Memoirs of a Pioneer Woman

About a year before she died my gggrandmother Sarah Jones Dow was interviewed by the local newspaper of the time.
This is what she had to say about life in the early 1800's:
Mrs. Dow says she never saw Indians around where they lived In Mc Donough county, but after they came up to Whiteside county there were still some of them living in the woods.
Carding wool and spinning flax and weaving them into cloth for clothing and household use.
The family lamps in those days, when not the open fire place, were candles.
These were made of beef tallow, poured while hot into moulds, into which first had been stretched a wick.
Bullets also were moulded at home for ammunition for the family rifles.
In the pioneer days of Illinois, instead of homecomings, camp meetings were held in the summertime, after the crops had been laid by.
These were the signals for great gatherings of people who came oft times long distances to hear the revivalists or missionary preach the word of God, Mrs. Dow says.
She does not rememeber of hearing Peter Cartwright, pioneer of methodism in Illinois, but heard much about him. It was on occasion of one of those revivials, about 70 years ago, that Mrs. Dow was converted and joined the methodist church.