Frontier Children

Nonfiction by Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith University of Oklahoma Press (Hardcover, $24.95, ISBN: 0806131616, 10/1999) Probably one of the most neglected subjects relating to the American frontier is the children. This is surprising in that children were as integral a part of frontier life as adults, and to a large extent they were a major incentive for many of the families seeking a better future there. Written records and journals are a necessary component of historic research, but in the case of children, especially Indians and African Americans, such resources are virtually nonexistent. Despite this limitation, the authors have been able to reconstruct stories of children on the frontier from later-life memories and from oral history transcripts. They have wisely verified, when possible, the accuracy of their sources, for such reports are often heavily filtered through the passage of time and thus misleading. Excellent use is made of photographic evidence, which is quite extensive. Reproduced in this volume are more than 200 vintage photographs as well as several line illustrations. All of the many facets of the frontier experience are examined in relation to how they affected the world of children. ―Fred Egloffhttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/mwp_books/1132/thumbnail.jp