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,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for Pike County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, 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 second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

to St. Louis, and then the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

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

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

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