To the West -- and back again

"Have you taken leave of your senses?" Abigail exclaims when you tell her that you have quit your job at the mill. "What will you live on?" She can never resist a new dress, so she is surprised to hear that you have managed to save up a enough money to live, modestly, for some time.

You spend all your time at the Missionary Aid Society. At one meeting you are introduced to a serious young minister named William Porter. He is ready to leave for Arkansas, where he will work at a Cherokee Mission School; but there is a problem: The Society does not send out single men as missionaries. Sensing that you have similar beliefs, William asks you if you would marry him and assist him in God's work. You write home for your parents' advice. They tell you to consult your own mind and heart. After many sleepless nights, you decide to accept his proposal. You are married within the month.

The trip to Arkansas is difficult, but exciting. Once settled, you and William work hard teaching and trying to win converts among the local Cherokee Indians. In time, you and William come to love each other and you are blessed with three healthy children. After five years in Arkansas, you return to Massachusetts where William is called to serve a church not far from Lowell. You both become leaders in the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and live long enough to see the horrors of the Civil War and the end of slavery.

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To the West -- and back again