Desperate Times Are On Linda Shenton Matchett’s Mind

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Desperate Times Called For Desperate Measures

The Fillies Welcome Linda Shenton Matchett

After the American Civil War, the Homestead Act of 1862 sent thousands of men across the nation. Many wanted (or needed) a new start. Others hoped to secure a fortune. Still others simply had a desire to explore their vast homeland. Once settled, loneliness set in, but women were scarce on the prairie. Ratios as high as one woman for every ten men caused them to reach out to families or former pastors about women who might be willing to marry them. A few ran advertisements in newspapers.

The mail-order bride industry grew quickly with matrimonial agencies springing up acting as brokers to arrange marriages. Some of the agencies produced catalogs in which women or men could place ads, while others used word of mouth or posted notices in church bulletins or local newspapers.

Why would a woman choose to become a mail-order bride? To travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles, to marry a man she’d never met, and might only know through a handful of letters?

Women in the last quarter of the 19th century could find themselves in desperate situations. Life expectancy was short, and children often lost one or both parents at a young age. However, because of the laws, or lack thereof, single females had very few rights. They could be shuttled off to another male relative or someone assigned as guardian, and the man could make whatever decisions he wanted without regard to the girl’s interests or wants.

Even a woman in her “majority” had almost no rights. She couldn’t vote, own property independently, or enter into legal contracts without a male guardian. Access to higher education was also limited with many colleges not accepting women as students, or if they did, allowing them to attend class but not awarding a diploma at the end. Career opportunities were also limited with only certain jobs considered acceptable for women.

Priced per word, ads were “short and sweet,” so unless the bride and groom corresponded, they didn’t truly know what they were getting. It is difficult to know how many of these couples experienced happily-ever-after. Few published memoirs or diaries about their experiences, and Gallup polls were a thing of the future, however there are many newspaper articles touting successes, and it seemed that most couples remained married. But, there were periodic “foibles.”

Apparently, one poor young woman was robbed on the way to meeting her groom, and thanks to a distinctive scar on his arm, she realized at the wedding that he was the culprit. Needless to say, she skedaddled. Another article published in Council Bluffs, Iowa reported that one couple turned out to be long-lost siblings that had been separated at a young age. She’d been married and widowed, so her surname had changed.

Dating apps have replaced newspaper ads, so perhaps we’re not so far removed from mail-order brides after all.

Question for readers: Would you consider using a dating app to find a spouse? Comment for a chance to win one ebook edition of Ivy’s Inheritance.

 

Ivy’s Inheritance

Has she fled one untrustworthy man only to be stuck with another?

Ivy Cregg’s father is a gambler, but this time he’s gone too far. He loses his mining fortune and her along with it in a high-stakes poker game. Unwilling to go along with the deal, she hides out with a friend who tells her about Ms. Crenshaw, owner of the Westward Home & Hearts Mail-Order Bride Agency who is in town. The prospective groom is a wealthy man which seems like an answer to prayer until Ivy discovers he made his fortune in mining. Is he as untrustworthy as her father?

After emigrating to America to fight for the Union during their Civil War, Slade Pendleton moved West while working on the railroad, then headed to the plains of Nebraska to seek his fortune. He was one of the lucky ones and now has everything he could ever want. Except a wife. With the few women in the town already married, he sends for a mail-order bride. The woman arrives carrying the telegram that explains her need to flee, but now that she’s safe, she seems to have no interest in going through with the ceremony. Should he send her packing or try to convince her to stay?

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About Linda:

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily ever after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Linda has been scribbling stories since her parents gifted her a notebook in the third grade. She now resides in central New Hampshire where she works as a Human Resources professional and volunteers as a docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of World War II.

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41 thoughts on “Desperate Times Are On Linda Shenton Matchett’s Mind”

    • I’m with you, but know two women who successfully found husbands with an app.

  2. I met my husband online back in the old days of chat rooms. However, we met and got to know each other well before we married. I’d need to be pretty desperate before I’d have become a mail-order bride, but I could see myself going west, hoping to meet my someone. Therefore, I’d probably use a dating app, but we’d get to know each other before proceeding.

  4. I have known some couples that have met on a dating app. I think I would be willing to try a dating service if I should ever be in a position to date again. After 30 years of marriage, I hope I never need to date again. I enjoy being married to my spouse.

  5. Linda, so great to see you in another venue. Fascinating insights into a terrible time for women. I can only imagine what would cause them to take a chance on a perfect stranger, and on the West. I was never any good at blind dates and this is the ultimate blind date so no, I probably wouldn’t. Thanks for sharing.

    • Ultimate blind date is right, and I never thought of it like that! Desperation indeed! Nice to “see” you too!

  6. wow this is an interesting question. if I lived way back then, and I had no one, I dont know if I would become a mail order bride. but if I did, I would need to get to know him personally before I committed. if not, I could sew or bake for a living.

    • Thanks for stopping by. I can’t even sew on a button, but I could bake or work in a shop if they let me.

  7. I don’t think I would use a dating app. I lost my husband of 53 years last December. I’m 73, and I don’t think that I could be married to anyone else.

  10. well I married my HS sweetheart – I was in HS he’d already graduated with 2 yr degree – I am not sure about the mail order bride thing – takes a strong woman back then and most didn’t have a choice!

  11. I don’t think I would use an app to find a spouse. I would rather find a spouse the old fashion way.

  12. Good morning Linda! I’ve read Ivy and Slade’s story recently! I enjoyed it! You can give another a chance to read this book. Also, have you written another Regency? I usually go back and forth between the two. Anyway, good to see you here again and I enjoy your books!

    I have been happily married for almost 45 years now. And knowing how things are in the cyber world, no thank you! I don’t think it is for me.

    • The cyber world can be dicey for sure! I’m glad you enjoyed Ivy and Slade’s story. No on other regency era books. I’m not as well versed on the era.

  13. I don’t believe I would find a spouse with an ad, but women today have many reasons not to have to take such drastic measures. We can have jobs and own property.

    • Women are definitely blessed with opportunities those ladies did not have a long time ago.

  14. That’s a funny question since my current boyfriend (we can’t get married… long story) and I met on an “app” Facebook had years ago! We’ve been together for 13 years.

    • Congratulations! I didn’t remember there was a FB app for that – fascinating!

  15. Welcome back, Linda. It’s really great to have you. Ivy’s Inheritance sounds really good and I wish you a lot of luck with it. To answer your question, no I don’t think I would be that brave to seek a mate through a dating app. There are too many unscrupulous men out there. I did have a really good friend who went on a dating app and she married a man she found on there. It turned out he had six kids and his wife had died. My friend was in heaven because she’d been pining to be a mom. They’ve been together for about fifteen years and as happy as a lark.

    • I love hearing about your friend. There are definitely success stories, but I think the concept isn’t for the faint of heart!

  18. Good morning, and no I would not. (not entering this giveaway as I am not tech savvy so I dont read ebooks, but Thank you) Have a great weekend.

  19. Thankfully I have been married 36 years and didn’t need an app. If I were single and needed an app I don’t think I would make it very far.

    I loved Ivy inheritance

  20. I can think of two friends that had success with a dating app, but I’ve never wanted to use one.

  21. I know quite a few couples who have met using a date app. However, I’ve decided that’s definitely not for me, though a few friends have differing opinions.

  23. I never thought I’d still be single after 40, but I don’t like the idea of using a dating app. I know a couple of people that found their spouses online; however, I don’t like the idea of having to sift through profiles (which could contain false information), just to possibly find one or more that may be true, and then go on so many blind dates to find out if they are true or a good potential spouse or not.

  24. I was certain I had read your post, but discovered today that I somehow did. Mail-Order Brides are favorite stories. Thank you for an interesting post.

  25. I was certain I had read your post, but discovered today that I somehow did. Mail-Order Brides are favorite stories. Thank you for an interesting post. And no, I would never consider using a dating app.

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