Birth Locations – Page 40 – The Exasperated Historian

869) Dr. Susan Anderson

869: Dr. Susan ‘Doc Susie’ Anderson

One of the First Female Doctors in Colorado

Born: 31 January 1870, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States of America

Died: 16 April 1960, Denver, Colorado, United States of America

Susie was the inspiration for TV’s Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.

Susie practiced medicine for sixty years.

Susie’s family moved to Colorado during the Gold Rush in 1891. She graduated from the University of Michigan six years later, in 1897.

She had wanted to be a telegraph operator, but her father persuaded her to go to medical school instead. Susie then survived tuberculosis, her younger brother died, and her fiancé leaving her. She would never marry or have children.

One of Susie’s first patients was a man whose arm had been badly damaged in a mine explosion. The surgeon recommended amputation, but Susie was able to save the arm. Susie visited most of her patients in their own home, though she never owned a horse or a car. Susie would hitch a ride with friends or relatives of the patient to get to her far-off destinations. Though Susie had many patients, she spent the majority of her life poor because her patients could not afford to pay her with money. Instead, they thanked Susie for her services with firewood or other supplies. Her financial situation only began to better after she became county coroner. The position provided Susie with a steady income for the first time in her years as a medical professional.

Susie would see many patients during the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918, risking her own life to treat the vast numbers who were dying. She also tended to many patients while the Moffat Tunnel was being blasted through the Rocky Mountains, a six-mile endeavor that left many workers gravely injured.

Susie is the only resident of Mt. Pigsah Cemetery to have two grave markers but only one grave. She was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

Susie now has a Daughters of the American Revolution chapter named after her in Colorado. The “Doctor Susan Anderson Chapter” is located in Arvada, and they have a wonderful website if you happen to be in that area and want to reach out and join the DAR.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

The Doctor Wore Petticoats: Women Physicians of the Old West by Chris Enss

Sources:

https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/digital-colorado/colorado-histories/20th-century/susan-anderson-mountain-doctor/

https://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/susan-anderson-md/

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-drsusy/

https://docsusie.coloradodar.org/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5351389/susan-anderson

868) Lottie Deno

868: Lottie Deno

Known for her Gambling Hand in Texas

Born: 21 April 1844, Warsaw, Kentucky, United States of America

Died: 9 February 1934, Deming, New Mexico, United States of America

Original Name: Carlotta Thompkins

Lottie’s father was killed in the War Between the States leaving her mother and sisters to run the estate he’d left behind. Before his death, Lottie was educated at an Episcopalian convent and would travel with her father to various business locales, including New Orleans, Detroit, and parts of Europe.

He bred horses and sold crops, but Lottie’s father was also a gambler, and taught Lottie (who was his oldest and, since he had no sons, natural heir) everything he knew. Lottie’s father expected her to care for her sisters once he was no longer around to do it.

Lottie was protected from the time she was a child to long after she had grown into a fabulous woman. Lottie’s protector? The seven-foot tall former slave Mary Poindexter. Mary had been owned by Lottie’s parents and chose to stay with Lottie long after she was freed. When the pair walked down a street, nobody messed with them.

Lottie’s family sent her off to marry a man of high social standing when she turned eighteen. Instead her boyfriend set her sights on being a professional gambler. Once she made it big and started sending money home, Lottie changed her name from Carlotta to Lottie in order to protect herself and her family’s reputation. Lottie’s family were strict Episcopalians and likely wouldn’t have accepted her money if they knew it was coming from the gambling tables.

Lottie quickly became one of the most famous gamblers across the southern United States. Most suspected she cheated at the card tables, but no one could prove it. She regularly cleaned out soldiers and trained gamblers alike, but rather than draw men’s ire, they always came back for more.

Lottie purportedly gambled against Doc Holliday and other famous outlaws. Doc himself apparently lost $3,000 in a single night at one of Lottie’s faro tables. At another time, Doc’s common law wife Big Nose Kate showed up in what was described as a jealous rage. Evidently Kate and Lottie drew revolvers on each other, and it was only when Doc intervened that the ladies cooled off.

Lottie gave up gambling and became a founding member of the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church of Deming, New Mexico after her husband killed a second man. That’s right, the first time didn’t bother them that much evidently, but the second time made them change their ways. Lottie finally became a respectable lady in her later years.

She also owned a restaurant in Silver City, New Mexico.

The Gunsmoke character “Miss Kitty” is based on her.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Haunted West: Legendary Tales From the Frontier (Magazine Published by Centennial Today, Fall 2020)

Sources:

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-lottiedeno/

https://www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/history/lottie-deno-lady-gambler

https://truewestmagazine.com/article/what-do-we-know-about-lottie-deno/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14303628/carlotta-j_-thurmond

867) Bridget “Biddy” Mason

867: Bridget “Biddy” Mason

Real Estate Entrepreneur

Born: 1818, Either Georgia or Mississippi, United States of America (Sources Differ) *

Died: 16 January 1891, Los Angeles, California, United States of America

Biddy opened the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles.

Biddy was born a slave. Her owner forced her to walk with his family to Utah after converting to the LDS Faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormons) and helping found Salt Lake City.

The walk was 1,700 miles, and Biddy literally had to walk most of if not the entire way, following her owner’s covered wagon. Biddy had to set up camp each night, cook meals, serve as a midwife to the pregnant women in the camp, and even herd the cattle. Her daughters were ten, four, and a newborn at the time, and so Biddy was caring for them full time as well.

Three years later, Biddy’s master got restless, and he moved to California. He wanted to send Biddy and her children back south to Texas to stop them from going free. Instead they arrived in California and Biddy sued for her and her children’s freedom after receiving advice to do so from a free black couple. Her owner failed to appear in court and so Biddy and thirteen other members of her extended family were freed in 1856.

Biddy became a nurse and midwife to become economically independent. Sadly, her middle daughter died soon after becoming free, and even though Biddy was a trained nurse, she was unable to save her.

After saving her money, Biddy was able to cofound and organize First AME Church. First AME remains the oldest African American church in Los Angeles, and the property Biddy purchased to build the church on was the first she ever owned. And it was actually her house. Biddy simply let anyone who needed a place to stay a spot in her home, and so the church was a natural place to start the church.

She went on to become the first African American woman to own land in Los Angeles. Her wealth was estimated to be between $3 and $7.5 Million in today’s money (sources differ). She was described as “the richest colored woman west of the Mississippi.” Biddy worked with the poor, donated to numerous charities, visited prisoners, and fed and sheltered the poor. She even created an elementary school for African American children.

Oh, and she never actually learned to read and write. Which makes all of her accomplishments that much more incredible.

Though she died in 1891, Biddy’s grave would not be marked until a special ceremony was held in 1988. Today, a monument is dedicated to her in downtown Los Angeles.

*I’ve decided to list Biddy’s place of birth as Georgia under the link for where she was born. All but one source listed her birthplace as Georgia, but one did state Mississippi, so I wanted that to be transparent here.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www.nps.gov/people/biddymason.htm

https://la.curbed.com/2017/3/1/14756308/biddy-mason-california-black-history

https://www.aclunc.org/sites/goldchains/explore/biddy-mason.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20989/biddy-mason

866) Laura Bullion

866: Laura Bullion

Wild West Outlaw

Born: 1876, Mertzon, Texas, United States of America (Or Knickerbocker, Texas, sources differ)

Died: 2 December 1961, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America

Laura had a German mother and a Native American father. Her father was a bank robber, so its not much of a surprise Laura turned to the criminal world for employment.

She worked as a prostitute when she was fifteen for a year or two and then on and off in later life whenever she was short on cash.

At one point, Laura ran with Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch (where she was nicknamed Della Rose and the Rose of the Wild Bunch).

Besides the forged signatures, Laura also robbed trains and banks with her boyfriend and sold stolen goods.

In 1901, she was caught in St. Louis, Missouri. Charged with forging signatures and robbery, Laura was sentenced to five years. She spent three and a half years in prison before moving on to Memphis. She changed her name to Freda Lincoln and worked as a seamstress and dressmaker.

Her headstone nicknames her “The Thorny Rose.”

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Outlaw Women: America's Most Notorious Daughters, Wives, and Mothers by Robert Barr Smith

Sources:

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/laura-bullion/

https://spartacus-educational.com/WWbullion.htm

https://womenshistorynetwork.org/laura-bullion-1876-1961-and-pearl-hart-c1871-unknown/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23400786/laura-bullion

865) Mamie Fossett

865: Mamie Fossett

Deputy Marshal in the Indian Territory

Born: 1878, Probably the United States (Not Oklahoma)

Died: Unknown

Full Name: Mary Frances Fossett

Indian Territory was the perfect home for the nation’s worst criminals. With no formal standing police force, and the only law enforcement agents in the state stemming from various tribes and reservations (and therefore they had no authority over non-Natives), criminals flocked to the Indian Territory in the hopes of staying free from capture as long as they could.

Eventually, a judge was given authority over large swaths of Arkansas and the Indian Territory. This judge would appoint some two hundred federal marshals, who were tasked with patrolling 74,000 square miles of rough and tumble country. Between 1872 and 1896, around one hundred deputies were killed in the line of duty within the territory, so the job wasn’t a cushy or easy one by any means. The most famous deputy to come from this territory was that of Bass Reeves, the African American man who inspired the Lone Ranger. But among the many men, there were also a few women, including Mamie Fossett.

Mamie mostly did office work but also handed down arrest warrants and did minimal fieldwork. She worked for US Marshal Canada H Thompson.

Mamie was not originally from Oklahoma but rather came during the Land Rush in the hopes of homesteading. Little else is known of Mamie’s personal life other than the fact she was well educated.

I’d also like to mention another woman; SM Burche. SM was a fellow Deputy Marshal for which very little other information is known. I didn’t think there were enough facts about SM surviving to flesh out an entire entry for her, but that doesn’t mean I can’t include her here beside her coworker Mamie.

Other deputies about whom more information is known are FM Miller and Ada Curnett. Their entries on this website are coming soon.

Sources:

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/lady-marshals/

http://lestweforget.hamptonu.edu/page.cfm?uuid=9FEC4BAE-ECC0-108F-4E05E1BC91652B92

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/83601/10-trailblazing-us-law-women

https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/three-forks-history-oklahoma-led-nation-in-female-deputies/article_dbff95b9-0e9e-5345-8f01-5167a2369bda.html

864) Margaret, Maid of Norway

864: Margaret, Maid of Norway

Heir and Uncrowned Queen to the Scottish Throne

Born: 9 April 1283, Tønsberg Municipality, Norway

Died: 26 September 1290, St. Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Kingdom of Scotland

Margaret’s death at such a young age paved the way for Robert the Bruce to become King.

Margaret was Scotland’s first queen regnant, and yet very very few have ever heard her name. She died before her eighth birthday, and never managed to set foot on the land she was said to rule.

Margaret’s claim to the Scottish throne descended from her grandfather, Scottish King Alexander III, who himself had taken the throne at the age of eight. One of Alexander’s daughters would marry the King of Norway, and these were our Margaret’s parents. Unfortunately, Margaret’s mother died in childbirth, bringing Margaret into the world.

Margaret became the heir to the Scottish throne following the death of her uncle in January 1824. Now Alexander’s only heir was his twenty-month old granddaughter Margaret, living off in Norway. Alexander attempted to have more heirs by marrying the following year, however, in 1286, more tragedy would befall the Scottish royal family. Alexander was found dead after falling from his horse in a storm. His new wife was pregnant at the time of his death, but the queen either miscarried or gave birth to a stillborn child. Either way, Margaret was now queen.

Margaret was three years old at the time, and within weeks of her grandfather’s death, The Bruces and other Scottish nobles had begun their attempts to seize the throne, but most Scots backed Margaret’s claim and the others were held in check for a time.

By 1289, the Norwegians and English courts (and possibly the Scots, no one is certain) had settled on an agreement. Margaret would marry the heir to the English throne, Edward of Caernarfon (the future Edward II of England), within the next twelve months. This was decided to help secure the Scottish royal line, and also because Alexander had hoped the Scottish and English thrones would one day be ruled by one man.

By March of 1290, a large gathering of Scots had agreed to the marriage alliance as well and wrote to the English telling them of their decision. Another group, known as the Six Guardians, were less easy with the idea, but agreed to go along with it at the time. It was decided that, though both Edward and Margaret were too young to be wed, they would be treated as such from the moment Margaret stepped foot on Scottish soil. Also, Edward would rule as King of Scotland from that moment as well. The final agreement signed between Scotland and England promised Scotland would be reigned independently and free of English interference; which was the main thing the Six Guardians had worried about all along.

Margaret set sail for Scotland in September of 1290. Her ship was blown off course by severe storms, and she was finally able to land on the island of Orkney. Margaret died there, in the arms of her bishop.The cause of death given was severe seasickness. Margaret’s body was returned to Norway, and she was laid to rest beside her mother.

Sadly, Margaret’s death as a child allowed for an imposter to crop up ten years later. When Margaret’s body returned to her father, the King of Norway, he identified it before she was buried. In 1300, a woman appeared in Bergen, Norway, claiming to be Margaret, still alive. This random woman was convicted of being “The False Margareth” and burned at the stake the following year, 1301.

Margaret was the final ruler of Scotland’s House of Dunkeld. The dynasty began in 1058 with Malcolm III Canmore. Margaret’s death ended not just a dynasty, but also created the beginnings of the Scottish Wars for Independence, where thirteen different men would stake claims to the throne. Peace in Scotland would not be found until Robert the Bruce was made victorious, and crowned King Robert I of Scotland. But even then, Scotland’s history has been marred with frequent English intervention; culminating with the Treaty of Union which forced the two kingdoms into one Great Britain.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

History of Scotland: A Captivating Guide to Scottish History, the Wars of Scottish Independence, and William Wallace by Captivating History

Sources:

https://historytheinterestingbits.com/2015/09/26/the-maid-of-norway-scotlands-first-queen-regnant/

https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/monarchs/margaret.html

https://www.britroyals.com/scots.asp?id=margaret

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/dunkeld_12.htm

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9296935/margaret-maid_of_norway

863) Cathay Williams

863: Cathay Williams

The First Woman to Enlist in the United States Army

Born: c.1844, Independence, Missouri, United States of America

Died: Sometime Between 1892 and 1900, Colorado, United States of America

Cathay managed to join up by enlisting as a man, William Cathay (Misspelled Cathey in Army Records). Some sources list her as the first woman period, while others state she was the first African American woman. I believe the distinction here is that Cathay was the first woman to enlist in the actual United States Army (by posing as man, the first woman to enlist as a woman wouldn't happen until 1917), but Cathay was also the first African American woman to enlist in any branch period. Hope that clears things up a bit.

Cathay’s mother was a slave and despite her father being a freeman Cathay herself was legally classified a slave. She spent her early years working as a domestic for a wealthy landowner in Missouri.

In 1861, the town she lived in was captured by union forces and all the slaves were officially reclassified as "contraband" to be used as the Union soldiers saw fit. Usually this meant the slaves were pressed into service as laundromats, cooks, or to do other menial tasks. For a few years, Cathay served in these capacities, traveling the country during the War Between the States.

Cathay joined the Army when she was seventeen years old. During her two years of service she was hospitalized five times and still no one discovered she was a woman. The first hospitalization stemmed from Cathay contracting smallpox, which weakened her body and led to the other hospitalizations.

Cathay was medically discharged after two years and this is where Cathay claims it was discovered she was female. Though she never saw direct combat, Cathay is notable for having served with the regiment known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

The Buffalo Soldiers are remembered today as the United States Army’s black regiments, who are most remembered for serving in the so-called “Indian Wars” and in the Old West. Cathay is the only known woman to have served with the Buffalo Soldiers in the Indian Wars and is actually the only known female Buffalo Soldier at all.

After her stint in the army ended, Cathay moved to Colorado. Though she got married, things didn’t end happily ever after. Cathay eventually had her husband arrested after he stole a team of horses and Cathay’s savings. Soon after, Cathay’s story was published in the St. Louis Daily Times in 1876, making her a minor celebrity across the country.

Sometime around 1889 or 1890, Cathay sued for disability from the Armed Forces. By 1892 or 1893, it was known that her request had been denied (her lawyers only listed deafness when in reality she also suffered from neuralagia, had all her toes amputated from diabetes, and walked with a cane). It is believed she died soon after the amputations, but her exact date of death is uncertain. Wounded Warrior Project puts it anywhere from 1892 to 1900. The latter date is assumed because Cathay failed to appear on any Census roles from 1900 on.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www.nps.gov/people/cwilliams.htm

https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/The-Only-Known-Female-Buffalo-Soldier-Cathay-Williams

https://www.army.mil/africanamericans/profiles/williams.html

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/cathay-williams/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83966948/cathay-williams

862) Catherine Farrell Adler

“It was an honor. It was [a] sad duty, but it was a fitting tribute to the Marines and their families.”

862: Catherine Farrell Adler

The First Female Marine to serve in Arlington’s Marine Corps Honor Guard

Born: 3 January 1922, Fogo, Newfoundland, Canada

Died: 25 December 2021, Arlington, Massachusetts, United States of America

Her family moved to the United States two years after she was born, in 1924.

Catherine joined the United States Marine Corps in May 1949 at the age of twenty-seven.

She served as a clerk in the Naval Yard in Washington DC throughout the Korean War and beyond.

Catherine was chosen to serve at Arlington National Cemetery because of her superior performance in the Marines. She would perform funeral rights at Arlington for a year, before she received an honorable discharge in October 1952.

She later married a fellow Marine, and they remained together until his death in 2008.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://arlington.wickedlocal.com/news/20161220/arlingtonian-catherine-adler-groundbreaking-female-marine-turns-95

https://patch.com/massachusetts/arlington/arlington-veteran-celebrates-95th-birthday

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/catherine-adler-obituary?id=32006364

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/235359058/catherine-g-adler

861) Ah Toy

861: Ah Toy

The First Chinese Prostitute in San Francisco

Born: c.1828 or 1829, Guangzhou, China

Died: Possibly 1928, San Jose, California

Ah Toy was also a Madam and arguably the most famous Chinese Woman in the Old West. Some sources state her feet were bound in the traditional lotus foot fashion, indicating she was from the upper class; however, other descriptions seem to indicate otherwise, meaning she was actual a hakka, or from an ethnic group that did not practice foot binding. Whatever the case of her feet, she was described as very beautiful and alluring by numerous sources, but unfortunately no verified photographs of Ah Toy have ever been found.

Becoming a widow on the passage over from China allowed Ah Toy to take up as the captain’s mistress, which also allowed her to land with a small personal fortune. She was the second Chinese woman to land in California, the first being a servant who arrived a few months earlier.

She was the first Asian woman to petition for her rights before the American Court system. The second time Ah Toy appeared in court she was suing for wages—some miners tried to pay for her services in brass fillings when she charged gold ounces (the case was thrown out despite her being right). She would appear in court around ten times we know from surviving documentation.

In 1854, Ah Toy was arrested several times for “Keeping a disorderly house” (Despite white madams not being charged) so she gave up and left the area after the law also changed barring Chinese people from speaking in court. Another source states that same year, Ah Toy attempted to take a man to court on charges of domestic abuse, and this is when she found out that law had changed so that she would no longer be able to testify.

That’s right, California law was changed so that Chinese people no longer had the right to speak in court. Because you know, that’s totally cool. They also passed taxes that literally only applied to the Chinese community, barred the Chinese from intermarrying with other races, and stopped them from being able to own land. In case you weren’t already aware, California and the United States federal government at large were horrible, and I mean horrible, to Chinese people over the years. Why isn’t that in our history books, huh? To learn more about that, click here.

After leaving San Francisco, Ah Toy went back to China for a time before returning and was arrested again in 1859. She moved to San Jose in 1868 and married in 1871, at least according to some sources. Literally after she left San Francisco in 1854, things have only been pieced together and nothing is known for certain.

The end to Ah Toy’s story is a bit of a mystery. A death notice appeared in a newspaper in 1928 claiming an Ah Toy died, but there’s no way of knowing if it was the same lady or not. If it was, that means she lived to be either ninety-nine or a hundred, which is really impressive considering her time period.

Ah Toy’s story was included in the Cinemax television show “Warrior.”

Badges Earned:

Located In My Personal Library:

The White Devil's Daughters: The Fight Against Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown by Julia Flynn Siler

Sources:

https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/06/19/ah-toy-pioneering-prostitute-of-gold-rush-california/

https://medium.com/@NoelCCilker/the-strangely-alluring-ah-toy-8bf70d8333ba

https://cowgirlmagazine.com/ah-toy-second-chinese-settler/

https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/ah-toy/m03cjpj_?hl=en

https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/A-Gutsy-Chinese-Working-Girl-in-Gold-Rush-San-3015737.php

https://meaww.com/warrior-olivia-cheng-ah-toy-true-character-real-story

860) Harriet Taylor Upton

Courtesy of the Harriet Taylor Upton House

860: Harriet Taylor Upton

The First Female Vice Chairman of the National Republican Executive Committee

Born: 17 December 1853, Ravenna, Ohio, United States of America

Died: 2 November 1945, Pasadena, California, United States of America

Harriet was a Women’s Suffrage Movement leader and high society lady in Washington DC. Her mentor was Susan B Anthony. Back home in Ohio, she started the Ohio Women in Convention to further her activist work on the stateside.

Harriet first moved to Washington DC after her widowed father was appointed to congress. It was there that Harriet learned to work as a society lady as hostess for her father. She married in 1884 but would have no children.

Harriet served as Treasurer of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association for fifteen years. Harriet’s work in the suffrage movement was different from other renowned suffrage leaders. Far from being hated or despised, Harriet was described in the Washington Post thusly: "Mrs. Upton is without a doubt the best liked and wisest suffrage worker in the country. Always in times of stress, the other state leaders have to call on Mrs. Upton."

She was involved with many other boards and societies as well from Red Cross Chapters to school boards. Her activism in Washington DC led her to know and become friends with Presidents Hayes, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, and Hoover.

Harriet was also an advocate for fair child labor laws; and she was instrumental in seeing the first law in the United States created to protect children workers.

Harriet was also an author. She wrote historical accounts and children’s books alike. As though she wasn’t busy enough with everything else, Harriet was also a member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and founded the Warren Chapter in her home state of Ohio.

In 1926, Harriet also ran (albeit unsuccessfully) for the House of Representatives. She was also the first woman elected to the Warren, Ohio Board of Education, where she served for fifteen years, and was the first woman elected to the vestry of the Christ Episcopal Church.

Harriet lost her home of sixty years in an auction during the Great Depression but today the home is the location of the Upton House Museum.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Harriet_T._Upton

http://www.uptonhouse.org/HTayor.html

http://www.herhatwasinthering.org/biography.php?id=7488

http://www.uptonhouse.org/index.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107020067/harriet-upton