Heroes, Heroines, and History

 Women Homesteaders: Florence Blake Smith 

By: Izzy James

 

Newspaper Article from Chicago Tribune, Florence is on the right.

   Florence Blake homesteaded in Wyoming about 1920. Which is a lot later than I usually think about people homesteading. Florence worked for the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago and one day she met someone she knew and her life changed forever. 

 

“Dashing down La Salle Street in Chicago one fall day, I ran into a young man I knew, who had just returned from taking up a claim in Wyoming, and as we stood in the doorway of the Rookery Building out of the wind, he explained how one went about doing this thrilling deed…Since I was free, white, and just twenty-one and female, I decided right then and there that I could do the same, if he could.”

   She kept her thoughts to herself as she thoughtfully considered and weighed all the costs and ramifications. After telling her family and dealing with the criticism such an endeavor produces she found an ally in her mother. The two of them planned and before too long the money required was either earned or found. Florence’s next big obstacle was obtaining a leave of absence from her job at the bank. 

 

Florence's Neighbors. Pumpkin Buttes in the background.

 

 “My boss had one of those concrete exteriors you often find heads of departments have…He was one of the world’s worst, and I dreaded asking for the time off. I was so afraid he would laugh at the idea. Then too, I did not want to share the secret until I knew for sure I would obtain my request…Whereupon one fine morning when I felt particularly courageous, I walked into the boss’s lair. I was scared to death., and had planned on standing up and giving my speech all I had, but my knees shook so I was glad to sit down. Still I was determined to quit if need be, although I hoped that would not be necessary. Even if I was confident I could get another position. The egotism of youth…
He let me sit there for a few minutes while he finished writing some secret-code work probably, because his back was almost turned to me. In spite of his lack of interest, I stated my case and made my request. Then I waited, with bated breath, while I watched his usually stern face change to a broad grin. I could hardly believe my eyes. Then he turned around and took one good look at me. Almost gasping, he said,
‘Mean to tell me I’ve had someone in my employ with enough guts to go out West and stake a claim? I’ll say you can have ten days off; take two weeks, and if you need anymore, let me know. Now tell me all about it.’
Gosh, he was human, but he had done a good job of keeping it a secret till then.”

 

The Pumpkin Buttes visible from Florence's Claim

   I think the above quote says more about Florence Blake and other homesteaders than I could say about her. Despite family criticism, the possibility of losing her job, and the hardships of an untamed land, she took the leap. Florence loved Wyoming and she viewed her years of homesteading as an adventure of a lifetime. She built her little homestead house. Learned to make bread. Met and fellowshipped joyously with her neighbors. Visited Yellowstone with friends, and battled rattlesnakes and bulls. Here’s another quote: 

“When I returned to my job, at the end of the ten days’ leave, I was hailed as a heroine, an adventuress, a land-owner. How envious my fellow workers were, who could have done the very same thing had they wished. How strange the urges that drive some and leave another cold.” 

And another:

“Her (a neighbor, Mrs. Tucker) words still rang in my ears: ‘Why does any girl in her right mind choose to come out and homestead in a God-forsaken country like this?’ Her ideas were not mine, but then she had been raised on a homestead in a bleak section of Nebraska, and while on this one she had a loving husband for a companion and helper, it seemed almost bleak. Not to me, it was the most wonderful bunch of land anyplace in the whole United States. I guess liking Wyoming is like spinach, either you hate the sight of it, or you can’t explain what there is about it you like.”

    Three years into her adventure she met the man she eventually married. After five years she proved up on her land and received the patent to her homestead. 

“The following year our baby girl was born, and my cup of happiness was indeed full and overflowing.”

 

   This is why women homesteaded. Because the opportunity existed and because they wanted to. :-)

 

Florence Blake Smith

 

   My character Dr. Alice Russel is just such a strong woman. She appears in my novella Heart of Liberty.

 

 

   Heart of Liberty is a Small Town, Grumpy/Sunshine, Christian, Romance amidst Homesteaders on the High Prairie of Wyoming Territory   

   Clayton Woodbridge has a secret that drove him to the wilderness years ago. Dark images of the past plague his waking hours. Clay knows the Lord has forgiven his past, but that doesn’t mean that the past is forgotten or even healed.
   Ousted by her landlords who wanted their building for their recently graduated son, Alice Russel, MD moved home with her parents. Filled with the optimism of a long line of pioneers, Alice couldn’t resist the opportunity when the growing town of Liberty was looking to exchange a homestead for her medical services. After accepting the job, Alice packs up the twins she inherited at her brother’s death and moves to Wyoming Territory.
   Clay cannot believe that such kindness and generosity of heart could exist in one person. His father and his best friend both believe that God has sent him a blessing in the friendship of such a woman. Clay knows he isn’t worthy of such a gift.
   Alice doesn’t know what to make of the surly man who comes to her aide time and time again.
Can Clay and Alice form a bond strong enough to hold when secrets come out of the dark? 

 

 Izzy James lives in the traces of history in coastal Virginia with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books. Born with a traveling bone and an itch to knit, Izzy travels to every location where her books take place, from Williamsburg to Wyoming, popping in yarn stores along the way. 

 

Connect with Izzy through her website at izzyjamesauthor.com and sign up for her monthly newsletter. 

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