Gold Rush Girl: Pioneer Life in the Black Hills

by Sarah Elizabeth Taylor, Elisabeth Irene Quinn (Editor)

Overview

In 2011, Betsy Quinn took it upon herself to finish a project first started by her great-grandmother in the 1920's: publish a memoir chronicling the struggles and adventures of growing up in the Black Hills of South Dakota during the turn of the nineteenth century. The undertaking was no small feat. Indeed, the manuscript had become something like a family legend. Sarah Elizabeth Taylor, fondly remembered as "Sadie," had initially tried to publish her 400-page handwritten autobiographical work in 1945, but was denied. Sixty-three years later, Betsy rediscovered several large boxes full of newspaper clippings, photographs, and, scattered throughout without any organization, the incredible tales of Sadie's childhood.

From surviving Indian raids to running the nation's largest gold mine, Sadie retells the true stories of those who lived in Lead and Deadwood, South Dakota in those early pioneer days. Real encounters with legendary figures like Wild Bill Hickok, Susan B. Anthony, and Calamity Jane bring her memories to life. Sadie invites her readers to see and experience this most critical and fascinating period of American history from her own eyes--the eyes of a sickly but strong willed young girl who learned to survive, overcome, and love such a wild country.

Seven years of transcribing, editing, and research had produced not only a compelling narrative, but a wellspring of unique and verified historical accounts. Betsy has gone to great lengths to fact-check Sadie's names, dates, and events. The final result is deeply personal and remarkably accurate. This work is as much an autobiography as it is an anthology of pioneer life in the Dakota territory. Come and relive these spectacular adventures yourself!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780999809006
Publisher:	Willow Glen Publications
Publication date:	10/19/2018
Pages:	342
Sales rank:	1,158,015
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

Born March 18, 1874 in Humbolt, Kansas, Sarah Elizabeth Sadie Wert was the only surviving child of Lizzy Wert, a first generation English immigrant and single mother. At four years old, Sadie and Lizzy moved to the small, wild mining town of Lead in the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory. There she spent her childhood and most of her adolescence. At sixteen, Sadie began teaching in Lead's school to save up money for university. Sadie attended Vassar College from 1893 to1894, then transferred to the University of Nebraska in 1894. There, she met her husband Charles William Taylor before graduating with a degree in education in 1898. She returned to Lead to resume teaching for another year, after which she married Charles William and moved to Ohiowa, Nebraska, where CW served as Superintendent of Schools. They would visit Lead every summer to visit friends and family. Sadie died on May 8th, 1962. Sadie was a prolific writer and published poet. Some of her work is featured in her book of poems titled Hearth Stones published in 1939. Though she had completed a manuscript for a memoir of her life growing up in Lead, South Dakota in the late nineteenth century, the book was never published in her lifetime. Her great-granddaughter Betsy Quinn has compiled, edited, and published her memoir on her behalf.

Betsy Quinn earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from James Madison University in 1986. She has worked as a correspondent for Prison Fellowship Ministries and served as Chairman of the Board for Oakseed Ministries International. The youngest of Walter and Elisabeth Kurth's three daughters, Betsy is mother to three adult sons, Taylor, William and Patrick. She lives in Oak Hill, Virginia with her husband Michael Quinn and their Tibetan Terrier Chessy. Betsy is a talented writer and thorough researcher with a deep love of literature and history. She has edited and published GOLD RUSH GIRL: Pioneer Life in the Black Hills, a memoir first written by her great grandmother in the 1920's that chronicles the struggles and adventures of growing up in Lead, South Dakota during the turn of the nineteenth century. Currently, she is working on publishing two children's books-one original, and another also written by her great grandmother.