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Pamelia's Path by Betsy Chutchian for Moda
For Pamelia's Path, I drew inspiration from historical records about Pamelia Dillin Fergus, who was born in 1824 and raised on the early frontier of upstate New York. When she was 18, Pamelia made her first overland journey to Illinois with her family. There she married James Fergus and had three children. In 1855, Pamelia once again packed up their belongings and children, boarded a Mississippi River steamboat, and followed James to a settlement in present-day Minnesota. By 1860, the prospect of finding gold in the Rocky Mountains lured James to try his luck, leaving Pamelia and now four children for four years. In 1864, James sent Pamelia—tired of living on her own—enough gold dust to purchase two wagons, oxen, and extensive provisions, along with instructions to pack a good sewing machine, bring the milk cow, and meet his partner in Council Bluffs to join a wagon train going to Montana. Pamelia’s newlywed daughter and her husband drove one team of oxen while Pamelia drove the other. While Pamelia declined the suggestion to sew flour sacks while traveling, the jostling of the wagon effectively churned the cow’s cream that was skimmed after milking into butter. After the long journey, Pamelia and her children reached their new home in Montana—the last frontier home for Pamelia. Inspiration for Circle the Wagons, Nuggets and Dust, and The Path Toward Home, all come directly from the stories of this brave and resilient pioneer woman, Pamelia Fergus.
