There have been many reasons why I haven't been as involved with the forums as a once was, but mainly it has been because I've been working on my BA in history. I just finished my capstone class, this was my final paper.
The First Lady of the Wilderness Road
There were many individuals who contributed to the settling of the American frontier, names such as Daniel Boone, David Crocket, George Rogers Clark, Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith, Kit Carson, and John C. Fremont have entered our history books. While many, mostly unknown pioneers and mountain men contributed at least as much as these individuals did to the taming of the frontier, most of us could at least come up with an answer if asked the question, who was the most influential man is America’s western migration? However, if the question is posed, who was the most influential woman in America’s western migration, very few people, even fellow history majors, could offer up even a single contender. American women in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries were virtually invisible in the male dominated historic record, this has clouded the contributions that they made, and has distorted our viewpoint on the settling of our nation. It should be known just how important women were in the settling of our nation, and that they were absolutely essential for the spread and evolution of American culture from coast to coast (Woloch, 2006, pp. 1-92).
Although many strong and intrepid women would choose to leave the safety of the cities of the Atlantic coast, and along with their families venture forth into the wilderness in search of religious freedom and land, among all of these brave pioneers, Esther Gill Fullen Whitley was the most influential woman in America’s western migration. This was due to the influence that she had not only upon her own extended family’s migration from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, to Kentucky, and eventually to the Rocky Mountains and beyond, but also the social influence that she unconsciously exerted over a majority of the frontier men and women in the creation of the fledgling state of Kentucky, and her influence even extended to relations with, and the pacification of, the Native American population. Through her own drive and abilities, the rare equality of her marriage, and the meritocracy of the American frontier, she became the “First Lady of the Wilderness Road”.
Esther Fullen, and her husband William Whitley, were the first American born generation of their families, and the quest for land that they could call their own was in their DNA. Their ancestors were part of an exodus of Lowland Scot, Presbyterian tenant farmers who first migrated to the Ulster Plantation in Ireland in the 17th century, and then migrated again to the wilds of America. This group, that came to be known as the Scotch-Irish, was a tightknit, even clannish bunch. While they had been loyal supporters of the 1688 Glorious Revolution of William of Orange, they had openly rejected the authority of the Anglican Church. By the 1720’s, in Ulster they had felt increasing religious persecution, the lack of a political voice, increasing rents, and periods of famine. Collectively, they were well educated, free thinking, and extremely stubborn. Their mentality is best summed up by an old Scotch-Irish prayer, “Lord, please make me always right, for Thou knoweth I am hard to turn.” They were equally comfort-able with the Bible as they were with a flintlock. They came to America in search of two things, religious freedom, and land, lots of land (Johnson, 1991, pp. 6-44, Lewis, 2004, pp. 9-34, Thornton, 2004).
By the time Esther and William’s parents decided to immigrate, around 1740, the colony of Pennsylvania was the primary port of entry for the Scotch-Irish. Despite being the elite of the citizenry of Ulster, a mixture of farmers, merchants, and artisans, to the citizens of Philadelphia these Ulstermen were rough uncouth drunkards, with a seemingly insatiable desire for land. As an early colonial proverb noted, “a Scotch-Irishman is one who keeps the Commandments and every other thing he can get his hands on.” (Lewis, pg. 91) They quickly were directed to inexpensive (if not unclaimed) lands first in western Pennsylvania, and eventually to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. In passing through Lancaster County, the martial minded Scots-Irish rapidly adopted the long barreled rifles that were being produced by German gunsmiths. To the British colonial governments they were the perfect buffer zone between marauding Natives and the civilized denizens of the tidewater regions. From the perspective of the Scotch-Irish, having to deal with hostile Natives was a small price to pay for their religious freedom, and more land, of better quality, than they had ever dreamed (Kaufmann, 2005, pp. 8-40, Lewis, pp. 111-132, Rose 2009, pp. 16-24).
The Fullens and Whitleys were likely recruited in Belfast by ship captain John Patton, who was the overseas agent for William Beverly’s land speculation that was known as the Beverly Patent. This land grant, and the adjoining Borden Grant would total approximately 200,000 acres of the most fertile land in Virginia (Hildebrand, 1954). It became a Scotch-Irish enclave that would earn the sobriquet of “the Irish tract” (Lewis, pp. 111-132). During the French and Indian War the Scotch-Irish provided a disproportionately large number of Virginia’s militia, while taking more Native scalps than they lost, and exposing them to even richer unsettled lands west of the Allegheny Mountains (Lewis, pp.149-177, Penelope.uchicago.edu). This was the environment that William (born 1749) and Esther (born 1755) would come of age in (William Whitley House).
William had come from a family of farmers and weavers, while there is no record of Esther’s family owning property (Chalkley, 1912, pp.171, 226, 280, 376, 385, 414-415, 441,817, Hildebrand). William’s father Solomon, and his uncles Jonathon and Paul each owned properties of roughly 200 acres, and by the time William and Esther married in 1770 the best land in the Shenandoah Valley had already been parceled out, so William sought his fortune as a “long hunter” in the forbidden lands of Kentucky. Their marriage was rare for the period, even for the free spirited Scotch-Irish, because William always treated Esther as his equal, and despite long periods of separation their obvious affection towards each other was noted throughout their marriage. Though William was literate, Esther had the greater amount of schooling, what William did possess was as spirit of enterprise and a sense of independence which Esther encouraged (Draper). It was noted that William had a woman “fully worthy” of him (Sunder, 1991, pg. 7). Their relationship was truly a partnership, and neither one could have attained their place in history without the other (Draper).
After several months of hunting throughout Kentucky with his brother-in-law George Clark, William returned home in the spring of 1775. According to accounts in the Draper Manuscripts, he related to Esther the richness of the land in Kentucky, and that “we could get our living there with less hard work than we have here.” Esther is said to have replied, “Then Billy if I were you I’d go and see.” So with Esther’s support, William left two days later with Clark to stake claims in the wilderness (Draper).
William was an entrepreneur who staked his claim of 1400 acres at what would become the greatest crossroads of early Kentucky (Filson, Russell). He returned in the fall of 1775, and in November the Whitley’s and the Clark’s moved to Kentucky. Their belongings consisted of a kettle, an ax, their rifle, lead and powder, and the clothes on their back. Esther rode their horse with their three year old daughter Elizabeth behind her tied to her waist, and with their year old daughter Isabella in her lap. The trek took 33 days, the horse stumbled and fell several times, and many of the paths were so poor that the horse had to be unpacked to move forward. Much of the trip was through rain, hail, and snow, and many times the women were left alone with the children while the men hunted game (Draper). Life in Kentucky was not for the feint of heart.
All who migrated to Kentucky in the earliest days were a hearty breed, so what separated Esther from other females on the frontier? Why did Esther reach the historic record without having to be kidnapped? (Woloch, 2006, pp. 1-14, Harrison & Klotter,1997, pp. 9-10). Perhaps it was the ease in which see playfully kidded with her husband, though more likely it was because of her fearless nature in facing the Natives, and her generosity to all who traveled past her home (Draper).
In a period where there were only about two hundred eighty (Harrison & Klotter, pg.22) white settlers in Kentucky it did not take long for her legend to reach the majority of the population. While being recognized as a loving wife and mother, she was quickly noted for her skill with a rifle. In the bloody battles with the Natives in 1777, the Draper Manuscripts recall Esther several times. In defending Logan’s Fort on May 1, 1777 it is noted, ”there were 15 fighting men at Logan’s, to defend 30 women and children. However they counted themselves 17 guns, because Esther Whitley and Jane Manifee were as good a shot as any man.”, and that she regularly took “her turn at the loophole.” Later that month, in a lull of the siege, she was out milking a cow with several other women from the fort when they were ambushed by Natives. Numerous accounts tell of her calmly stopping to pick her hat up while under fire before retreating back to the fort (Draper).
It was an August 1777 event that would seal her place in frontier lore. Native attacks had subsided, and the men of the fort were having a friendly shooting match. The match had been going on for some time when William returned from hunting, he handed Esther their rifle and encouraged her to compete. Her only shot was dead center, and the now frustrated men tried unsuccessfully until dark to best her mark. Her reward was all of the lead in the target, which filled up her old hat. Many years later, in 1794, following peace treaties, she would win a similar contest against a Cherokee marksman, her victory was the exclamation point that ended Kentucky’s frontier wars (Draper).
While martial skills could have defined her, she was much more. By all accounts Esther was a shrewd, but fair businesswoman. By 1780 the Whitley’s owned at least 2800 prime acres (Draper), while William’s business travels and frequent militia call-ups often left, “Esther in charge of the vast household, slaves, stock, stock and farmlands. Her greatest responsibility, however, either with or without Colonel Whitley’s presence, was the brood of younger Whitley’s” (Sunder, pg. 7). Esther was as successful at being a mother as she was with a flintlock. Her eleven pregnancies were not unusual for life on the frontier, where large families were common, but the fact that all eleven reach adulthood, given the dangers of life on the frontier, this must be viewed as extraordinary (Woloch, Appendex A-2, Sunder, pg. 7). The spirit of adventure and entrepreneurism that was instilled in this family would intermarry with other like-minded Kentuckians in the creation of a new frontier meritocracy (Whitley House).
When not fighting or chasing Natives, William was often traveling to bring trade to Kentucky (Draper). Once the worst conflicts with the Natives had ended, in the late 1780’s the Whitley’s began construction of the first brick house built west of the Allegheny Mountains. Esther was in charge of the workforce that would build the “Guardian of the Wilderness Road”. This house, along with its adjacent circular horse racing track, would come to be known as “Sportsman’s Hill”, and it would be a focal point of Kentucky society as it evolved.
The house was beautiful with its use of Flemish bond masonry and exquisite woodwork, but this disguised what was really a frontier fort, easily the most secure single dwelling on the frontier, a safe haven for less secure neighbors in times of trouble. The third floor of the house was known for its quilting bees and dance floor, while barbecues and breakfast horse races were the areas greatest social events (Sunder, pg. 6, Whitley House). The house and the family’s rifle proclaimed the equality of William and Esther’s union, because both artifacts have both William and Esther’s initials on them (Whitley House, Sunder, pg. 81, kentuckylongrifle.com). One thing that endeared the Whitley’s to their neighbors was that despite being, “one of Kentucky’s most influential families” (Sunder, pg. 5), they treated the hardscrabble and the elite equally, and despite their relative wealth they never lost touch with those who were still in search of their fortune. In the words of living historian Melanie Kuntz, who has portrayed Esther throughout period events in Kentucky, “they were not snobs, like the Boones.” (Kuntz, 2011).
The events at Sportsman’s Hill were the highlights of Kentucky society. The 1812 Independence Day throng had over a thousand attendees (Sunder, pg.14), and this menu can only suggest at the splendor and revelry associated with one of these events that were generally open to all (Whitley House):
"There was chicken soup with rice, baked Ohio River salmon, bacon, cabbage, beans, barbecued lamb, roast duck, applesauce, roast turkey, cranberry sauce, roast beef, broiled squirrel, leg of bear, baked opossum, sweet potatoes, roasting ears, hominy, boiled potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, stewed tomatoes, hot cakes (pancakes), corn dodgers (corn bread baked in thin oblong shapes), buttermilk, plum pudding, run sauce, pumpkin pie, log cabin pie (pecan pie made with maple syrup), sliced apple pie (old style), assorted cakes, fruit, vanilla ice cream, coffee, les-us-smile cider, transy bitters, apple jack, peach and honey, old bourbon, we-smile-again claret, port wine, sherry, and champagne."
William and Esther had always instilled their Presbyterian faith’s love of individualism, freedom, and entrepreneurism in their children and grandchildren, but during their later years this effect is well documented (Sunder, pg.7). The family of daughter Isabella, and her husband Philip Sublette, would be at the forefront of western expansion. In 1812, Philip became the chronicler of William and Esther’s memoirs, often with oldest sons Bill and Milton as avid listeners. These stories would propel the Sublettes on their road of adventure.
Around 1817, the Sublettes migrated to St. Charles, Missouri where they would make an impact to rival that of Isabella’s parents. Oldest son Bill soon was involved in trading goods for the fledgling fur trade, and gained a reputation for fair dealing (Sunder, pg. 24). In 1822 he was recruited by William Ashley’s Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and with about one hundred other trappers opened the western fur trade to Americans. William would in 1826, with Jedediah Smith and David Jackson, buy the company from Ashley, and eventually sell it in 1830 to a group that included his brother Milton (Sunder, pp. 1-89). Eventually there would be five Sublette brothers taming the Rocky Mountains and beyond.
Milton would become known by the sobriquet, “the thunderbolt of the Rockies”, and then there was Andrew, who in 1835 would open the trading post at Fort Vasques (Colorado), and then served as a captain in the Mexican War. Both would succumb to the dangers of the West, Milton to infection from an old arrow wound, and Andrew to a grizzly bear in California. The youngest Sublette brother, Pinckney, also lost his life in the mountains (Sunder, pp. 30, 76, 85,129,181, 186, 231). Of the Sublettes, it would be William “Bill” Sublette, his Grandfather’s namesake, who would leave the greatest legacy to America.
During the decade of 1823-1833, Bill Sublette accomplished the following feats. He was one of the first white trappers to explore what is now Wyoming. For some time Yellowstone Lake was known as Sublette’s Lake. He named the nearby valley Jackson’s Hole because his business partner spent so much time there. He developed the rendezvous system of exchange between the western trappers and eastern trade goods. As part of bringing these trade goods to the 1830 rendezvous he brought the first wagons across the South Pass of the Rockies, proving the feasibility of this trail for future migrants. During all of these travels maps were made that in 1831 were turned over to the American government. These maps were the ones used a decade later by John Fremont’s western explorations, and would later become the paths of the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails (Sunder, pp. 1-134). The western migration of Americans would not have occurred the way that it did without the contributions of Bill Sublette.
Bill Sublette would also be the rare “mountain man” who would live to retire on his hard earned fortune. After leaving the mountains he help found Kansas City, Missouri, and then retired as a prosperous St. Louis business man, where in the memory of his Grandparents home, he built the first horse racing track in Missouri (Nester, Williams, Caesar).
By the time Esther Whitley died in 1833, after finishing her pipe and a grandchild’s baby booty (Draper, Whitley House, Kuntz), she had seen America change dramatically. She could justifiably feel that she had been an important part of its growth, though she would never have admitted such a notion, since she always downplayed her importance (Kuntz). She had settled and civilized a wilderness while raising and educating eleven children, while her strength, managerial skills, and independence had allowed her husband the freedom that he needed to serve and protect their fledgling community. Her individual accomplishments only began her legacy, because her offspring, including six granddaughters who were named after her (Whitley House, Kuntz), would continue to lead our western migration, with grandson William Lewis Sublette being a true pathfinder through the mountains.
Given the abysmal representation of women in our early historical record there may well be some as yet unknown heroine who can surpass the contributions that were made by Esther Gill Fullen Whitley to the settling of the American frontier, but even should such an amazing individual arise, Esther will always remain, the First Lady of the Wilderness Road.
Beauchamp, W.M. (October-December 1892). Rhymes from old powder horns II. The Journal of
American Folklore, Vol. 5, No. 19, pp. 284-290. Retrieved from JSTOR August 26,
This is a description of the powder horn that accompanies the Whitley Rifle.
Bergmann, W.H. (Spring 2008). A “commercial view of this unfortunate war” economic roots of
an American national state in the Ohio Valley, 1775-1795. Early American Studies: An
Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume 6, Number 1, pp. 137-164. University of
Pennsylvania Press. Retrieved September 14, 2011 from Project Muse.
This is an overview of the effects of war on the early economy of the western frontier.
Caesar, D. (October 25, 1997). LEGALLY OR ILLEGALLY, ST. LOUISANS LIKED -- AND
FOUND WAYS -- TO RISK A BUCK. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
This is an article that discusses William Sublette’s racetrack in St. Louis
Chalkley, L. (1912). Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish settlement in Virginia: Extracted from the
original court records of Augusta County 1745-1800. Genealogical Publishing
Company of Baltimore.
This work is the transcription of the original Augusta County court records.
Chittenten, H.M. (1986). The American fur trade of the far West.Vol. 2. The University of
This is an overview of American fur trade. The Sublettes are frequently mentioned.
Davidson J.W., & Lytle, M.H. (2010). After the fact: The art of historical detection (6th Ed.).
New York: McGraw-Hill.
A Historiography and Methodology text.
Draper, L. (?) The Whitley Papers (Volume IX – The Kentucky Papers). The Draper
Manuscripts. The Wisconsin Historical Society.
First person accounts of early Kentucky, including those of Esther’s daughter
Filson, J. (1784). A map of Kentucky, drawn from actual observations (1794 Ed.). London: John
The earliest known map of Kentucky.
Harrison, L.H., & Klotter, J.C. (1997). A new history of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky
An excellent single volume history of Kentucky.
Hildebrand, J.P. (1954) (Map). The Beverly Patent 1736 including original grantees 1738-1815.
Map of original landowners in the Shenandoah Valley.
Interesting events in the history of an ancient rifle. (November 27, 1874). Fort Wayne Daily
Sentinel [from the Louisville Courier-Journal].
This is an article about the Whitley Rifle and powder horn.
Johnson, J.E. (1991). The Scots and Scotch-Irish in America. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner
This is an overview of the Scotch-Irish migration.
Kaufman, H.J. (2005). The Pennsylvania-Kentucky rifle. Morgantown, WV: Masthof Press.
This is a history of an American invention.
Kuntz, M. (2011). Notes from the portrayal of Esther Whitley. Unpublished manuscript.
These are from the personal notes of the living historian who portrays Esther Whitley.
Kuron, F. (2011). Thus fell Tecumseh. Breinigsville, PA: Kuron Publishing.
This book is the answer to a two hundred year old “who dunnit”.
_______(August 30, 2011) [Interview with Joe McClure, curator of the William Whitley House]
Personal thoughts on the Whitley’s by the retiring curator of the William Whitley House.
Lewis, T.A. (2004). West from the Shenandoah: A Scotch-Irish family fights for America 1729-1781. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A history of the Scotch-Irish migration as seen through the eyes of one of the earliest families of the Shenandoah Valley. The Lewis’s were neighbors of the Whitley’s.
Nester, W.R. (2011). From mountain man to millionaire: The “bold and dashing” life of Robert Campbell (2nd Ed.). The University of Missouri.
This book is the life and times of William Sublette’s friend and business partner. Much of William’s retirement years are covered.
Perkins, E.A. (September 1991). The consumer frontier: Household consumption in early
Kentucky. The Journal of American History, Vol.78, No, 2, pp. 486-510. Retrieved
from JSTOR September 14, 2011.
This is an article about the importance of “grass roots” commerce in early Kentucky.
Rose, A. (2008). American rifle: A biography. New York: Random House.
This is a history of the rifle and its importance to the settling of the American frontier.
Russell, J. (1794). Map of the state of Kentucky: with the adjoining territories. London: H.D.
This is the first map of Kentucky that shows the Wilderness Road.
Sachs, H.R. (Winter 2008). Reconstructing a life: The archival challenges of women’s history.
Library Trends, Volume 56, Number 3, pp. 650-666. Johns Hopkins Press. Retrieved
from Project Muse September 14, 2011.
This is a history of the transition from the tidewater region of Virginia to Kentucky.
Sunder, J.E. (1973). Bill Sublette: Mountain man. University of Oklahoma Press.
The best single volume biography of William Sublette.
Thompson, J. (2004). Hard times in Ireland: The Scotch-Irish come to America. New York: The Rosen Publishing Company, Inc.
This is an overview of the Scotch-Irish migration.
Wickstrom, S. (2003). The politics of forbidden liaisons: Civilization, miscegenation, and other
perversions. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, Volume 26, Number 3, pp. 168-198. The University of Nebraska Press. Retrieved from Project Muse September 14, 2011.
Examples of what was considered normal or deviant activity on the frontier.
Williams, R. (Spring 2010). William Lewis Sublette’s Big Farm. Castor Canadensis: Newsletter of the Jedediah Smith Society. Stockton, CA: University of the Pacific.
This is an article about William Sublette’s retirement years.
Woloch, N. (2006). Women and the American Experience (4th Ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
American Women’s Experience textbook.
This website answers general questions about the William Whitley House. http://www.e-archives.ky.gov/_govpat...s/wmwhitly.htm
This is a website dedicated to the living historian who portrays Esther Whitley at historic locations in Kentucky. http://www.graphicenterprises.net/ht...ide_chats.html
This is a website that tells the early history of the Shenandoah Valley http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/...Virginia*.html
This is a website that tells the history of the Kentucky Longrifle and documents surviving examples. http://www.kentuckylongrifles.com/index.html