Thursday, July 26, 2018

Wanted: Dead or Alive

Wanted: Dead or Alive
The words that thrilled western books, TV shows, and movies. With our lawless and wild west, the need for those who would chase down the wicked outlaws out paced the number of sheriffs and marshals available.

In England in the 13th century, bail was a person not an amount of money. An individual was designated keeper of the person accused of the crime. IF the accused skipped out, the custodian took their place, even on the gallows. You can see why they would hire someone to catch the criminal.

This all changed in 1679 England with the Habeas Corpus Act and the bail became monetary. The right was later written into the US Constitution.

In the US, in 1873, bounty hunters were given great freedom in the apprehension of criminals and bail jumpers because of the Taylor versus Taintor decision.

Bounty hunters could go anywhere and apprehend bail jumpers in much greater freedom than the lawmen.
Some lawmen did supplement their pay with bounties, but they were subject to the law. Although some may have played loose with the rules in the wilder towns and territories.

One of the most famous bounty hunters who infiltrated the Butch Cassidy gang was Charlie Siringo. He later joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

Today, we still have bounty hunters going after bail jumpers.
~~~~
I just started a series of books featuring a bounty hunter, Rand Ketcham. He is an ex-bounty hunter, reluctant matchmaker, and rose gardener.  His first book is out. Lawfully Saved and the next should be out in August.  Quest for Iris.

Enjoy your day and summer.
Patricia PacJac Carroll

Web site………... pacjaccarroll.com


Thursday, July 19, 2018

It's Delivery!

annbaker
by Heather Blanton

In doing research for this article, I stumbled across the writings of Alice Baker Kraft, daughter of Ann Leavitt Baker and one of eleven children. Ann was a tough, hard-working, resourceful woman. A wife and mother, she was also a midwife and doctor of- sorts to folks on the remote Canadian prairie. I didn’t see any sense in reinventing the wheel when Alice’s writing is so full of fond and vivid memories, not to mention fascinating historical tidbits. The following is just a slice of a much longer piece. If you’d like to read more, the link is at the end.

"The Inscription on a plaque honoring Ann Eliza Leavitt Baker reads as follows:
In loving memory of Ann Eliza Baker, 9 Feb 1858 - 3 Jul 1933. A great humanitarian whose life of service for her fellow man has inspired and blessed many. She traveled these hills and valleys and nearby towns to deliver hundreds of babies and care for the sick. No storm was too severe to stop her. She walked, rode horseback, or went by wagon, and on many occasions, rode miles on a stone boat. She raised her own family of 11 children and was the President of the local Relief Society for 26 years. Her long and loving devotion and service to humanity is unexcelled.
Presented by those who were first spanked by this gracious lady."

Read more about this incredible lady here: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nwa/leavitt.html

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

A D CHAMBERLAIN - WOMAN DENTIST




Kristin Holt's recent post on her new book, "Isabella's Calico Groom" brought back such great memories of my research on Colorado's woman doctors. In that research, I also located a woman dentist who had graduated dental school. I decided use this post to let you know about her. Of course, you must read Kristin's post, Kristin's Post: Click Here to understand why I loved what she wrote and why it inspired me. Perhaps Anna's story will remind you how important dreams are.

Anna D (Shaw) Chamberlain and her husband Frank C. Chamberlain, according to the city directory, had dental offices in Colorado Springs in 1896. They lived at 1451 N Nevada Ave with offices in one of the bank building in the center part of town. Frank, in addition to being a dentist, also could add M.D. to his name.

Anna was born in 1866 to John and Helen B. Shaw in Harlan, Page County, Iowa. Her father was from Ireland and her mother from Ohio. She married Frank in 1887 and lived in Colorado from that time. The couple had three children by 1900. 


View of Colorado Springs in 1885 

She deserves admiration, not only for being a professional woman, but raising three children while doing so. She and her husband were associated with dentistry from at least 1888, having an office in the Pikes Peak region from that date. She was also the first woman to graduate from the University in Denver with a degree in dentistry. 

By 1911, the couple had moved to 2016 N Cascade Ave., still in Colorado Springs. They celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary at this address. It was interesting, despite her credentials as a dentist, the paper listed the event as Dr. F.C. and Mrs. Chamberlain. 

In addition to all her other duties, Anna was also active in the church and the Women's Christian Temperance Union. In the late 1890s was the president of the local chapter of the WCTU. Anna and her husband, with Wm. H Dewey and Oscar J. Fullerton created the Fullerton Consumption Cure Company. The initial investment for the company was $30,000.

As an interesting side note, Frank's brother Fred, who was also a dentist in the Cripple Creek mining district, married a woman by the name of Anna also. The difference, Fred's wife had the middle initial B.



 Anna <I>Shaw</I> Chamberlain
Anna's headstone in Evergreen Cemetery (photo by Ron West)

Anna died in 1914 at the age of forty-eight. According to the death records the cause of death was pernicious anemia. After her death her husband Frank moved to California and remarried. Records show his second wife had worked in his office there. Upon his death, this second wife returned his body to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was buried next to Anna in Evergreen Cemetery.

In the book "Josie's Dream", part of the Grandma's Wedding Quilt series, Josie has the dream of being a doctor in a small town in Colorado. She pursues this dream and get more than she expected.


Since corresponding with Dr. Harriett Leonard, a past student of her medical school and dear friend, despite the difference in age, Josie had been dreaming of coming to Colorado. Dr. Leonard had offered to let her work at the Spa in Manitou Springs where Harriett was the proprietor, but Josie wanted to create a practice in a smaller town, where people really needed her.
Now here she was in Kiowa Wells, on the eastern plains of Colorado just a few miles from the railhead at Kit Carson. Her biggest obstacle now was finding a place to set up her medical practice.
Despite his reservations, her father gave her a medical bag, equipped with the basics. “Something to remind you of this commitment, your Hippocratic oath,” were his parting words.
Her parents, though still in Iowa, were in her heart. Still, she knew it had been time to leave. While others of her friends were getting married, she had gone to medical school, her path clear to her.
Can I help you?” The voice behind her asked, a hand reaching around to grab her bags.
Turning to face the speaker, Josie took in the disheveled appearance, the look of cunning in the eyes.
I can manage, thank you,” Josie replied, taking a firmer hold on her belongings.
Now, there is no need to be rude. I was just tryin’ to be helpful,” the man said as he tugged at her bag.
Stiffening, Josie sternly repeated, “I can manage.”
With a hard yank, the man managed to pull her doctor bag loose and without a thought, Josie swung her large bag at the man, striking him on the legs as he turned to run off. Instead, he found himself flat on the ground.
Calmly, Josie bent, retrieved her property, and knowing he was just stunned, started down the street. She had only gone a few steps when she heard a bellow behind her.
Let me get to the point quickly,” she said as she turned to her tormentor, who stopped so quickly he almost fell. “I have nothing of value you could use. So, unless you are in need of medical care, I suggest you stop while you are ahead.” Now, standing close, she could smell the liquor on him. Her eye took in his inability to stand upright without swaying. But to be fair, his fall might have had something do to with that.
Doctorin’?” he questioned, “you’re lying.”
The two of them were drawing a crowd. Not the best way to start, Josie thought, but not a bad one either.

Yes, as you say doctorin’, I am a Doctor.”

Purchase a Copy Here



Doris Gardner-McCraw -
Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History
Member of National League of American Pen Women,
Women Writing the West,
Pikes Peak Posse of the Westerners

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet
For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 
Photo and Poem: Click Here 
Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here





Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Blog Tour Tuesday: WANTED PREACHER by Renea Westlyn

This week’s Blog Tour Tuesday features
Wanted: Preacher
By Renea Westlyn




About Wanted: Preacher:

Moving to Oregon as a Mail-Order Bride had never been Abigail’s plan, but when she is suddenly forced from the only home she has ever known, a marriage of convenience may just be the only thing that can protect her. However, the Lord works in mysterious ways, and shortly after Abigail has wed her new husband drowns while attempting to save the life of a child. Alone and afraid in a town full of lost women, Abigail must search for a new man to protect her from a horrid fate. Can she hope to find a husband that will cherish her? Or will she again be forced to marry for convenience alone?

Reverend Akecheta James’ wedding day ended in a tragic death, leaving behind scars and pain. Ghosts of the past haunt him every step of the way to the small town of Silverpines. Called there by his blood-brother, Alexander, can Akecheta find his true future and perhaps love with the widow of the towns’ previous pastor?

Together, the two must fight to build a life from the ashes of their past, and conquer the trials of the life yet to come. Can they find much-needed solace in one another’s arms?


Excerpt from Wanted: Preacher:

The funeral of the beloved Reverend Bates was held just before noon the following day. Rhys Huber, one of the church’s elders performed the sorrowful ceremony. Abby stood dressed in mourning clothes once more, feeling as though she would never wear her favorite soft pastels again. The pain of losing her beloved Papa prior to arriving in Silverpines had resurfaced with the sudden death of her husband.
She stood at the front with Fannie Pearl holding her hand. Fannie Pearl claimed not to be an angel, but everyday Abby was assured just a little more that Fannie Pearl was wrong about that tiny little detail. Abby looked up through her lashes at Fannie Pearl to see tears filling in the wrinkles of her sweet face. She had loved Samuel like a son, and now she’d outlived him and her husband, Paul. How does she keep on going? Abby wondered. Fannie Pearl had been a godsend to her from the moment she had arrived in Silverpines. 
Between the fear of her stepmother, the death of her beloved Papa, and the homesickness she felt from not having her sister Kitty with her, Abby was more than sick with grief. Just when she thought she’d survived the storm, the waves crashed down upon her again. Fannie Pearl shined like a lighthouse through it all and Abby was thankful for the day she very nearly fell into Fannie’s arms. 
She remembered that day so clearly. 


To purchase Wanted: Preacher from Amazon, please CLICK HERE.


About Renea Westlyn:

One morning, Renea Westly woke up and realized the empty nest was racing towards her. With a nudge, okay a shove, from her family and friends, she decided it was time to chase her dream. Since then, she has released the nonfiction book, The Possum Palace, and Other Redneck Tales, as well as a fiction book in the Multi-Author Series Silverpines, Wanted Preacher. Renea can usually be found in her Virginia home near her computer with scattered notes, a pen collection out of this world, more journals that anyone truly needs and a steaming cup of coffee as she chases down the muses rattling around in her head. When not writing, she can be found dragging husband, daughter, or son to the movies, chasing kiddos around the local CrossFit Forward box, or napping. And napping is as important as coffee.
 

Connect with Renea Westlyn:

Website ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest
Amazon Author Page