Emma Mary Martha Andres was born August 18, 1902, in Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, the daughter of Matthew and Anna (Waldhart) Andres. Following her high school graduation, Emma went to work in her father's tobacco store at 125 N. Cortez, stripping tobacco and making cigars.

Anna Mary (Waldhart) Andres was born March 5, 1879, in Bergenz, Switzerland to Joseph and Anna Waldhart and came to Colorado at the age of three. She married Matthew Andres in Central City, Colorado, on July 26, 1898. Their son Joseph was born in 1900 and daughter Alice in 1901, while they lived in Colorado.

Catharine (Scott) Alexander, born on December 28, 1828, in Illinois, married Thomas Matthew Alexander on September 23, 1849, in Brown County, Illinois. They traveled from Kansas to Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, in 1864, with Joseph and Margaret Ehle, who headed the wagon train.  Arriving in July 1864, they were some of the earliest settlers in the area.

Elizabeth "Bess" Christina (Bargmann, alternate spelling Bargeman) Hesser Thorne Albertson was born on September 6, 1856, in Holland. Bess was the oldest of the Bargmann children. She moved with her family to Walnut Grove, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, in the early 1870s. Bess helped drive livestock, cared for the younger siblings and became her father's mainstay after her mother's death. Bess's sister, Millie, married Samuel Boblett, Sharlot Hall's cousin.

Mattie Belle (Tuttle) Aitken was born in August 2, 1868 in Hudson, Michigan to Levi and Emma (Packard) Tuttle. The family had moved to Gilroy, California, and she was living with her mother and siblings when the 1870 census was taken. Mattie came to visit her sister, Mrs. John C. (Eva) Martin, in Prescott in May of 1891. John C. Martin was the editor of the Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner. She quickly became an active part of the community, receiving accolades from the Masonic Lodge, becoming a member of the Wyckoff Club as a soprano, part of the planning committee for the Leap Year Ball, and beginning to teach school in August 1891.

Hazel Bernice (Swiger) Aiken was born on April 19, 1902, in Bellingham, Whatcom County,Washington,the daughter of Miner Emerson and Lavine (Mutchler) Swiger. Hazel came to the Arizona Territory with her parents and her mother’s parents in 1910. The family took up a homestead east of Jerome Junction (now known as Chino Valley) along with other new settlers. Hazel attended school at Jerome Junction through the ninth grade and took a two-year business course in Prescott.

Annie Laura Aiken was born in Marfa, Texas, November 11, 1897. Her parents, Marion and Josie Peter (Cagle) Aiken, moved their family to Jerome Junction, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, when she was a young girl. Her mother died when Annie was a child, leaving Marion to raise her and her six siblings. Annie spent time with her aunt, Laura Johnston, in Jerome Junction. Her father went to work on the Perkins Ranch, three miles away.

Kathryn "Kate" Alice (Dunning) Adams was born on September 23, 1846, to Andrew and Abbie (Ransom) Dunning in Plattesburg, New York. Kate was a graduate of the Normal School at Oswego, New York. She joined the westward movement in 1877 at the age of thirty-one and travelled to Santa Paula, California. In December 1879, she came to Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory, which she described as “the wilds of Arizona” to become a schoolteacher at the Prescott Free Academy.

By Brenda Taylor

“Bail out!” yelled the pilot to his flight crew.  “One engine is lost to fire and the others have conked out, bail out – NOW!”  At this order, the bomb bay doors dropped open and three of the crewmen jumped into the moonless night.  Surprisingly, before the co-pilot and radioman could jump, the pilot was able to bring the windmilling propellers to life and the bomber limped away to make an emergency landing at the Kingman Army Air Field.

By Mick Woodcock

What follows are excerpts from articles about Christmas in Prescott from selected years during the 1870s.  We hope this will give you an idea of what our predecessors thought of the holiday and how they observed it.