Our pioneer days in Minnesota,, Pioneering the Upper Midwest 1820 - 1910

Gertrude Vandergon wrote her reminiscences in a series of lengthy letters addressed to her children. It is difficult to date these letters accurately because of conflicting information in the preface and epilogue, but she seems to have begun them around 1940 when she was eighty years old. In 1867 Vandergon emigrated from Amsterdam, Holland, to Silver Creek, in Wayne County, Minnesota with her family and several other members of the Reformed Church. These were prosperous mercantile and professional families lured by the inaccurate representations of a land agent and anxious to provide broader opportunities for their offspring. Vandergon's letters initially describe disappointed hopes and diminished expectations. Eventually, the author's family learned to cope with long winters, hoards of insects, and the demands of an unfamiliar environment. As her parents began to cooperate and interact with their neighbors, they acquired the skills they needed to prosper as farmers. The Atlantic crossing receives considerable attention here as do events such as births, marriages, and deaths. The author describes in considerable detail the round of rural tasks, traditional and innovative, that she and her family learned in their struggle to survive.
Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.