The Incredible Perseverance of the Woman Pioneer

Hayley Piippo and Abbey Parten at site of Hopper Homestead during their tour with Nancy Beach

"Twentieth-century women tend to view their nineteenth-century counterparts as pitifully oppressed, virtually bereft of any political rights and, consequently, unable to control their own destinies. This assessment would come as quite a surprise to many nineteenth-century women." ¹

Though the restrictions on female political involvement may overshadow most modern observers’ perceptions, women were a strong driving force in the United States during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In an interview with Anna Palmer Museum (York, NE) temporary curator, Nancy Beach, she said that “women held their families together.” Women persevered through isolation, inequality, and adversities many of us can hardly imagine, building a life for themselves and their families. Phoebe May Hopper, Nebraska Wesleyan University professor from 1901-1938, wrote an unpublished manuscript entitled Little Pioneer’s Parents in 1951 about her family’s homestead in York County, Nebraska. The manuscript portrays the perseverance of women pioneers through Hopper’s mother, Kate. This story is what inspired our group to further research the sedulity of women pioneers, specifically in York County, Nebraska.

Holding Up the Earth Front Cover

Dianne Gray

As our group progressed into our research, we came across the findings of Dianne Gray. Dianne Gray is the author of three novels: Holding Up the Earth (2001), Together Apart (2002), and Tomorrow, The River (2006). She was able to provide us with many great details regarding the Hopper Homestead. Gray’s great-great-grandparents, E.J. and Della Foster, settled in York County 6 miles away from the Hoppers. During our interview with Gray, we asked several questions regarding her book, Holding Up the Earth. The main purpose of this book was to honor her female ancestors. Each character in the book represents one of her family members. The title of the book is meant to represent the image of women ‘holding up the earth.’ ² As Dianne stated, “It represents strong women who are digging and growing.” With those words, she is describing the work of women pioneers. Women pioneers persevered through many challenges and trials and played a key role during homesteading. Throughout the story, Dianne advocates for strong women. Each character: Abby, Rebecca, Anna, Sara, and Hope, represents a different woman from Dianne’s family. The town in the story, Prairie Hill, is based on York, NE. They each had unique trials in their life such as both World Wars, The Dust Bowl, and The Cold War. By writing this book, she was able to honor her family and create a relationship with her readers.

Mary Catherine “Kate” Hopper

York County Historical Association and Nancy Beach

The work of women pioneers is prevalent by Mother “Kate Hopper” throughout the writing of Little Pioneer Parents. Kate was the mother of May, Charlie, and Helen in the manuscript. Not only was she their mother, but she was the housekeeper, gardener, homemaker, and teacher. According to the text, Mother was always busy. She was either cooking, cleaning, gardening, washing, sewing, or playing with the kids. Her work never went unnoticed as May stated: “Mother always tried to be systematic about her work, though there were many interruptions to her schedule.” ³ The children would notice her normal actions like how “she baked bread every Saturday and usually every Wednesday until we children had so increased in stature, appetite, and number that tri-weekly bread-baking had to be established.” ⁴ Mother kept things going in the household and she never seemed to stop. “Mother was generally busy with the housework, no matter what the weather was like, but Father, after he had done the chores and filled the woodbox and water pail, usually sat by the stove and read.” ⁵ May and the children took note of all the chores Mother continuously did over and over again. Women pioneers persevered through many unprecedented circumstances and yet still seemed to succeed.

“Throughout American history, land ownership has provided individuals and groups with crucial resources and a measure of power, and its denial has both impoverished and disfranchised them.” ⁶ The Homestead Act of 1862 opened the door for many minorities and suppressed groups including women, African Americans, American Indians, and Latinx. Land was power during the late 1800s and early 1900s. When our group researched the impact of women in York County, we decided to also look at landownership in the York 1889 Atlas, which is available to the public on the York County Historical Association website. What we found was that in 1889, about 5.8% of land in York County was owned by women. Many of these women likely owned land because of inheritance, to act as a marriage dowry, as an old-age pension, and to gain economic freedom and autonomy. ⁷ About 2% of these women did not have a male with the same last name also owning land in the county. To claim land under the Homestead Act of 1862, you had to be at least 21 years of age, and as a woman, you had to be single, as in, widowed, divorced, never married, or head of household. ⁸ No matter how or why women obtained land, they gained power by doing so. “Women used land as a resource to exercise power: in establishing cultural autonomy, supporting their economic independence, and facilitating their political participation.” ⁹

Curator Nancy Beach told our group a story about the perseverance of women in York County, Nebraska. In 1870, York County held its very first 4th of July Celebration. At that time, the population of the county was about 600. ¹⁰ As planning for festivities was underway, the community realized that no family had brought an American flag. ¹¹ Three young girls, Mollie Brakeman, Ella Brakeman, and Elmira Baker, donated their dresses for the red, white, and blue for a homemade flag. ¹² The fabrics were not the traditional American flag colors as the girls only had the white muslin, turkey red calico, and a serge blue from the dresses.¹³ After gathering the fabric, they sewed the full-sized flag by-hand in time for the celebration. ¹⁴ The sacrifice and patriotism of these three young girls further explain the incredible perseverance of women pioneers.

Note from the authors:

Hi! Our names are Abbey Parten, Brooke Lindquist, and Hayley Piippo. We are freshmen at Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU). For one of our classes, we were tasked with finding ways to share engaging information about women of the past using the unpublished manuscript of NWU 1901-1938 professor, Phoebe May Hopper. This article and The Making of Phoebe May Hopper- Pioneer to Professor, are the results of our research. We hope you enjoy our work and learn a little more about the extraordinary women pioneers that helped shape the world we know today.

[1] Kathleen O'Neal. Gear, “Thin Moon and Cold Mist,” in Thin Moon and Cold Mist (New York, NY: Forge, 1996), 10.

[2] Dianne Gray, video call interview with authors, October 27, 2020.

[3] Phoebe May Hopper, “Little Pioneer’s Parents” (private collection of Jean Bolton, 1951), 45.

[4] Hopper, 45

[5] Hopper, 51

[6] Karen V. Hansen, Grey Osterud, and Valerie Grim, “‘Land Was One of the Greatest Gifts’: Women's Landownership in Dakota Indian, Immigrant Scandinavian, and African American Communities,” Great Plains Quarterly 38, no. 3 (2018): 252, https://doi.org/10.1353/gpq.2018.0041.

[7] Hansen, Osterud, and Grim, 267

[8] Hansen, Osterud, and Grim, 259-260

[9] Hansen, Osterud, and Grim, 265

[10] Greater York Area Centennial Corporation, Greater York Area Centennial, souvenir historical booklet, 1970

[11] Nancy Beach, conversation with authors (P, A, P, H), October 30, 2020

[12] Nancy Beach

[13] Nancy Beach

[14] Nancy Beach

Bibliography

Beach, Nancy. Conversation with authors (P, A, P, H). Anna Palmer Museum and York County. October 30, 2020

Gear, Kathleen O'Neal. “Historical Forward.” Foreword. In Thin Moon and Cold Mist, 9–12. New York, NY: Forge, 1996.

Gray, Dianne. By authors. Homesteading for Women in York County Nebraska. Video-call interview. October 27, 2020.

Greater York Area Centennial Corporation. “Greater York Area Centennial.” Souvenir historical booklet. 1970.

Hansen, Karen V., Grey Osterud, and Valerie Grim. “‘Land Was One of the Greatest Gifts’: Women's Landownership in Dakota Indian, Immigrant Scandinavian, and African American Communities.” Great Plains Quarterly 38, no. 3 (2018): 251–72. https://doi.org/10.1353/gpq.2018.0041.

Hopper, Phoebe May. “Little Pioneer’s Parents.” Private collection of Jean Bolton. 1951.