Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2002

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Christopher Olsen

Second Advisor

Ann S. Chubert

Third Advisor

William W. Giffin

Abstract

Elsie Strawn was born in 1789 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. She married Joseph Armstrong in 1811 and moved to Licking County, Ohio, where she bore nine sons. In 1831, leaving Joseph behind in Ohio, she relocated to the Illinois frontier with seven of her sons. She remained there until her death in 1871. Throughout her life, Elsie wrote poetry, much of which was about her life on the two frontiers of Ohio and 11linois. Her grandson Marshall Armstrong collected these poems to preserve them for her family, and the manuscript is housed in the Illinois State Historical Library. Family members hold other copies. Her life was also the basis for a book written by another grandson, James E. Armstrong in 1931. This paper will examine the life of Elsie strawn Armstrong. Using her own poetry as a basis it will show how her life fits into the general themes of life during the settlement period in the Old Northwest, relocation on the frontier, and women's history in general. It will compare her autobiography with those written by other women iv during the same period to describe how Elsie's life was both similar and unique for womenof her day. Although unique in many respects, Elsie's life fit certain expected patterns for women of her day. This paper will contend that although viewed by some as a remarkable woman, Elsie strawn Armstrong rarely stepped out of the gender constraints of farm life in the early nineteenth century.

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