Telling HerStory 2014: Immigrant Women in America

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The Book:
Foreign and Female. Immigrant Women in America, 1840-1930. Revised and Expanded Edition. By Doris Weatherford.

What's it about:

Not so much a book about the actual act of immigrating, this work serves to answer the question of what immigrant’s experienced once they arrived in America. This book serves as an excellent reference to what it was like to be “foreign” in the United States. Issues such as: “experiences with childbirth; religion; courtship, marriage and divorce; cleaning, child care, and clothing; work and wages; medical and health issues; death and dying”  are covered in this volume.  This is a book that looks at the everyday lives of these ordinary women. The book  draws “from the letters and diaries of immigrant women” as well as other historical sources.

One of my favorite sections of this book has to do with work. It is here you will learn about the types of work women did, how they did it, and even some of the more common work done by immigrants like working in a cigar factory or a laundry. This is a great look at the working lives of women. We too often assume that our female ancestors were “just” housewives, an assumption that is not necessarily true. What may surprise some readers is that in some cases women came to the United States first, worked and then sent for their husbands. This is a time period where the whole family worked in an effort to eke out an existence.

This book is a frank look at women’s lives. Chapters devoted to premarital pregnancy, adultery, venereal disease and prostitution are explored. These issues affected our ancestors in the “good old days” just as they do us today.


Why you should read it:

This is a look at the European female immigrant experience. You will see references to experiences of women who were Scandinavian, Jewish, Italian, Irish, German and Polish. Chapters can be read independently unlike a traditional book. The  immigration experience and the subsequent experience of living in a new place can be an important part of your ancestor’s story. Unfortunately, many works on immigration focus on the lives of men. Have a female ancestor that arrived in the United States between 1840-1930? Then Foreign and Female is a book you will want to read.


Additional resources:

• The Literature on Women Immigrants to the United States by Dorthea Schneider (see endnotes)