Farmwives of the mid to late 1800s

<p dir="ltr">Digging up details about the lives of farm wives in Indiana during the 19th century wasn't easy for historian <strong>Morgan Lee Wilson</strong>, who will be our guest as Hoosier History Live salutes <strong><a href= "https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/womens-history-month">Women's History Month</a></strong>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Morgan, who lives on a small farm near <strong>Walkerton</strong> in <strong>St. Joseph County</strong>, has read diaries and letters written by rural women whose roles in agricultural life were crucial, but often unheralded and misunderstood by subsequent generations. Farm wives of the mid and late 1800s tend to be romanticized or described in "limited" ways, Morgan says.</p> <p dir="ltr">Morgan, who works at the <strong><a href= "https://www.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame</a></strong>, says misperceptions include the notion that farm wives had isolated lives. Diaries and letters often describe, in Morgan's words, "social opportunities through trips to towns and churches."</p> <p dir="ltr">Rather than being confined to kitchens and washbasins, farm wives of the 19th century often worked in fields, barns and gardens.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Diary-of-a-Hoosier-farm-wife.JPG" alt= "Pages from Mary Brown's journal, one of the primary sources used by our guest Morgan Lee Wilson in her research into the lives of Hoosier farm wives. Courtesy Indiana Historical Society." width="300" height="537" align="left" />In addition to discussing misconceptions about the Hoosier women "under whose worn hands this state bloomed," Morgan also will discuss childbirth on farms during the era, as well as other issues, including the health challenges of the women and their families.</p> <p dir="ltr">In her presentations across the state, Morgan frequently appears in the garb of a 19th century farm wife, although she does not portray a specific historical figure or a fictional, composite character. </p> <p>With a fellowship from the <a href= "https:/