Archives for “Women in History”
Hi. Winnie Griggs here. I came across an interesting book the other day titled Feminine Ingenuity, How Women Inventors Changed America. Based on the title alone I couldn’t resist purchasing a copy to check it out. And if that wasn’t enough, the following blurb from the New York Times Book Review cinched it [...]
Mary Preston Slosson isn’t one of the more well known women of the Old West, but to the prisoners in the Wyoming Territitorial Prison in Laramie, Mary was a rock star–and not for the reasons you might assume. She wasn’t the cook or a nurse. She didn’t help anyone escape–at least not in a physical [...]
While seeking an interesting topic for schooldays and teachers, I googled movies about teachers. I found a lot of them I liked, but one in particular resonates with me because the story is profound and amazing and true. The Miracle Worker is based on Helen Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life (1903). American [...]
Hi! Winnie Griggs here. (pssst – look for giveaway info at the bottom of this post) I was thumbing through one of those ‘infamous women of the old west’ type books the other day and came across a listing for a woman named Pearl Hart. The heading of First Female Captured Stagecoach Robber caught my eye. [...]
A few weeks ago, an article with enchanting pictures in the Los Angeles Times gave me the idea for this blog about “America’s Other Audubon.” Thanks to the Calendar section and Joy Kiser’s new book of the same name, I stumbled across an amazing woman, Genevieve Estelle Jones (1847-1879), who needed her own visit to [...]
Family dinners, pot lucks, buffets–they always feature at least one Jell-O salad. Something red with marshmallows and fruit — or green with pineapple and whipped cream — or at holidays — a cranberry mold. Each of us remembers Jell-O from our earliest years.It’s just always been there. Open the little box, pour the granules into [...]
Hi! Winnie Griggs here. A little over a week ago we marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It got me to thinking about its most famous tie to the American west, the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”. The only things I knew about her were fuzzily remembered scenes from the movie so [...]
On April 16, 1912, American aviator Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel….traveling from Dover to France in only 59 minutes. She was also the first woman ever licensed as a pilot in the United States. Sadly, her great accomplishment was swallowed by the horrifying news flashing around the world: [...]
While exiting the grocery store on Saturday, I came across a troop of Girl Scouts selling cookies. I got a box of thin mints and began an immediate hobble down memory lane. For eight years during my girlhood, I was a scout, and I joined up again for the years my daugher was one. I [...]
If you’ve visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, you’ve likely seen them—striking structures fashioned of weathered brick and rustic timbers, rising out of the red earth as if they’d been there for centuries. They look as if they could be Indian ruins or remnants of old Spanish haciendas. The truth—these buildings sprang from [...]
Frances Wright grew up as an orphaned Scottish heiress, but instead of leading a life of luxury, she indulged herself in a lifetime of learning. Her prominent calls for reform paved the way for women into the next century. A Greek scholar as a girl, she wrote and published plays. She and her younger sister [...]
LADY GYPSY was my 2nd book with Dorchester and was initially released the month the Towers came down. For those of us unfortunate enough to have new releases out during that chaotic time, our distribution took a huge hit. There were days when I wondered if my book ever got out of the New York warehouse. Thanks to the raging popularity [...]
With all the recent hoopla about Paul Revere’s ride going on LOL, I came across a valiant young woman who fell through the cracks of history. Sybil Ludington, America’s female Paul Revere, took a night time ride through Dutchess County, New York in 1777 to warn the militia that the British were burning the town [...]
A couple days a month, I’m a muckraker at the local horse rescue in the foothills here in Central California. Each critter has his/her own story, always heartrending and inspiring both. Recently, a mommy horse from Nevada allegedly rescued from a slaughterhouse gave birth to a little colt at the comfortable, lovely sanctuary. Although I’ll [...]
The crusading journalist known as Nellie Bly was a real-life heroine in every sense of the word. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in 1864, she was the third child of a wealthy Pennsylvania judge and his second wife. She was raised in comfort until the age of six, when her father died. Unfortunately he left no [...]
Abraham Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated, but another tragic “first” is associated with his death: On July 7, 1865, Mary Surratt, age 42, became the first woman in America’s history to be executed by the federal government. Although she constantly maintained her innocence, she was convicted of “Treason, Conspiracy, and Plotting [...]
Susanna Dickinson would probably agree with those who say, “Life in the early days of Texas was an adventure for men and dogs, but hell on women and horses.” Texans and historians will always remember her as the sole adult Anglo survivor that witnessed the massacre at the Battle of the Alamo. I recently finished [...]
With the election tomorrow, I just had to blog about women’s suffrage, especially since it was the western states that first allowed women to vote in America, a fact that always intrigued me. Other Fillies have previously blogged about this, but a reminder never hurts. Efforts to give women the vote started back in 18th century [...]
Sam, my heroine in my new book, The Lawman, is a pistol toting, whip welding, card playing woman of the west. She was not unique for the time. There are many “real life” heroines of the west from which I modeled Sam. Some came from a book, “The Cowgirls,” by Joyce Gibson Roach. I’ve blogged [...]
One hundred and eight years ago today, Fannie Merritt Farmer opened the door to Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery in Boston. I’m sure most of you have at least heard the name Fannie Farmer and are aware that there is a famous cookbook that bears her name. But how much do you know about [...]
My time travel romance, My Heart Will Find Yours, is set in 1880s Waco, Texas. Located on the Brazos River, in its early history, Waco was known as Six-Shooter Junction. Trail drives herded their cattle across the Brazos in Waco and the cowboys usually spent time in the bawdy houses of the Reservation or Two [...]
Nan Aspinwall, born in Nebraska in 1880, was skilled at trick roping, sharp shooting, archery, stunt riding, bronc riding, and steer riding. She also portrayed an Oriental dancer called Princess Omene. She was eventually the highest paid star in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East troupe. None of these things are what [...]
On my recent foray to San Antonio, Texas, I had on my list of things to do– all walkable from my hotel– a visit to the Buckhorn Saloon and Texas Ranger Museum not far from The Alamo. It was here that I “met” a very intriguing couple, Ad and Plinky Toepperwein. A native Texan, Adolph [...]
I often get ideas for this blog from my ‘It happened on this day in history’ calendar. When I turned to today’s entry I saw it noted that today was the birthday of Martha Washington and I thought it would be interesting to look up fun facts on her for this blog. Once I [...]
Please join the Fillies in a big YEEHAW for Karen’s 5 Spur review of A Tailor-Made Bride from Love Western Romances Do you ever watch those makeover shows? Perhaps a talk show host takes an audience member backstage and sics her personal stylist on her. Over the course of an hour the woman gets her hair [...]
