David J. Wishart, Editor

MAIL-ORDER BRIDES

The definition of “mail-order bride,” since it pertains to a wedding arranged via communication between US women and men into the Great Plains within the nineteenth century, is mostly a misnomer. Twentieth-century folklore has it that a homesteader could peruse the Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogs and purchase a spouse become brought to his dusty home in the same way effortlessly as he could purchase a rifle, kitchen kitchen stove, or stomach remedy, but you a lot more interesting. Arranged long-distance wedding existed when you look at the Plains in a variety of communities, took lots of types, and expanded away from a number of social, economic, and social phenomena, but never ever included the literal sale, purchase, or ownership of females, while the term “mail-order bride” indicates. Continue reading “Encyclopedia regarding the Great Plains” →