By Marjory J. Sente
Etta DeWitt and William Neagle were married at the Church of the Sacred Heart the evening of April 16, 1906. Although a popular couple, they chose to have only the bride’s immediate relatives at the wedding, with engraved announcements sent from Prescott the following day to friends and associates such as Mr. and Mrs. Fred Smith at the Jersey Lily Mine.
After the ceremony, the couple left by train for a two-week honeymoon in southern Arizona. The announcement indicated they would be home after May 1. Home, according to the front-page April 18, 1906 Weekly Arizona Journal-Miner article, would be at 121 North Mount Vernon Street.
Born in Prescott to William DeWitt and Mary C. DeWitt on August 19, 1880, Arietta’s life-long nickname was Etta. She attended St. Joseph’s Academy and was known for her musical abilities. “Her beauty and accomplishments always insured her a hearty welcome in the best circles of society, and her sweet and cultured voice, ever ready in the cause of charity, is familiar to every churchgoer in the city,” noted the Journal-Miner’s article announcing the wedding.
Etta’s father, a Union Civil War veteran from Pennsylvania, came to the West in the late 1860s. A mechanical engineer, he was in charge of Fort Whipple’s power plant and later appointed the city engineer for Prescott. In 1885 he was elected captain of The Rifles, a local volunteer militia.
Born in Washington, D.C., Etta’s mother, Mary Conlan, came to Prescott as a single woman around 1879 and, within a short time, married William DeWitt. Known for her kindness and community spirit, she was a member of the Women’s Relief Corps, the official auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic. The group provided assistance to local veterans as well as promoting and assisting with Prescott’s Memorial Day activities.
Etta’s husband, William Neagle, was born in Nevada about 1876 and came to Arizona in 1878. In 1901 he moved from southern Arizona to Yavapai County to work at the United Verde Copper Company in Jerome. Four years later, he became Prescott’s undersheriff.
Angela, the first of the couple’s four daughters, was born in 1908. She was followed by twins Mary and Margaret in 1912 and, four years later, Kathleen.
William Neagle was back working for the United Verde in 1912 and by 1915 was in charge of the company’s interests in Mohave County—the Copper Giant Mine east of Hackberry.
The Neagles lived in Mohave County for many years. After his wife’s passing in 1911, Etta’s father moved from Prescott to Mohave County and was living with them in 1916 in Hackberry when he passed away. His death notice in the November 8, 1916 Weekly Journal-Miner stated that “‘Billy DeWitt’ as he was familiarly known in the early days was one of the most wholesouled of men, genial in manners[,] a splendid citizen and of generous nature.”
In May 1919, Etta visited Prescott and stayed at her parents’ old home as the guest of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Acker who had purchased the property.
A member of Prescott’s Monday Club, Etta continued her association with a women’s club after moving to Mohave County. She was involved with the Kingman Tuesday Afternoon Club and helped in 1922 to host the annual meeting of the Arizona Federation of Women’s Clubs.
However, the Neagle’s time in Arizona was winding down. By 1930 the family lived in Santa Barbara, California. According to the 1930 Federal Census, William’s occupation was civil engineer, working for the city, and Etta was a singer and choir director.
William Neagle died in 1935. Etta and their daughter Angela, a bookkeeper, continued to live together in Santa Barbara. Etta passed away in 1947.
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.