Working Americans 1798-2020: Farming & Ranching (in book form and in an online database) profiles 30 Americans who have lived off the land, or who have worked at improving life for those who did. It includes farmers, ranchers, social advocates, businessmen, and scientists. Profiles span more than 200 years and observe the lives of working Americans of various ages, locations, and social backgrounds.
Farming & Ranching is a compilation of original research—personal diaries, family histories, etc.—combined with government statistics, commercial advertisements, and news features. The profiles combine historical facts with historical fiction to create the individuals and families featured. The text is written in bulleted format, and hundreds of images offer strong visuals of life on the farm or on the ranch.
These portraits tell the stories of 30 individuals or families who have played their role in the vast tapestry of American farming and ranching. Moving in time from 1798 to 2020, these profiles together tell the story—or a representative part of the story—of the United States over the past two centuries. As the lives of the men and women profiled herein prove, farming and ranching have always played, and continue to play, a central part in the ongoing saga of our nation.
You can access and search this online database with Gilmer as the user name, and Library as the password.