Effie Iola (Anderson) Spencer Smith, daughter of Adolphus and Martha Adelia (Coulter) Anderson, was born in Sevier County, Arkansas, on September 29, 1869, and grew up in the nearby city of Hope.  Effie had one brother, George, and a sister, Carrie. She attended Mrs. King’s School and Hope Female College in Hope, Arkansas. As a teenager, she developed an interest in drawing, and took up painting landscapes by her fifteenth birthday. Her artistic talents would fully blossom years later in Arizona, bringing her national renown.

Sedona Arabella (Miller) Schnebly was born in Gorin, Scotland County, Missouri, on February 24, 1877, one of 12 children of Phillip and Amanda Scheafer (Mohr) Miller.  Her father was of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.  The Millers, devout Methodists, gave their daughter a fine education and even sent her to a finishing school.

Mildred “Millie” Elizabeth (Slaybach) Ogg was born January 14, 1902, in Blackwell, Kay County, Oklahoma, to Sarah Elizabeth (Nail) and William Anderson Slaybach. The Slaybachs were of German descent and made their living as farmers.

Marie (Seidler) Kuhne was born on June 26, 1862, in Halle (Saale), a city in the southern part of the German state Saxony-Anhalt.  Her parents were Ferdinand and Auguste Seidler.  Nothing is known of her life in Halle.  In September 1891, the Miner newspaper reported a letter from Frank A. Kuhne saying that he was recently married to a very handsome and worthy young lady in Saxony, Germany.  (This issue of the Miner is evidently not extant, or else Marie Kuhne, who wrote the original biographical sketch of her mother, was mistaken about the date.)

Elsie Muriel (Love) Johnson, daughter of Rosa (Baker) and William Henderson Love, was born May 20, 1896, in Prescott, Arizona Territory. Her parents came to Prescott in 1888. She attended St. Joseph’s Academy her first two years of school.  However, her parents moved to an eighty-acre ranch outside of Humboldt in 1908, and she attended Humboldt Elementary School and graduated from Prescott High School. She rode on horseback to Humboldt school, tied the horse outside the school, and took biscuits and jelly for lunch.

Olive Valora Haisley was born in Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, on January 15, 1895, the daughter of Albert and Margaretta (Harvey) Haisley. She graduated from Prescott High School in 1914, where she had been the captain of the Women’s Basketball Team. Under her graduation picture in the 1914 Prescott High School yearbook, The Hassayamper, was written, "For she was just the quiet kind whose natures never vary."

Sarah “Sally” Ann (Shivers) Fisher Goldwater was born in Schell City, Vernon County, Missouri, on June 10, 1859, and came to Chino Valley, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory in 1867 with her parents, David Wesley and Sarah J. (Roberts) Shivers, making their way overland by covered wagon.

Serilda Alwilda (Miller) Cartter was born March 13, 1854, in Princeville, Peoria County, Illinois, the daughter of Jacob Leroy (1830-1899) and Jane Maria (Reeves) Miller of Illinois. Jacob and his brother Sam had come to the Prescott area of Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, with the Walker Party in May 1863, along with their father John. Jacob had long before left his wife and three children behind in Illinois, where Jane later remarried. Sam built the two-story family home in what later came to be known as Miller Valley.

By Dave Lewis

Most writings about Ellsworth and Emery Kolb -- Grand Canyon pioneers -- blare the headline:  “THE KOLB BROTHERS.”  True enough, the two famous brothers were the stars of the show, but Emery’s wife Blanche warrants more than an honorable mention for her behind-the-scenes contributions to managing the family business and running a busy household while the boys were away, as they often were.
 

By Ray Carlson

The Pima Villages were an oasis for southern Arizona in the 1850s.  Thanks to irrigation developed over 1200 years, they had water and ample crops, and the Akimel O’odham [formerly called Pima] had a reputation for being reliable and peaceful.  That peacefulness, though, required being treated with respect.  In the 1850s, the Piipaash [formerly called Maricopa] moved near the Akimel O’odham in order to get protection from traditional enemies.  Three hundred Yuma warriors and allies attacked a Piipaash village and set it on fire.  A distress signal to the Akimel O’odham brought several warriors.