Jan Cleere - Military Wives in Arizona Territory: A History of Women Who Shaped the Frontier

Chris Richard Photography, Tucson, Arizona

Jan Cleere has been writing about the people of the desert southwest for over twenty years. Her books include the award-winning TwoDot publications Never Dont Pay Attention: The Life of Rodeo Photographer Louise L. Serpa (New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for best Arizona biography), Outlaw Tales of Arizona (National Federation of Press Women Award for best nonfiction), Amazing Girls of Arizona: True Stories of Young Pioneers (Arizona Book Publishers Glyph Award for best juvenile/young adult nonfiction), and Nevadas Remarkable Women (Women Writing the West WILLA Award finalist in nonfiction). She also writes a monthly column for Tucsons Arizona Daily Star newspaper, Western Women, detailing the lives of early Arizona pioneers. Her freelance work appears in national and regional publications.

W ithout the assistance of many individuals around the country who gave of their time to delve into old records, dusty manuscripts, and crumbling newspapers, I would not have been able to present the stories of this handful of amazing women who followed the bugle calls of the Army across the Arizona frontier.

One of my most satisfying discoveries was the journal of Alice Dryer that I found on file at the United States Military Academy. Manuscripts Curator Susan Lintelmann, in the process of moving historic records to a new facility, took the time to search for the journal and provide me with a copy. Without this document, Alices story would remain untold.

I then went on the hunt for a photograph of Alice. Trying to find pictures of these early women proved daunting, but Brian S. Jaeschke, Registrar of Collections and Archives at the Mackinaw (Michigan) State Historic Park, came up with a handsome picture of Alice.

I had the privilege of interviewing relatives of Army wife Katharine Cochran. Suzy Bradley, Katharines great-great granddaughter, and Julie Kettleman, great-great-great granddaughter, helped me sort out the identity of the Cochran children and provided me with a photograph of Katharine.

State genealogy organizations came to my rescue on more than one occasion. Mary Carabin, Corresponding Secretary and Researcher of the Huron County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, provided additional material on the life of Mary Adams, while Patti Seidel and volunteer Mary Lou at the Blair County (Pennsylvania) Genealogy Society spent several hours searching for newspaper articles written by Mary Banks Stacey.

Mary C. Ryan, Editor, Office of the Chief of Staff, Communications Marketing Division (SC), National Archives and Records Administration, graciously sent me a complimentary copy of the 1981 issue of Prologue that I needed for my chapter on enlisted mens wives.

As mentioned, old photographs are sometimes difficult to obtain. With the assistance of the Southern Oregon Historical Society, I was able to acquire a picture of Alice Applegate Sargent.

I visited forts across Arizona, obtaining valuable information wherever I traveled. The Arizona Historical Society is a treasure trove of materials on military personnel who came into the territory even if for a short while. I not only benefited from their written records but obtained many of the photographs in the book from their resources.

I acknowledge the expertise of TwoDot editor Erin Turner, who guided me through several earlier manuscripts and provided a steadying hand when I most needed a kind word. My deepest gratitude for accepting my written words and making me feel like an author.

Of the friends who willingly gave of their time, knowledge, and skill, I want to particularly recognize Arizona military specialist and historian John Langellier for allowing me to ask endless questions about Arizona forts, and Barbara Marriott, who encouraged me to keep looking for those elusive journals and letters as well as reading through my first rough drafts of the manuscript. To my husband, Bob, and my children, your unwavering support of my writing is invaluable.

And to the early military wives who ventured into Arizona Territory, who braved the heat and made homes out of hovels, who courageously sent their children back east to further their educations, or sadly buried them on the bleak and unforgiving frontier, who went wherever their husbands were posted, we owe our heartfelt gratitude for forging through those hard times so that those who followed benefited from their bravery and fortitude. You will not be forgotten.

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