Evelyn Edith (Duncan) Perkins, the daughter of Joseph Thomas and Josephine (Cowdrey) Duncan, was born on February 12, 1894, in Excelsior Springs, Clay and Ray Counties, Missouri. Her father was a cattle dealer and her mother a school teacher. She attended Drake University (1915) and later Kansas University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1917.
Read MoreANNIE (RANDALL) FULLER (b. 1868 – d. 1956)
Feb 01, 2012
Annie Elizabeth (Randall) Fuller was born to Alfred Jason and Ruth (Campkin) Randall on August 21, 1868, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. From 1870 to 1880 the family resided in Harrisburg, Washington County, Utah, where Mr. Randall farmed for a living. By the year 1881 the family had moved to Pine (Pine Creek), Gila County, Arizona Territory, where Annie spent her adolescent years. The Randalls were of the Mormon faith.
Read MoreBy Dave Lewis
Thus far in our series of occasional articles, we have discussed the Spanish entradas, missions and settlements south of the Gila River, Mexico’s independence from Spain, and a few of the mountain men who crossed this land -- all against the backdrop of the area’s challenging terrain and the lives and cultures of Natives who predated the arrival of Europeans by 10,000 years. By the 1840s, Mexico had population and governmental centers at Santa Fe and several places in Southern California; the small settlements at Tubac and Tucson were the only Mexican presence in what would become Arizona. The rest of Arizona was left to the Indians.
Read MoreBy Parker Anderson
There is a phenomenon that happens every October as people come to cemeteries to honor their dead ancestors - taphophiles are out in force. What is a taphophile? A taphophile is someone who is interested in visiting old cemeteries and viewing gravestones. Taphophiles do not visit cemeteries to do mischief; their only desire is to explore, learn, and experience the allure of the lore, art, history, and peaceful beauty of cemeteries.
Murphy Park and Zoo
Sep 29, 2018
By Ricky Erway
In a previous article we were introduced to Frank Murphy, resourceful entrepreneur and generous philanthropist from the time he arrived in Prescott in 1878. This article focuses on a topic that illustrates the two.
In 1892, he married Ethel Meany and found an enthusiastic partner in philanthropy. Murphy owned 350 acres in the western limits of Prescott. It included what is now Hassayampa Drive, Country Club Drive, around Indian Hill and back over to Coronado Drive, Vista Drive and High Street. Park Avenue led to what he called Murphy Park.
A Lady and Her Mountain Home
Sep 22, 2018
By Barbara Patton
One of Prescott’s early lady pioneers was Alvina Rodriquez Bennett. She and her family migrated from California in 1876. Descended from distinguished Spanish colonists, Alvina’s ancestors were the Vásquez family, who as members of the notable Anza Expedition arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1776. In 1839, Alvina’s grandfather, José Tiburcio Vásquez, received a 4400-acre land grant from the Mexican Government. Today, this land is part of Golden Gate National Park.
Read MoreThe Arizona Miner: Prescott’s First Newspaper
Sep 15, 2018
By Fred Veil
The Arizona Miner was not the first newspaper published in the geographical area that would become the Arizona Territory. That distinction belongs to the Weekly Arizonian, a Tubac newspaper that first came on the scene in March, 1859, well before the Territory was officially established by the federal government. The Miner, however, was the newspaper most closely identified with the newly established government of the Territory. In fact, its printing press was brought to Arizona by Territorial Secretary Richard McCormick, who set the Miner up for business at the site of the original Fort Whipple near Del Rio Springs in the early months of 1864.
Human Hair Jewelry/The Gift of Love
Sep 08, 2018
By Debra Matthews
Around 1760, it was common for a young man to commission a portrait miniaturist for a painting of oil on ivory (about 2”) of themselves to be sent to a lady as a marriage proposal; on the reverse would be an elaborate weave of his hair. If the offer was accepted the portrait may be worn by the intended on a chain around the neck or as a bracelet. If the portrait was returned, the engagement was refused. The miniature artist would charge about $20.00 for the portrait, an additional charge of $20.00 for a frame or case and the hair work. Most portrait miniaturist would process all the work themselves.
Catherine H. Ellis
Aug 31, 2018
Sharlot Hall Award Recipient 2017
Catherine H. Ellis is the 2017 Sharlot Hall Award honoree, recognized for her wide-ranging work as a writer, author and historian. A fifth-generation Arizonan, she is a descendant of Mormon Battalion captain Jefferson Hunt, who first marched through southern Arizona in the 1840s. Her family later settled in the northeast Territory.
Frank M. Murphy: Man of Many Hats and Much Heart
Sep 01, 2018
By Ricky Erway
Frank Morrell Murphy was born in Maine in 1854, raised in Wisconsin, and moved as a young man to Santa Rosa, California, where he worked at a hotel and as a stagecoach driver. He came to Prescott in 1878 when he was 23 years old. He found work in a haberdashery at Thomas Bray & Co and encouraged his brother, Nathan Oakes Murphy, to join him in 1883. Nathan became governor of the Arizona Territory in 1892-1893 and 1898-1902.