Immigrant Women in the Settlement of Missouri.

Immigrant Women in the Settlement of Missouri. By Robyn Burnett and Ken Leubbering. Missouri Heritage Readers. (Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press, c. 2005. Pp. xviii, 149. Paper, $12.95, ISBN 0-8262-1591-2.)

As part of the Missouri Heritage Readers series, this contribution to Missouri history, presented in a petite, solidly indexed volume, is meant "primarily for adult new readers" (p. [iii]). This emphasis explains the lack of footnotes or bibliography, though bibliographic references are sprinkled throughout the volume, as are a multitude of excellent illustrations. A map would have been a welcome addition. Immigrant Women in the Settlement of Missouri builds on research done by other scholars to create a unique focus on Missouri women in the general immigrant stream. The authors take standard themes of immigration history such as push/pull factors, rural/urban differences, and chain migration to piece together their self-described "patchwork quilt" (p. 137). They succeed at providing strong historical context for the migration story, placing it squarely within the wider movements of American history.

Beginning with the Louisiana Purchase and moving through to the first two decades of the twentieth century, the inclusive narrative describes such widely disparate groups as the French Canadians, sisters from European religious orders, Irish, Italians, Czech, Swiss, Hungarians, and Polish. Religious differences can create tensions among immigrant settlers. Though Missouri found itself with active Catholic congregations of Germans and Irish, Baptists from earlier German settlements in Virginia, German Lutherans, and Jews, ethnic and religious conflict appears to have been minimal.

The long and agonizing trip to Missouri often involved arrival at New Orleans and a boat ride up the Mississippi, but it could just as easily have meant a rugged cross-country haul from eastern seaports. Railroads provided a more common means of transportation after the Civil War. Immigrants most typically came as family units, and the story of immigrant settlement to Missouri reflects this. Common female concerns such as childbirth, food preparation, and schooling filled the lives of Missouri's women. Death, an ever-present companion, looms large in the diary and journal accounts, which recount high child mortality, disease, and the constant possibility of death in childbirth.

Primary sources for women's experience in rural Missouri are scant, so the volume spends more time on urban settlement, especially the story of St. Louis. Within this urban emphasis a refreshing inclusion describes some women as wage earners in post-Civil War industrializing Missouri. They maintained boardinghouses and small shops but also worked in tobacco, shoe, and clothing factories. Union activity included women as well as the more numerous male workers. Immigrant Women in the Settlement of Missouri helps to expand our understanding of immigration in the story of a southern state. It provides a quick read and a first open window into a topic that deserves continuing scholarship and study.

BARBARA J. ROZEK

Houston, Texas