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First Known Nevada Female Author – 1840-1904

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By Patti Bernard   Anna Mariska Shultz Fitch  Photo courtesy the Honolulu Advertiser When one thinks of most women in the mid to late 19th century, mental pictures of a woman in a long  dress whose interests center predominately around home and family generally come to mind. But  remember that this was an era of active women’s suffrage, and women began entering traditionally male  dominated fields. Some of those women were more active than others and Anna Shultz Fitch would fit  that category.    The Hawaii Honolulu Advertiser in her obituary described the  death of Anna as, “removes a woman who had achieved fame in  the West as an author and one who figured no less prominently in  the early days of Nevada and California than did Col. Fitch, her  husband.” The April 16, 1904, edition of the Los Angeles Times  said that “… she was an authoress of note and a woman who &...
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HELP US IDENTIFY & WRITE THESE WOMEN BACK INTO NEVADA’S HISTORY

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nevada-suffrage-special
The Nevada Women’s History project is asking for your help to identify these women and locate a photograph of the special V&T passenger car that they traveled in from Reno to Carson City. Is this information in old family scrapbooks? On August 26, 2020 our nation will celebrate the centennial of the passage of the 19th Suffrage Amendment. On February 7th of 1920, a group of women traveled by the Virginia & Truckee train from Reno to Carson City to witness the legislature approve the ratification of the 19th Amendment, and Governor Boyle sign, that resolution for Nevada. The women nailed a large 40 foot banner to the side of that special V&T passenger car they rode in, with the slogan “SUFFRAGE SPECIAL” written on it. This photograph was probably taken of many of the participants on the steps of the State Capitol with Governor Boyle shortly after the signing ceremony. These club women belonged to such organizations as the Nevada Federation of Women’s Clubs...
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NWHP Receives “The Bonnie” Award

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Nevada JWomen's History Project logo
The Nevada Women’s History Project was one of five Preserve Nevada Honorees to receive for the first time “The Bonnie.” The award banquet was held at the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada on May 10, 2019. Preserve Nevada is a 501c3 non-profit affiliated with the UNLV Foundation. Their website states, “Preserve Nevada is dedicated to the preservation of Nevada’s cultural, historical, and archaeological heritage.” The Board of Directors are: Richard H. Bryan - Chairman of the Board, Robert A. Stoldal, Michael Green - Director, Andrew Kirk, Mark Bassett, Joni Eastly, Honor Jones, Melinda Gustin, Michelle F. Turk, Jonathan Foster, Christian Harrison, Emerson Marcus, Zoann Campana, Mark Andrews, and Shae Smith Cox – Deputy Director. “The Bonnie” is named in memory of Richard Bryan’s wife Former Nevada First Lady Bonnie Bryan. The award has five categories which are: Legacy Award, Government Award, Education, Group or Organization and Individual. NWHP was awarded the Group or Organizatio...
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A Salute to Sally Zanjani Benjamin Victor, sculptor of the Sarah Winnemucca statue

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Sally Zanjani
By Marcia Cuccaro The Hidden Valley Golf Club in Reno hosted the October 7th NWHP luncheon event honoring Sally Springmeyer Zanjani and Sarah Winnemucca sculptor, Benjamin Victor. At the age of 26, Mr. Victor became the youngest artist ever to have a statue in Washington D.C.’s National Statuary Hall Collection. He was chosen to create this statue by a group of dedicated NWHP members chaired by Mary Anne Convis and the late Carrie Townley Porter. During Mr. Victor’s presentation at the luncheon, he shared that he had used Dr. Zanjani’s book, Sarah Winnemucca along with Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins’ book, Life among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims to research and create his signature and detailed vision of Sarah Winnemucca. He graciously and eloquently regaled all in attendance with stories of his experience with the Sarah Winnemucca statue project and related that he had made lifelong friendships during that process. In attendance at Sunday’s luncheon were many of the proponen...
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“It Can Be Done”

Posted on by Greta Oschsner
As we look forward to a New Year in the NWHP, it’s fun to remember how far we’ve come as a project and reflect on the amazing opportunities we’ve had to research, discuss, and celebrate Nevada women’s history. Over the past decades, the NWHP has accomplished much in preserving the stories of women who’ve shaped our state. Perhaps one of the greatest NWHP achievements has been the Sarah Winnemucca Statue Project.  Beginning in fall of 2000, members of the NWHP began their mission to  honor Sarah Winnemucca and the vision she had for Nevada. After their many years of  promoting legislative action and statewide fundraising, they saw their  efforts culminated in the dedication of a beautiful larger than life-size statue that now stands in Washington D.C. This statue, created by Benjamin Victor, fills the place of Nevada’s 2nd allocated statue located in Statuary Hall- serving as a tribute to a truly remarkable Nevadan. Sarah Winnemucca‘s work as an activist, educator and writer h...
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Weaving History into Nevada’s Future

Posted on by Greta Oschsner
At the Nevada Women’s History Project we are dedicated to uncovering the amazing stories and rich traditions that early Nevada women left behind. Perhaps these rich traditions are most evident in the beautiful artistry that native Nevada women have cultivated for hundreds, or even thousands of years. In her book, Weavers of Tradition and Beauty, Mary Lee Fulkerson captures detailed descriptions of different weaving processes and their significance in the history and daily life of native Nevadans. In her years of research, Fulkerson, an NWHP member, has interviewed and studied many talented weavers, who seek to pass their traditions on to the next generation of Nevadans. Much of this artistry relied heavily on the Nevada landscape itself, both for inspiration and materials. Betty Rogers, a Northern Paiute weaver, crafted her baskets almost entirely from horsehair, even using horsehair to do stitching. Another Nevada weaver, Evelyn Pete created a variety of baskets including water...
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Introducing our Newest Project!

Posted on by Greta Oschsner
For more than 25 years, the Nevada Women’s History Project has done important work uncovering and preserving the stories of Nevada women and bringing our history to life. Through oral history interviews, online research, informational events and investigative trips around Nevada, our members have gathered a wealth of information to fill in the gaps where women have been omitted from history. Our goal is to collect the stories of Nevada women in order to preserve the rich history and inspiring legacies they leave behind and we want you to be a part of this exciting journey. As we move toward a new year, the NWHP is excited to begin sharing blog posts highlighting our current projects, events, oral histories and more. When we piece together stories of women like Caroline Elizabeth Aufdermaur, a rural dairy farmer who fostered more than 100 children, we want you to be the first to enjoy them. As we plan events, field days and meetings we hope you will get involved and benefit from o...
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About NWHP

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The Nevada Women’s History Project was founded by former Clark County State Senator Jean Ford to collect and disseminate information about Nevada women to historians and the general public through its website, publications and other public outreach. Upon retiring from political life, Jean became Acting Director of Women Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1991. In the spring of 1992 she designed and taught a new course: “Nevada Women on the Frontier,” which dealt with the study relating to the historical and current aspects of women’s history in Nevada. In the course development she was amazed to find that there was a glaring absence of information specific to Nevada women. Sometime later, while compiling an anthology of Nevada women she confirmed her hypothesis that the subject of women's participation in Nevada’s history was indeed, comparatively nonexistent and nebulous. In 1993-94 Jean and some like-minded individuals set out to correct this important deficiency in a s...
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THE GENESIS OF NWHP

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By Janet White From the NWHP News, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1996, page 2. It began quite simply, a phone call or two, then a few more. Many, many questions, some with no answers. Some suggestions on where the required information might be found. Always more questions than solutions. Who was she? Where was she born and where did she live? When did she come to Nevada? Why did she come here? Who was the first Nevada woman to obtain the license, pass the bar, practice medicine, work her own mine, run her own ranch? The dry creek of information was flash-flooded with questions. To Jean Ford, the woman to whom these questions were addressed, it was clear that times were a’changing and women’s lives were demanding to be acknowledged, researched, written. In 1991, Jean was appointed Acting Director of Women Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. In the spring of 1992 she designed and taught a new course: “Nevada Women on the Frontier.” Around that time, UNR professors Steve Lafer...
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In Memory of Sarah Sweetwater

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In 2014, NWHP collaborated on a project with Women of Diversity, Inc., a southern Nevada nonprofit women’s organization. They had received a substantial grant to conduct oral histories of approximately 75 Nevada women as part of Nevada’s Sesquicentennial anniversary activities. Since our statewide organization is based in Reno, NWHP volunteered to conduct oral histories in the northern counties. The interview team was composed of Gwen Clancy, Mona Reno, Patti Bernard and Tess Opferman. Sarah Sweetwater Sarah Sweetwater, of Elko, was on our list of interviewees. Arriving at her studio/ house was an amazing experience. Her small, typical, 1950s house stood out from the rest of the neighborhood by a rather unusual second story addition and sun porch that Sarah later proudly proclaimed was heated by solar energy and partially built by her. This gracious lady warmly greeted us and I immediately felt like I had known her for years. As we entered the porch area, I was transfixed with th...
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Mary S. Doten Luncheon

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Presenter Lynn Bremer On a beautiful fall day, we met at historic Rancho San Rafael to learn about Reno educator, poet and author, Mary S. Doten. The program was preceded by a delicious luncheon of a variety of homemade soups, salads, antipasti and desserts provided by NWHP members. Lynn BremerLynn Bremer, who recently published a two volume anthology of Mary’s known writings, presented an informative and insightful portrait of this woman who became one of early Reno’s most beloved educators, and who was honored by having an elementary school named after her shortly before her death in 1914. Mary’s role in education was well known, but until Lynn set out to research and compile her numerous short stories, poems, lectures and essays, her literary skill went unrecognized. By recounting a brief history of Mary’s life and reading several selections of her writings, Lynn drew a picture of a woman who experienced the hard scrabble life on the Comstock and later wrote of those exper...
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New Biographies Posted on NWHP Website

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Several new biographies have been added to our website since January 2015, making us closer to achieving our goal, which is to add 22 new biographies by the end of January 2016. Happily a few of our members have volunteered to step up their research and writing to help us reach this number. To date the following historical Nevada women have been posted on our website since the first of the year: Una Reilly Dickerson, former Nevada First Lady Marcia Cuccaro (researcher and writer) See the September 2014 NWHP News pages 6‐8 for this biography Luella Kirkbride Drumm, former Nevada Assemblywoman Bunny Corkill (researcher and writer) Marianne Williamson Griswold, former Nevada First Lady Janice Hoke (researcher and writer) Elizabeth Kinkead, former NevadaFirst Lady Pa? Bernard (researcher), Janice Hoke (writer) See the April 2015 NWHP News page 6‐7 for this biography Olga Constantina Lord Kipanidze, Anesthesiologist Sally Zanjani (researcher and writer) Alice Allegr...
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The Genesis of NWHP

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The Genesis of NWHP By Janet White (This is a reprint from the NWHP News Vol. 1, No.1, January 1996 page 2) It began quite simply, a phone call or two, then a few more. Many, many questions, some with no answers. Some suggestions on where the required information might be found. Always more questions than solutions. Who was she? Where was she born and where did she live? When did she come to Nevada? Why did she come here? Who was the first Nevada woman to obtain the license, pass the bar, practice medicine, work her own mine, run her own ranch? The dry creek of information was flash-flooded with questions. To Jean Ford, the woman to whom these questions were addressed, it was clear that times were a’changing and women’s lives were demanding to be acknowledged, researched, written. Jean ford In 1991, Jean was appointed Acting Director of Women Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. In the spring of 1992 she designed and taught a new course: “Nevada Women on the Frontier...
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NWHP Receives $10,000 Grant From The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust

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The NWHP received a grant titled “The History of Two Women’s Organizations and Interviewing Nevada Women” from the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust. The grant total costs are $24,059 of which NWHP received $10,000 from the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust. The grant request was for $13,969 with a $10,090 match from the NWHP, so the project will need to be scaled down to match the actual funds received. This is an 18‐month project which will end in December 2016 to accomplish two goals. The first goal is to video interview two panels of four or five women each: those who were founding Board Members of the Nevada Women’s Fund and women who were founders of the Nevada Women’s History Project. The NWF was established in 1982 and the NWHP in 1994. With the passage of time it becomes a priority to interview the women involved in these two major Nevada women’s organizations. These video recordings will be conducted in Fall of 2015. The second goal is to interview individual women in Northern Nevada...
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NWHP Women in Nevada History Second Edition

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We need NWHP members, their friends, their book clubs and their civic organizations to visit regional museums throughout the state to see if new publications about Nevada women are available for consideration for the new edition. The same goes for community organizations, including school fund‐raising projects that might have resulted in publications. Visits to local bookstores, churches, and libraries may also lead to relevant discoveries. To help with the effort, the first edition has been scanned and is now available online for everyone to consult. Click the link below and find it at the bottom of the “Historical Resources” section: http://guides.library.unr.edu/c.php?g=51198&p=331409 The form to suggest books for including in the second editon is on www.nevadawomen.org in the Regular Features. For more information and to submit suggestions contact Betty Glass at glass@unr.edu.
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First Ladies Website Report

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NWHP members have been busy adding biographies of former Nevada Governor’s wives to our First Lady Biographies Collection. Since the first of the year, Marcia Cuccaro completed the biography of Una Reilly Dickerson and Janice Hoke added Elizabeth ‘Lizzie” Kinkead and Marianne Williamson Griswold to our ever growing list of completed biographies. Check them out on our website. The biographies provide interesting and little known facts about these women. Patti Bernard and Christianne and Jon Hamel also presented a program in July for OLLI members during the organization’s summer session. The NWHP video of interviews with First Ladies Bette Sawyer, Jackie Laxalt, Kathy List, Carolyn O’Callaghan, Bonnie Bryan, Sandy Miller and Dema Guinn produced by Women of Diversity, Inc. was shown. A question and answer period completed the presentation. Patti Bernard Editor, Nevada First Ladies Biography Website
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Progress Report on Estelle J. Kelsey Website Grant

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The NWHP website committee and the NWHP Board of Directors will be meeting with Shannon Hataway, Tangerine Design for Print & Web, at the end of August. Tangerine is a full‐service design and development shop whose owner works closely with her clients to grow a website for specific needs. Tangerine made the NWHP Suffrage Centennial website www.suffrage100nv.org in 2014. Shannon will present three layout concepts for the new site. We will keep the existing content and add a media section to include video and oral interviews. In previous years and now with the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust grant for 2015‐16 NWHP will have several media items to add to the new site. Also an exciting addition will be linking to any and all websites that contain biographical information on Nevada women. There are many local and statewide libraries, museums, archives and newspapers that either have online access to biographical information or have paper biographies, journal articles or clipping files th...
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Patty Cafferata Reviews Bremer’s Mary S. Doten Books

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November Patty Cafferata reviews Bremer’s Mary S. Doten books in the Summer, 2015 Nevada in the West magazine, pgs. 37‐38. WHERE: Rancho San Rafael Ranch House 1595 N. Sierra, Reno, NV WHEN: Saturday, November 14, 2015 TIME: 11:30 am to 2:30 pm COST: $35.00 (NWHP member discount $5) For further information contact Patti Bernard 826-3612 Registration flyer
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