Far from Home: Families of the Westward Journey

by Lillian Schlissel, Byrd Gibbens, Elizabeth Hampsten

Lillian Schlissel is a professor emerita of English and American Studies at Brooklyn College-CUNY. She is the author of numerous books, including The Western Women's Reader (with Catherine Lavender) and Black A History of African American Heroes in the Old West. Byrd Gibbens is a professor of English at the University of New Mexico, Valencia campus, and the author of This Is a Strange Letters of a Western Family 1880-1906.Elizabeth Hampsten is a professor of English at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, and the author of Settlers' Growing Up on the Great Plains.

Genres: History, American History, Womens, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Lillian Schlissel is professor emerita of Brooklyn College-CUNY, where she was director of American studies. Her books include Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey; Far From Home: Families of the Westward Journey, written with Byrd Gibbens and Elizabeth Hampsten, Western Women, Their Land, Their Lives; and Western Women’s Reader (with Catherine Lavender). Schlissel is a member of the editorial board of Studies in American Jewish Literature and is working on a history of five women of American vaudeville.

(from http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/author/sc...)

Reviews

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the first two (?) stories far more interesting than the last. Maybe because I think they were Americans but just wanted to move farther west. But the last story was about immigrants - German-Russians who headed out for the prairie from Russia with the thought of farming, with virtually no previous experience at farming, no knowledge of the English language and thus unable to communicate with anyone, except maybe other German-Russians. Apparently their families had emigrated from Germany to Russia. After a generation or so Russia wasn't working out either. So why not go to America? Not sure they got on the right train, didn't get off at the right stop. They were headed to South Dakota where they knew some people but got sent to North Dakota instead. There were some other German-Russians here but they were of a higher class, more educated, etc.

As noted, these people had little knowledge of farming, had to live in a boxcar their first winter. They sent one child to the school but he got bullied and left before even going in to the school. Eventually they each (there are two related families) get a plot of land. What peeved me so much about these people was they had no money, no knowledge, no skills and their neighbors were willing to help them out. And that was fine at first but then it just seemed to me that they were freeloaders, leaning on their neighbors far longer than should have been necessary.

Some of the people in this book were somewhat successful but couldn't really stick it. Either people died, too many children made people old before their time, etc.

I do think it was worth reading. I just got really peeved at the last group of people.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting trio of histories of very different pioneer families which honestly conveyed how horribly difficult their circumstances were. Most accounts of pioneers gloss over the dangers and poverty and paste on a happy ending, but statistics show the hard times were much harder than we think.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of three very different families on their "Westward, ho!" journeys. Inspiring, heartbreaking, and informative.

[Tiffany L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers three families in great detail. I enjoyed reading how they lived, why they migrated, and the ordeals they encountered.

[Dumbledore11214 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift (NOT from the authors of the book). Historical non-fiction had always been of my favorite reading choices. I especially love to learn more about different periods of american history and as you can see from the title and summary three long chapters cover the journey of the three (or actually four to be precise) families to the West, their attempts to build new life for themselves, their struggles and their longings to get home, which sometimes was a bit illusory.

What I loved about the book the most was that I thought I was reading a novel, the characters, the settings and their stories were that vivid. And I loved that those were real people. I wish all non-fiction books were that much fun to read besides being educational. The authors used the letters that family members used to write to the family members they left home, but I actually thought that especially in the first chapter long quotes could have slowed down the story (the main correspondent there was not very educated, at least for me her letters were hard to read). The writer of the chapter was excellent though and made the first chapter my very favorite part of the book.

If you love history and compelling stories about ordinary people, I highly recommend this one.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rubbing the gloss off the myth of the romance and adventure of early Americans journeying west for a new life, three authors dig into three sets of family letters to reveal tough passages along the Oregon Trail, to gold mines and other dreams in Colorado and New Mexico, and the long journey from Russia to North Dakota. The subtitle of this book should really be: "The women and children who suffered childbirth and isolation at the whims of husbands". The life was rough, and how they survived to carry on hearty genes to the next generation is phenomenal.

[Jaclynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the Westward journey in general and 3 different families that went West and you can read how they fared by following through the years. Life was not easy for those who made the journey but full of fascinating surprises.

[Marjie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the families, the Browns moved 24 times in 27 years. "I would give 5 years of my life if I had never seen this state." Maggie Brown is quoted. Her husband Charles Brown "You must not get so discouraged. things will work out all right yet." From part two; one of the families in the book.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

July 2002

[T. Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

True stories about families moving west. Would have liked to seen more original letters. Great volume for history buffs.

[Janel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not exactly entertaining, easy and lighthearted reading, but certainly an eye opening book diving into the hardships of settlers in the late 1800's to early 1900's.

[Constanza · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best historical books i have ever read