Growing Up West
Leather bottom portion of a child's shoe. This shoe is one of a pair found in association with the personal effects of the Atchison family and belonged either to a four-year-old girl or a five-year-old boy.
Though schools were scarce throughout the territories, many mothers insisted on continuing their children's education after emigration. This process may have been conducted at home by a parent or elder sibling with what few resources they might have on hand. Bertrand passenger Fannie Campbell was able to share her accomplishments acquired from schooling in Missouri by working as a teacher in Gallatin City, only two years after it opened in 1865 (see Switzer 2013:78). Education, however, had to be balanced with chores and other contributions to the family economy. However, children managed to find time for leisure activities including reading and drawing, which stayed with children as they matured into adulthood. The personal effects of some Bertrand passengers even include toys, suggesting an intention to preserve some aspects of childhood and play. Artifacts used for these activities, as well as accounts of their use, illustrate that despite the hardships faced by pioneers, individuals still took time for personal enjoyment and cultivation of the self. These were fundamental aspects of middle-class values and Victorian ideals.