Graduate Program

History

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2008

Thesis Director

Debra Reid

Thesis Committee Member

Mark Voss-Hubbard

Thesis Committee Member

Sace Elder

Abstract

In the Midwest during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many women owned and worked on farmland, but the male-dominated capitalistic farming system negated much of the legal and economic authority they had as farmers. Progressive Era changes in the farming system shifted family farming systems to profit-driven business-oriented farms, marginalizing women's productive contributions. Single and widowed women farmers in Coles and Douglas Counties in Illinois managed to retain ownership of farm land despite gender and legal biases inherent in common law practices defined by patriarchy.

A survey of local history sources, including federal census data, probate records, and land grants, as well as The Farmers' Review Farm Directory of Coles and Douglas County published in 1918, shows that many widowed and never-married women owned and managed significant amounts of farmland. Obituaries and other local histories show that these women were well-respected in their communities, but their position as farmers is never mentioned. This demonstrates that although these women were able to function and become prominent community members, they were not known for their occupation as farmers. The case study of Martha Balch and her sisters, four women from Coles County who never married, is an excellent example of how land-owning women gained notoriety in the community, but did not participate in the business of farming.

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