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Introduction
Hello. My name is Laura Wilson, age 15. I was from a nice city of London, which is in England. We inherited a nice house and a lot of money when my grandparents passed away, so we were of the higher class. I loved to sew, but I was also passionate about starting a farm. I have 5 older brothers, who all have different talents. My two oldest brothers and Father went to America on this day to find jobs. -
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TImeline of Laura Wilson
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Pulled to America
We were pulled to America becuase my father got a fantastic new job there, as a doctor. My brothers wanted to go because they had a thirst for adventure, and I wanted to go because I wanted to see America. Lastly, My mother wanted to practice our religion freely. -
Traveling to America
A few days ago before we left for the ship, my two youngest brothers played a prank on my mom. They put a living toad on the sofa. How angry mother was! She screamed at them. As a results, mother did not buy them first class tickets. They had to use their own money to buy their tickets, and now my brothers had the cheapest ticket on board. I felt very bad for them. While I sat and watched the ocean in luxury, my brothers had to sit in the crowded, terrible area where the third class people are. -
Ellis Island
Probably becuase mother and I were first class, we managed to get through Ellis Island very quickly. My brothers, though were stuck in Ellis island for a long, long time. One of them got seasick, and threw up right when the medical inspector was checking him! We had to wait many weeks until they were released, just because my brother was seasick. I think my mother was angry at her decision to give them third-class tickets. -
Released
My brothers were finally released! Apparently, life in Ellis Island was pretty tough, completely opposite of life of the higher class. -
Life in the City
We managed to buy a store that we could run. I was a clothing store, selling dresses of high-quality. Our father said my mom and I could run it while he worked as a doctor. Our brothers set out to be other things, like blacksmiths or working for other farmers. -
Fire!
Our shop caught on fire! It was very terrifing to wake up to find fire blazing in the store. We have no idea how the fire started, but luckly we could pay for the damages. However, the fire destroyed most of the dresses we made. We had our suspisions that the fire was vandalism. -
Pulled to the west
My father suggested that we should move west, because he was a doctor, and the west could use some doctors. We also moved west because we heard there was the homestead act, and my brothers wanted land, or better yet, free land. My mother was not as excited, though. But after the fire, she seemed to feel like she wasn't safe. I agreed with my brothers; I wanted to own my own farm. -
A new job in the west
Our family was going to Washington on this day. We left our store in the care of Mr.Scott, our father's friend. Though I was a bit sad about leaving the store, the thought of the farm cheered me right up. -
Leaving for Washington
According to father, we were going to the west by alternating between train and horses. I could not wait to ride on the trains. I've heard that the transcontinental railroad, which finished in 1869, is quite grand. -
Train Robbery
The trip was quite nice... until our train got robbed. A couple of train robbers managed to stop the train and threatened everybody on the train. They took everything they could find, including some of our items we brought, like our silver spoons that our mother adorded. I have heard train robberies were very common when the railroad was first built, but are becoming less frequent. -
Washington at last
We have reached Washington state! Though all of us are shaken up from the robbery, we were in awe of the expansiveness and the greenery of this place. We were all excited about the potential Washington holds for us, like finding precious metals. My mom loved precious stones. -
Getting our land
After living in a dirty, old settlement for a long time, we finaly got our land! It is mediocre; not a lot of trees but a stream runs through it. My brothers, who all had knowledge of how to farm and build, could not wait to dig into this soil. I was excited to finally grow those beloved apple seeds I brought all the way from England. -
Family Farm
We had our farm now, and we were selling apples everywhere we could send them. My father, who was one of the only doctors in the west at that time, was of high demand. I felt most accociated with the farmers. Our neighboring farmers always talked to us like we were friends. Though we did have some finincial troubles, overall, my family and I were very happy with our life in America