Rebecca Burlend (1793–1872) is the author of '' A True Picture of Emigration'', a journal and guide written during the period of 1831–1845. (The full title is ''A True Picture of Emigration or Fourteen Years in the Interior of North America Being a Full and Impartial Account of the Various Difficulties and Ultimate Success of an English Family Who Emigrated from Barwick-in-Elmet, near Leeds, in the Year 1831''.) She published it anonymously in 1848, receiving credit for the work in 1936. Rebecca and her John, a teacher and farmer, married in 1793. They and five of her seven children left their home in

Barwick-in-Elmet Barwick-in-Elmet (pronounced ''Barrick-in-Elmet'') is a village in West Yorkshire, east of Leeds city centre. It is one of only three places in the area to be explicitly associated with the ancient Romano-British kingdom of Elmet, the others b ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

for Pike County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in 1831. (A son and daughter, both employed, stayed in England.) When the Burlends arrived in New Orleans, Rebecca was shocked the city's nonobservance of the sabbath and the site of slaves yoked together for sale. The family traveled by steamer up the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, and then the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

to Phillips Ferry. Like many settlers arriving in the wilds of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

at the time, she and her family experienced numerous problems before finally achieving stability and success. In 1846, Rebecca visited England and her son Edward wrote down her memories of her life. It was published anonymously in 1848. The pamphlet was republished under Edward Burlend's name in 1856 or 1857 as ''The Wesleyan Emigrants''. Rebecca received credit for the work in 1936.

References

External links

''A True Picture of Emigration, 1848''
at Internet Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burlend, Rebecca 1793 births 1872 deaths People from Barwick-in-Elmet Writers from Leeds British emigrants to the United States