Women of the West

And Every Day Life Along the Trail

Annie Oakley She could shoot the head off a running quail when she was twelve years old.
The Ballad of Belle Starr
Belle Starr, Belle Starr,
With a bullet in your back,
Are you lyin' there a-wishin'
That you'd never joined that pack?

Belle Starr From 1875 to 1880, Belle was the undisputed leader of a band of cattle-and horse-thieves. Here's a biography and lyrics of the Woodie Guthrie song about her.
Belle Starr: The Bandit Queen Neither a "belle" nor the "star" of any outlaw band...still she remains a legendary wild woman of the Old West.
Black Women of the West "(Black) women of the West were devoted mothers, daughters or wives burdened by their labors and often oppressed by bigotry. They were loyal to their families, churches and communities. Often a young wife gave birth by candlelight in a crude log cabin, prairie shack or sod house. Under primitive frontier circumstances many died in the effort. " This statement, from this web site, could just as easily been said about white, red, yellow, or brown women.... Women historically have been subjected to the same pain, heartache, trials, hopes and dreams worldwide.... color is not an issue.
Borland, Margaret Heffenan By 1873 she owned a herd of more than 10,000 cattle. She was said to be the only woman known to have led a cattle drive.
Calamity Jane An Autobiography
Calamity Jane: the "Heroine of the plains." Hung around the Overland Trail territory, was even a Pony Express rider, and friends with other "personalities" of the west during the mid to late 1800's.
Calamity Jane The Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane: An autobiography
Calamity Jane: The "White Devil of the Yellowstone"
Calamity Jane, born Martha Jane Canary, was a wandering American frontierswoman who dressed like a man and frequented bars, telling stories of her adventures
Cattle Kate The first woman hanged by vigilantes.
Charley Parkhurst One of the earliest drivers of stage coaches
Charley Parkhurst The "Whip"--She Was A Man!
A Divorce Petition, 1858 Getting a divorce required an act of the legislature in Oregon Territory. This petition to the legislature in 1858 recounts the hard life that Nancy Judson was having.
Elizabeth Simpson Bradshaw A widow, with five children, the youngest only 6 years of age, walked across the American prairie pushing all her family possessions in a handmade, wooden handcart. After much tribulation, more than could ever be told, Elizabeth, with all of her children still alive, arrived at her destination, the Salt Lake Valley. There in the West she made her home, reared her children, and is honored by her posterity.
Grace Maria Bransford BullsThis autobiography, written by her grand-daughter, Mary Jarvis, is filled with little anectdotes from every generation.
Frontier Women-- Movers & Shakers of the West Frontier Art, Books about Women in the West, and Old West Photos
Pearl Hart: First Known Female Stage Robber In Arizona Territory After being captured for the stage robbery, she said that she "would never consent to be tried under a law she or her sex had no voice in making, or to which a woman had no power under the law to give her consent." She had become a strident voice for "women's emancipation."
Indian Women from literature selections.
The James - Younger Gang Women: women in the lives of the outlaws.
Joyce Badgley Hunsaker, Living History Actress Pioneer descendant Joyce Badgley Hunsaker has won international acclaim in her unforgettable portrayals of FANNY! and Sacagawea. She has performed on stage for audiences from coast to coast, and has been featured many times on national television and radio. she has also performed by special invitation for the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Disney, and at federal heritage sites across the nation.
The Lady Outlaw's Hideout
Laura Ingalls Wilder A very comprehensive page. Check it out!
Life on the Plains Elizabeth Totten Thorne married at the early age of 15; these memoirs tell of early life in Kansas.
Lizzie E. Johnson Williams Schoolteacher, cattle dealer, and investor.
Lola Montez...Femme Fatale.. Early feminist of sorts and writer of a book of beauty tips. Homicidal temper; carried a whip. One of the most outrageous women of her time.
Mary Fields stagecoach driver, ex-slave from Tennessee. This tall, powerfully built woman was ambitious, daring and liked a good fight.
Mary Fields From the Wild West Magazine. Mary had a standing bet that she could knock a man out with one punch, and she never lost a dime to anyone foolish enough to take her up on that bet!
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Nellie Cashman--The Angel of Tombstone Described by her bioghapher, "Pretty as a Victorian cameo and, when necessary, tougher than two-penny nails," the extraordinary Nellie Cashman wandered frontier mining camps of the 1800s seeking gold, silver and a way to help others.
Narcissa Prentiss: American Martyr
Narcissa Whitman:A Most Unusual Honeymoon
Natawista. daughter of Two Suns, the chief of the Blood (Kainah) tribe of the Blackfeet Confederacy worked tirelessly with her husband, Alexander Culbertson, a Mountain Man, for nearly thirty years to bridge the gap between the white adventurers on the Upper Missouri frontier and the native inhabitants of that region.
No Place For A Woman? The California gold camps were hard on the ladies, but that didn't stop them from arriving, surviving, and sometimes thriving.
Notorious Ladies of the Old West Frontier women appear to be remembered in two distinct groups: the good, hardworking, plains woman and the infamous, treacherous outlaw or prostitute.
Outside the Law: Women Criminals in Arizona History Some of these women broke the law deliberately with shocking disregard to personal life or property. Others broke the law reluctantly, only trying to feed themselves or their families. Read about them: the stagecoach robber, Pearl Hart, Alfrida Mercer who was sent to prison for adultery, Theresa Garcia was sentenced for receiving stolen property, though the charges against her partner, Roberto Gudino, were dismissed for lack of evidence, and more.
Cynthia Parker a captive of the Comanches in 1836 remained with the Indians for almost twenty-five years, forgot white ways, and became thoroughly Comanche.
Pioneer Women A bibliography of books on the pioneer woman.
Pioneer and Emigrant Women A collection of biographical information and narratives that come from diaries, biographies and autobiographies of early pioneer women
Pioneer Life of Nancy Kelley Coming to Texas as a young bride in 1850, Nancy Kelly was a fearless woman who raised her children on a remote ranch. It was difficult to even get water from the spring without taking a gun for fear Indians were hiding close by.
Etta Place: Companion to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. She was often described as the most beautiful and wildest of all women in the Old West.
Sacajawea?�Sakakawea?�Sacagawea? The Spelling, Pronunciation, and Meaning of the Shoshoni Indian woman's name
Sacagawea, the Guide for Lewis & ClarkSacagawea helped Lewis and Clark map and explore Western America, giving birth to a baby boy along the way.
Several entries about Sacajewea written by students from grades 2 to 8.
Ellen Watson: Lynched along the Sweetwater River, Wyoming in 1889 Also known as "Cattle Kate," this is the true story as told by her great-nephew.
Western Warrior Women In spite of domestic drudgery, which was taken for granted, some Indian woman found opportunities to become social leaders. Women hunters and warriors brought food for their families and defended their communities, like the famous Kutenai titqattek (berdache), Madame Boisverd a warrior woman who became an inter-tribal courier and a prophet of "smallpox and other fearful happenings" in the early 1800s, and Woman Chief, a berdache and chief of the Crow nation, who achieved the third highest rank in her tribe.
Western Women's History: great links!
Wild Women West Women of the West who "passed" as men to pursue the life of an Army recruit, become stage drivers, enter the university to become doctors, and much more!
Cathay Williams: Female Buffalo Soldier When Congress passed an act authorizing the establishment of the first all Black units of the military, later to become known as "Buffalo Soldiers", Cathay Williams, a former slave, decided it was time to join the Army. In November of 1866 she enlisted in the 38th US Infantry as William Cathay. Since there were little or no medical exams required, Cathay was able to successfully (at least initially), pull off this disguise.
Wild Women of the West The History Net's site. Some of the ladies were short on virtue, but virtually all of them were long on courage as they faced the dangers and uncertainties of life on the frontier.
Women and the Civil War Manuscript sources in the Special Collections Library at Duke University
Women's Historical Manuscript Collection Containing information about women and their status and roles throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Women in the Gold Rush This web page is by a recognized authority on women in the gold rush, JoAnn Levy, whose book, They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush, was praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as "one of the best and most comprehensive accounts of gold rush life to date."
The Women: Actresses, Hotel Keeper, Gamblers, Pie Maker, Muleteer, Miner, Speculator, Victim, Washerwoman, Chinese Prostitute... read their story here.
Women in Arizona History The main areas of focus are: pioneer ranching women, women teachers, the lives of Mormon women, and women criminals. All of these Arizona women had to overcome the challenges of being a woman in a new and sometimes hostile environment.
Women in the Fur Trade European or white women would not live under the conditions found at the fur posts or along the trails. Bourgeois and voyageurs alike would get lonely, but they also needed someone to help with the work. An Indian wife or a metis (a person with mixed Indian and European heritage), could make his moccasins, clean his house, cook and give him children. Another wife back in the east was not uncommon.
Women of the Shooting Iron Ms. Miller, a Deputy United States Marshall in the 1890's, had the reputation of being a fearless and efficient officer. It was said that she was a "young woman of prepossessing appearance, wears a cowboy hat and is always adorned with a pistol belt full of cartridges and a dangerous looking Colt pistol which she knows how to use."
Women in the Mexican American War Sarah Borginis became the principal cook at Fort Brown (Fort Texas). She was issued a musket, and never missed a target or neglected to prepare a meal.
Women in the West A comprehensive bibliographic listing of works.
Women of the West: The Pioneers of the Frontier Females who headed west seeking opportunities.
Women on the Mormon Trail
Wyoming Women: They tamed the west Read about one line of women said to be �tougher than a boiled owl.�

MORE Women of the West can be found at: Diaries, Memoirs, Letters and Reports Along the Trails West

New page for: Every Day Life Along the Trail