Age & Family Status 26 years old, married with 4 children (2 sons, 2 daughter) Background He benefited from the Homestead Act & was given acres/land by government The land he was given was on Native American Territory Religious man & attended Church when possible He had many skills and had to wear many hats; farmer, hunter, trapper, skilled carpenter, and skillful with weapons The constant moving of people made finding steady help hard & unpredictable He bought a new plow to till more fields but the equipment was expensive and the bad weather made it hard to produce more crops to sell. He is about to go into debt. His valuable possessions are few, lantern, compass and rope, a rifle and ammunition Daily Routine Constant struggles dealing with weather, crop/food hardships and sickness droughts in the Plains can destroy the crops Spent days building homes, tending to the cattle and animals, planting crops, bartering & selling crops

Age & Family Status 21, married to a farmer with 4 daughters Background Traveled west with very few household supplies: a few pots and pans, a large iron kettle, some blankets, Needles, thread, scissors Started a quilting bee with other women Daily Routine Constantly busy with cooking all the meals, making clothing for their family, cleaning the home, washing the laundry and helping on the farm when needed. Laundry was a big chore and usually took one or two full days to finish. She taught her daughters how to read and write in addition to teaching them female roles of a good prairie wife

Age and Family Status A female, not married, 16 years of age Background A female teacher earned $15-30 month There were strict ‘rules’ Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay Daily Routine She had to keep the school house clean, draw each day's water supply and keep the wood stove fired up on cold days Followed schedule of Penmanship, reading, literature, recitation, arithmetic, spelling Children not always present, depended on planting & harvest schedule

Age & Family Status 7 years old, one older brother, mother & father Background Loves to read but only has one book and the bible Sewed a handmade doll with help from Mother Did not have many friends to play with and played most games outside, as there was not much room in the home for playing. Liked to play marbles, jacks, “pick-up sticks” and tops. Daily Routine Responsible for daily chores milked the cows, collected eggs, helped prepare meals and worked in the fields planting. Went to school after planting season and prior to harvest.

Age & Family Status 29, married with 3 sons Background Attended University and very well educated Wanted to move west for better opportunity to practice medicine Had many unofficial jobs on the prairie - pharmacist, superintendent, a merchant, justice of the peace and a notary public Disease caused a big problem, as well as accidents and raids by Native Americans Lived closer to town but often had to make house visits, any time of day and any type of weather, even in the height of snowstorms Daily Issues There was no routine, he dealt with many types of issues, gunshot wounds, epidemics, broken bones, serious cuts He often didn’t have the best or newest medical equipment and often had to improvise to come up with medication or solution for aliment

Age & family Status 25 year old, male, store keeper & family lived upstairs above store Background The store stocked and sold many products like cloth, tools and special food items. Local items were sold in the stores as well as goods that arrived by traders/rail/coach. The store was a place to meet people and hear the latest news. The store served as a bank and post office Daily Issues Re-stocking challenges, trains not on time, trades come to trade not consistent Food/supplies would run out or go bad or be spoiled by animals, raccoons, that got into the food barrels Many families did not have money so they traded/brought with ‘Store Dollars” (credit)

Age and Family Status Father, Husband, 18 years old, many children Background Many natives are getting pushed off land and forced onto reservations The White Man’s culture is present and natives are being forced to assimilate Children sent to boarding schools to teaching them “white ways” Violent confrontations with new settlers Daily Issues Daily life beginning to change as more settlers are ‘claiming’ the land Find new trading partners with settlers Natives are questioning how the settlers will change their existing culture

Homestead Act Dust Bowl Sample Letter Cost of Living costoflivingversustodays.html costoflivingversustodays.html General Store A Pioneer School Laura Ingall Wilder Society

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