Pioneers of The Past

McDonough County Genealogical Society

Usually in Pioneers of the Past, I focus on an individual or family who settled in McDonough County during the 1830s and 1840s. Most often, that individual is a man.

But this article—and the next three—will be different.

This time, the focus is on the women.

These were women who came to McDonough County as widows, or who lost their husbands soon after arriving. They were left to raise their children, manage a household and somehow survive the hardships of life on the prairie. They did it without the conveniences we take for granted today and, in many cases, without another adult to help them.