"INFANT FEMALE"

This story just gets better...


After yesterday's post, I received additional history from my aunt in Arizona. My dad's youngest sister, she is one of the few surviving members of that pioneering nuclear family. The additional detail is worth sharing in a sequel post (without political spin, this time). Herein is just one of many, many similar sagas of migrating families that flooded America during the early 20th century, each with its own hopes and visions of achieving the American dream.


As it happened, Sarah Arizona's father preceded his wife from Glasgow to America  months before his wife's soujourn. So Sarah's mother, well-advanced in pregnancy, sailed across the Atlantic accompanied only by a sister, Elizabeth. Her $11.00 ticket, plenty pricey in those days, just bought her a spot in steerage among crowded, stinky conditions.


Not surprisingly under such austere circumstances, Sarah was born prematurely on the 4th of July, well ahead of her mid-September due date. One can only imagine that gruesome delivery, presumably with only minimal medical support, if any at all, let alone the mortality threat to an infant born at not quite seven months' gestation. Clearly a hardy soul, Sarah's life would be a challenge from the very moment she entered the world. Along with her ship's number, the "Arizona" ship's log listed her only as "INFANT FEMALE."


It also turns out that Ellis Island was not yet opened when Sarah and her mother arrived in the USA. (Lesson learned: Verify facts before publishing assumptions.) So they must have come directly into the docks in New York City. The new father was unaware of the baby, and he almost sat on her when he met up with them!


Eventually this nascent American family wound up in Gallup, NM, where they had another child, Paddy. But, common for that era, Sarah Arizona's mother died when Sarah was about 9 or 10. My dad and his siblings never got to know or even meet the strong and resilient Irish immigrant who was their maternal grandmother.


Their grandpa, after appropriate interval I'm sure, then sent to Boston for a mail order bride. (My aunt swears this is true.) His new Mrs. was also of Irish descent, and they had two sons, Will and Frank. Perhaps in dramatic foreshadowing, Sarah's half-brother Will was murdered sometime during that decade, presumably by Indians. It was, after all, the wild, wild West.


At age 15, Sarah traveled to visit friends in Prescott, AZ, which was a "fer piece" in those days. There she met Frank Ignatius, whom she married in October, 1904, at the tender age of 22.  They lived for awhile in Winslow, AZ before moving to Douglas around 1912. We pretty much know the rest of the story. Sarah and her brood lived long and prosperously in their fulfillment of the American dream. As I recall, my grandmother Sarah was 96 years old when she died. Her oldest daughter lived past 100, and her two oldest sons, including my dad, passed on as nonagenarians.


In researching this family history, I came across a fascinating source. I share the following link for anyone interested in the early years of Arizona and it's pioneers. The title is "Arizona, Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer, Modern, The Nation's Youngest Commonwealth Within A Land Of Ancient Culture.", by James H. McClintock.  The link is to the 3rd and last volume of a set published in 1916, only four years after Arizona achieved statehood. Contained therein are some fascinating biographies of its early pioneers and settlers, including some with historically famous names like John Slaughter. Enjoy.


I sign off by reflecting how that hardy, courageous generation of early immigrants spawned what would later become "The Greatest Generation." That generation, in turn, produced us Baby Boomers. May our children's children be so fortunate as to inherit a similar legacy!