Threshing the Grain: Revealing the Lived Experience of a Late Nineteenth Century Hoosier Farm Woman to an Early Twenty First Century Audience

Abstract

This thesis examines the life of Mary Brown, a farmer’s wife in mid to late nineteenth century Indiana, through a detailed look at primary source materials including the journals of her husband, letters, and occasional journal entries by herself and her daughters. Mary’s story serves as a case study of the lived experiences of Indiana farm women. This research includes pertinent information regarding the farm tasks she took on both in the house and in the fields. Women did what they had to in order to assure the success of their household. This challenges and rejects the narrative of the homebound and devalued wife. In the case of the Browns, they operated as one unit, wholly committed to the success of the family and farm, not dictated by middle class or urban gender norms. Even in the face of illness, childbirth, and death, these women persevered. Women farmers are an underappreciated historical player in the development of Indiana. The comparative paucity of established works which explore the role of Indiana farmer’s wives’ duties and value shows the need for in-depth research of what life really was like for women in rural Indiana. This lack of scholarship has led to the anonymity of generations of women in Indiana. Farm women were foundational to agricultural enterprises and deserve recognition. To make certain that Hoosier farm women did not remain forgotten, an exhibit was created and story of Mary Brown was shared with the public in a way that allowed new perspectives of the past to be cultivated. This thesis will also share the process and final product of the exhibit component.