Alice Jane (Donovan) Curnow, the second daughter of Edward and Sarah (McNally) Donovan, was born in Whitefield, Lincoln County, Maine, on February 13, 1861. Edward, an engineer, went to California to work shortly after Alice’s birth, leaving his family in Maine, where he apparently believed his children would receive a better education.  Alice attended a convent school in Whitefield until 1873 and then attended Augusta, Maine schools.

Ida Belle “Idelle” (Grumbles) Culley was born on August 15, 1895, in White Oaks, New Mexico, to John Hemphill and Mariam R. (Brooking) Grumbles. Her father died March 10, 1896, leaving her mother a widow with seven children to rear.

Lottie (Grounds) Crozier was born near Hackberry, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, on December 18, 1888, the daughter of Melissa (Cureton) and Bud Grounds. She was named for Lottie Cook Miller, a schoolteacher friend of her mother. Lottie had some formal education that was supplemented by home study and reading.  She married Samuel Franklin Crozier, and the couple lived on ranches in California and Colorado, as well as in Arizona.

Susan “Susie” (Mahony) Crose, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Mahony, was born on April 16, 1890, in Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory.  Her birth and weight of ten pounds were reported in the Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner on April 23, 1890.

Mary Tapscott (Dailey) Crook was born May 7, 1842, the eldest daughter of John Dailey and Ann Rebecca (Turley) in Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia. She grew up in Oakland, Maryland, and married General George Crook on August 21, 1865, in Allegany County, Maryland. A short wedding announcement was found in the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer newspaper dated July 25, 1865: “It is announced that within the next few days Maj. General Geo. Crook, lately in command of the Department of West Virginia, will marry Miss Mollie Dailey, of Oakland, Md.”

Kate Thomson Cory was born on February 8, 1861, in Waukegan, Illinois, the daughter of James Young and Eliza Pope (Kellogg) Cory.  She was a pioneer in more than the usual sense of the word. She was indeed extraordinary. In May 1887 the New York Herald carried an article titled “PRIZES FOR FEMALE ART STUDENTS,” stating Kate T. Cory had won first prize receiving $30 in gold for her art work from the Art Department of the Cooper Union.  The following year an article in that newspaper showed her as an instructor.  As a single woman at the age of 44, she journeyed alone to the Hopi mesas of Arizona hoping to become a member of a developing artist colony.

Johanne Elise “Lizzie” (Schrumpf alternate Shrimpf) Cordes, daughter of Johann Henrich and Catherine Elisabeth (Strothmann, alternate spelling Strophmiann) Schrumpf, was born March 8, 1855, in Miten, Westphalia, Germany, according to the christening records of the Evangelical Church from Germany. She came to New York in 1871 where she met John Henry Cordes, who had also emigrated from Germany. In 1876, John headed west but kept in communication with Lizzie, who remained in New York.

Lillie Elizabeth (Murphy) Cook was born on April 24, 1897, in a home on the southwest corner of Gurley and McCormick Streets in Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, to Henry and Cynthia Elizabeth Alfred Murphy. She was the child of a typical ranching family, so her address changed year-to-year as they rented a place to live in town in order to send Lillie and her brothers to school.

Inocentie (Leivas) Contreras was born on December 28, 1892, in Signal, Mohave County, Arizona Territory, to Henry Koshland and Tula Leivas.  Her father died March 7, 1896. She attended school and spent her childhood in Signal. She married Edward P. Contreras on September 16, 1910, at Signal. They lived on the Bozarth cattle ranch in Wild Horse Basin in Yavapai County.

Rosannah “Rose” (Mack) Prey Coates was born March 27, 1879, in Toma, Iowa, the daughter of Sarah Amelia Hatfield and Spellman Fremont Mack.The family was living in Richland, Tama County, Iowa when the 1880 census was taken.  She was raised in Kansas. When she was fifteen, she became the bride of Albert Prey in a marriage that was arranged by her father.