One area I really enjoy reading in are the stories, memoirs and journals of women who traveled west in the early to mid-19th century. To read about what they endured is a testament to the bravery of the early Americans who traveled in those times, often more sure they would die or be killed on the way, as many of them were. In this case, Sarah Royce was exceptionally brave in that she and Josiah, her husband, had their two-year-old daughter with them.
What made this story more interesting to me is Sarah Royce was the mother of the great American philosopher Josiah Royce, whose work I studied in a college course.
Both Sarah Royce and her young husband were English-born, and brought to the U.S. in their early childhood. I thought it an interesting piece of trivia to read she was born in Stratford on Avon, Bill Shakespeare's home town. She and her husband were among the last of the hopeful who set out in 1849 to travel west. Their trip was not a pleasant one and Sarah, a very religious woman, would more than once believe a much higher power was watching over her small family.
Most of the books I read in this area are keepers, but as this one is WLed, I'm happy to share it.
What an era, and what stories!!
