Sarah, Plain and Tall

The US Homestead Act of 1862 brought a flood of white settlers to states with prairie land, like the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. However, the harsh and unforgiving conditions of life on the prairie made death an ever-present reality. Disease, childbed death, and accidents left many men without wives or mothers for their children. The relative scarcity of white women on the prairie led men to what might today be considered unconventional methods for finding new wives. However, the concept of mail-order brides became well accepted in the 19th century and serves as the primary plot device in Patricia MacLachlan’s Sarah, Plain and Tall. Like real men of the time, Jacob Whiting places a $1 ad in the newspaper in search of a woman who would be willing to join his family on the prairie.

While such postings first appeared as advertisements in larger publications, later publishers created newspapers solely dedicated to listings for potential new mates, such as Matrimonial News, begun in 1870 (“Go West, Young Woman! An Exploration of Mail-Order Brides in America.” Smithsonian National Postal Museum). Ads typically listed physical attributes, likes and dislikes, and expectations for making a good match. As with all matchmaking endeavors, some were successful, but others ended in disaster. Women might travel thousands of miles only to find the ad was fake or the reality of the situation was not as advertised. Nevertheless, the practice of mail-order matchmaking played a part in shaping the settlement of the West.

Women chose to respond to such ads for a variety of reasons. Some single women like Sarah Wheaton had to leave their home when the male patriarch (in this case her brother) married. Some women might have hoped to find adventure and pursue a new life in the West. Still, others may have seen marriage to a man on the prairie as a way of gaining wealth or status beyond their current situation. An exploration of the practice reveals the challenges faced by women of the era, who had little agency and few options for bettering their lives. The concept still fascinates people today and has even inspired an entire genre of historical romance novels featuring the mail-order bride trope.