and neighbors, the scarcity of goods and cash, the success and failure of crops and livestock, the cooking, sewing, washing and preserving. But all the while life is moving on as Anna and her family change and age.

Emily Foster has done a wonderful job of making these letters accessible to the casual reader. In addition to deciphering Anna's handwriting, she provides explanatory notes that identify people, places, unusual terms and historical references. These are located after the letter in which the explanation is needed so the reader does not have to flip to the end of the chapter or book. In addition, at the end of the book, there are lists that help in keeping the large families straight. A lengthy bibliography identifies sources,and there is a detailed index.