“…bring letters from a special someone to desiring subscribers in hopes that a match would be made, and the pair would spend the rest of their lives together.”
Matrimonial News – 1870
Fans of Mail-Order Bride Romances adore reading about courageous women. Those brides left home, headed west, and risked everything for a brighter future. We admire brave men who sent for a bride with no more courtship than letters could provide. We enjoy the conflict, hurdles, and challenges the characters face before earning their happy ending.
Many different circumstances contributed to the phenomenon of mail-order brides. The loss of so many men in the War Between the States. The California Gold Rush. Westward expansion. Chinese immigrants working in mining and railways. And more.
Soon, however, Western adventurers lifted their heads from their labors, looked around and felt the absence of one vital element from the bountiful Western territories—women.
Most mail-order brides in the 19th Century American west were single and had very few options–if they wanted marriage, this arrangement could prove their only opportunity. A few had been widowed and often brought children along. Some were runaways. A few dodged the law and hoped to disappear into the Wild West and take on a new identity.
In addition to a brokerage firm to arrange matches (i.e. matchmaker), most men sent notices to friends, relatives or pastors back East. Some, however, sent letters to a periodical devoted entirely to the advancement of marriage. Throughout the 1870s, 80s, and 90s, that periodical was a newspaper called the Matrimonial News. Founded in England, the newspaper gained popularity in the U.S., and was printed in San Francisco and Kansas City.
A code of rule and regulations, posted in each edition was strictly enforced. All advertisers were required to provide information on their personal appearance along with a general description of the kind of persons with whom they desired correspondence.
However, men often misrepresented themselves…and so did women. After all, what drunken miner with a worthless claim would expect the truth to attract a wife? What woman would freely admit the truth of her circumstances if she believed doing so would spoil her chances of finding safety, protection, support, and a home?
Most ads were succinct and minimal. Gentlemen’s personals of forty words or under cost $.25 in stamps or postage. Ladies’ personals of forty words or under were published free of charge. The ads were numbered, to avoid giving out names and addresses. Replies were to be sent to the Matrimonial News office sealed in an envelope with the number of the add on the outside.
In Kansas City, Missouri, The New Plan was another publication dedicated to helping eligible men and women find one another, correspond, and marry. A list of the magazine’s aims and methods of business were listed on the back cover of each edition. The simple and easy-to-follow plan promised speedy and satisfactory results. The cost for each advertisement was $1.00. The editors claimed this offer was “the greatest bargain in the world for the money.” If any of the advertisements resulted in matrimony, the subscriber and author of the ad agreed to pay a $5.00 service fee to the magazine.
The New Plan was in circulation from 1911 to 1917.
Another interesting, lovely, and little-known fact (at least to me) was how many young African American women came to the Arizona Territory. The mining camps were filled with young black men and older black widowers—but they weren’t the one who came up with the mail order bride idea. That came from the married African American women already in the territory. They found the presence of so many unattached men in their community “unsettling,” according to Black Women of the Old West by William Loren Katz. “With too few women to go around, the wrong kind of women came to town, and fights among the men were frequent. The answer, they convinced unmarried men, including many widowers, was an arranged marriage to a mail order bride,” he writes. They advertised in newspapers and Eastern churches and many young ladies responded. “Filled with hope, young candidates set out from Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. Many left lives of poverty, family problems or personal tragedies. Each sought her American dream, a new beginning. They hoped to find the thrill of love, the warmth of family, and a new life.”
Nineteenth Century American newspapers were rife with articles that both support and praise various marital agencies and publications, and point out the perils, disasters, financial losses, broken hearts, and scams. Still, marriage brokers thrived, and men and women continued to seek the elusive dream of finding a spouse, love, family, and a lasting connection.
My Upcoming Release – July 15th
As a mail-order bride to a cattleman, Olivia Talbot expected her life would change.
What she didn’t expect upon her arrival was to discover she was a widow before she was a bride.
***GIVEAWAY***
I’m giving away a $10 Amazon to one lucky reader. To be eligible for the drawing, answer the question below:
For as long as I can recall, my mother has traced our family history. Sometimes she makes slow progress, occasionally great leaps, but it’s something she has built for years. While her dedication and commitment have always inspired me, I must admit that I thought it was such a boring pursuit.
When I received a message asking me to join the 
I chose to give Mason the last name Barkey to honor my heritage. Although my great-great-grandfather did not order a bride via the mail, it was my way of honoring where I came from to include the last name in this story.
Orphaned at twelve, left to care for five brothers and sisters, Calamity did not shirk her duty. Most likely she did work as a prostitute early on to provide for the family. She left the lifestyle behind, though, by learning to shoot and throw a respectable punch. Everyone who knew Calamity did respect her courage and her kindness. She rescued a runaway stage from a Cheyenne war party and nursed some Deadwood residents back to health during a smallpox epidemic. The only thing Calamity couldn’t do was win Hickock’s heart.
Susan McSween was a shrewd businesswoman and she put all her efforts into frustrating her nemesis, James Dolan. Eventually, she became the Cattle Queen of New Mexico, at one point running nearly 5,000 head of cattle. Best of all, she outlived all her enemies.
My hero, Captain Corbett, is an arrogant Scotsman who believes women should have babies not opinions. How well do you think an attitude like that would have gone over with the rough-and-tumble Calamity Jane, or the fiery, refined Susan McSween?
