I am participating in the Proxy Brides
multi-author series. I’ll be having a new one coming out in March and need to
start brainstorming ideas. Since this is my fourth to write for this series, I
was scratching my head a bit as to what scenario to write. This coincided
nicely with my need to write this article. So I started doing some research and
now my brain is abuzz with ideas. This was definitely a win/win situation :-)
One of
the most basic reasons that men tried to find spouses through the mail during
the nineteenth century was because of an imbalance in the gender ratio. There
were many factors that contributed to this imbalance, ranging from the
California gold rush, to the American Civil War, to westward expansion. The
first significant event to contribute to the unbalanced gender ratio was the
discovery of gold in California in 1848. It inspired many a man – both
domestic, and international – to head to the American West in an attempt to
find his fortune.
Many pioneers were disappointed to discover that all
of the easily-accessible gold had already been panned. After investing
extensive time and money to travel by ship, wagon, or railway, however, they
were not about to head back home. As the 19th century progressed, pioneers
headed into the mid-West and West in search of gold, natural resources, open
land, and a fresh start. Some were coming from the eastern portion of the
United States, but others came from foreign countries. Between 1850 and 1890
approximately 7.5 million European immigrants traveled to the United States, a
portion of them settling on farms in the western part of the country. Due
to the demanding nature of farming, some men sought to marry and have children
who could help them to establish and maintain a farm. For others it was
particularly significant to marry and have children so as to carry on the
family name.
There were plenty of other reasons that men of the
West wanted to marry. Some men desired a spouse because they were lonely, some
needed money, and still others hoped for someone who shared their cultural
background. It is important to note that while there were not as many white
women in the American West, there was not a total absence of women. Indigenous
women were, of course, present in the American West, and some pioneers formed
relationships with them. Statehood advocates feared that inter-racial marriages
would not count as “civilized behavior” and therefore threaten the possibility
of transitioning from territory to statehood. Many Americans expected that
the presence of (white) women would help to civilize the Wild West by replacing
alcohol, gambling, and prostitutes with schools, and churches.
Just as the West drew men with the
promise of opportunity, fortune, adventure, and a new beginning, it also did
for women. In many cases marriage provided a literal ticket for a woman to go
West and seek a better life. Other women also found that the mail-order
method of match-making allowed them to pursue ambitions of their own, such as
greater personal autonomy.
Some western states made a deliberate effort to
encourage the migration of women by promising them liberal women’s legislation.
In 1849, for example, California legislators crafted a state constitution that
defied the tradition of coverture law. That is, the Constitution allowed women
to retain ownership of their property upon marriage. Henry Halleck helped craft
the Constitution, and he explained the end of coverture as a means of
attracting single women to settle out west. Here’s what he said: “I do not
think that we can offer a greater inducement for women of fortune to come to
California. It is the very best provision to get us wives that we can introduce
into the Constitution.” Kansas (1855), Oregon (1857), and Nevada (1864)
also eliminated coverture laws with the intention of drawing women to their
states. Since western legislation promised women autonomy, and western men
offered marriage, independent women could achieve the former by agreeing to the
latter as mail-order brides.
In addition to its favorable property laws for
women, California offered women the legal right to initiate divorce. Presuming
that women outside of California were aware of this law, it made marriage to a
man met through the mail a slightly less risky proposition – if the marriage
turned sour, women had legal rights to leave it.
States also wooed women to traverse the country with
the promise of suffrage. In 1869 Wyoming became the first state to allow women
the right to vote. Utah (1870), Washington (1883), Montana (1887), Colorado
(1893), and Idaho (1896) followed suit, all promising women suffrage prior to
their East Coast counterparts.
Some women became mail-order brides not to advance
their position or pursue their own goals, but simply to survive. Women often depended
upon men in their lives to provide for them economically. Losing a husband to
death introduced an economic vulnerability. Having to provide for children
after the death of the breadwinner only exacerbated economic woes.
The death of men in the Civil War only compounded
the gender ratio imbalance that the resource rush to the West had begun. Between
1861 and 1865, nearly three million men fought in the War. One in five would
die. Many others survived but came home grievously injured. The death count
alone, though, was equivalent to approximately two-and-a-half percent of the
general American populace. Although this might not sound significant
enough to threaten women’s marriage prospects, the average age of a Union
soldier was 25.8 years old – prime for marriage, therefore the one in five was
concentrated among eligible men. As such, many women feared that with the
new scarcity of men, they would end up spinsters.
This was such fascinating research and will lead to
an even better book for me. Thanks for letting me share! In the meantime, have
you read my latest Proxy Bride book, A Bride for Alastair?
Secrets divide them.
Could love build a bridge to help them overcome their deceptions?
Jane was full of resentment and fear when the man she had
married by proxy came to collect her. She resented the circumstances that
required her to marry and was afraid of being tied to a stranger, especially a
stranger she had to keep secrets from.
Alastair Fredericksburg, Fred to his friends, had arranged
successful proxy marriages for a few of his friends but still had mixed
feelings about marriage due to his sister’s unhappy union. He was
understandably hesitant when his friends Ella and Carter McLain contacted him
requesting that he arrange a marriage for their friend, Jane.
When a sudden inheritance that would solve many of his
sister’s problems is dependent on his marriage, Fred can’t decide if it’s the
Devil or Providence watching out for him. Since Carter had already sent Jane’s
proxy, Fred quickly signs and registers their marriage. After making sure his
sister was secure, Fred boarded the westbound train to claim his wife.
Jane was certain it was only the sweet wine they had been
drinking that had caused her to agree to Ella’s rash suggestion. She had failed
to tell Ella of the secrets that made her an ineligible match for Alastair
Fredericksburg. Would she be able to keep her secrets from her new husband? And
could they ever be happy while divided by deception?
