Nellie
Cashman, born in 1843, left Ireland country hoping to become
rich and help others along the way. She became the first woman
prospector in Alaska, and a successful one. In 1879, Nellie
moved to Tombstone, Arizona, where she opened a high end restaurant
and fed the hungry for free. She also raised funds for charitable
causes, including the establishment of Tombstone’s first
school and hospital.
Clara Brown, born a slave in 1800 Virginia, was sold twice,
the last time yanking her from her husband and three children.
When her owner died in 1856, she contributed her own money
to buy her freedom and traveled to Colorado Territory. There
she bought a two-room cabin and established a lucrative laundry
business, using that money to purchase gold and silver claims,
and eventually became one of the wealthiest women in the west.
In 1882, her deepest wish was granted: She found her only
living relative, her daughter Eliza Jane.
Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton became the first Mexican-American
novelist. Gertrude Simmons, aka Zitkala-sa (“Red Bird”),
was the daughter of a white father and a Yankton-Nakota mother.
She became a skilled orator, singer, pianist and writer. Her
efforts led to the Indian Welfare Committee’s investigation
of the federal government’s treatment of Native Americans
in Oklahoma, which resulted in the 1934 Indiana Reorganization
Act that returned the management of lands to tribes.
These are just three of the amazing women mentioned in this
book who have surmounted hardships and triumphed. Their struggles
are not unknown to us, for though much time has passed since
these women died, females today still face discrimination
and hardship.
Frontier Grit is well worth the read and a must have
for those who love true stories of heroism and achievement.
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