In our last episode, we recounted the story of Jemima Boone, among the first young women to help settle Kentucky, which was then considered part of the frontier. But Jemima’s story is one of vulnerability, forming a romanticized notion of what life for Kentucky’s white women was like.
To get a more complex story, we must turn to another pioneer family: William and Esther Whitley. Esther is particularly intriguing for the scant references we have to her. Bearing twelve children, eleven of whom survived, Esther was known to be a true frontier spirit. She is cited as being “independent, spunky, resourceful, and tough” - providing an alternative view of Kentucky's frontier women that has only recently been recognized. This is her story.
