Courage and Sacrifice

Black women who moved with their families out West had a great incentive to do so after the Civil War. Southern freed slaves packed their belongings and headed where they thought they could find land to own. Many, like the Shores family, took advantage of the Homestead Act. It provided families like that of Rachel Shores the opportunity for a better life for themselves and their children.

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Image Credit:
Shores Family Westerville, Custer County, Nebraska, 1887
Minerva (with infant), Rev. Marks, Rachel and her husband Jerry and their son, Jim
Courtesy of Nebraska State Historical Society; RG2608:PH1231

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