Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/126

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Women Pioneers
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which greeted the eyes of this little rescuing party. The women seemed to withstand the suffering better even than the men. The names of Mrs. Reed, Mrs. Eddy, Mrs. Pike, are conspicuous for their heroism among those who lived, and among the survivors who ultimately reached California were, Mary Graves, Ellen Graves, Nancy Graves, Viney Graves, Elizabeth Graves, Sarah Fosdick, Georgianna Donner, Elizabeth Donner, Mary Donner, Mrs. Wolfinger, Mrs. Kiesburg, Sarah Foster, Mary Murphy, Harriet Pike, Miriam Pike, Margaret Brinn, Isabell Brinn, Virginia Reed, and Pattie Reed. Throughout the horrible scenes of this disastrous expedition the courage, devotion, and fortitude of the women stand out conspicuously. When the hearts of the stoutest men sank, the unflinching energy of the women was shown. When men became mere brutes, woman's true nobility shone forth and her power of soul over body was proven, and the history of this expedition stands as a memorial to what women may endure and accomplish.

Mrs. Reed's daughter, Mrs. Virginia Reed Murphy, of Springfield, Massachusetts, is very well known. She wrote an interesting account of these experiences of her parents and herself, which appeared in the "Century Magazine."

PIETY LUCRETIA HADLEY.

Mrs. Hadley was the daughter of Major David Smith, by his second wife, Obedience Fort Smith, and was born in Logan County, Kentucky, in April 1807. Her early life was spent in Mississippi and Kentucky. On June 14 1831, Miss Smith was married to Mr. T. B. J. Hadley of Jackson, Mississippi. Of this union there were five daughters. In 1840 Colonel and Mrs. Hadley moved to Houston, Texas. She was one of the conspicuous figures of Texas.

MIREBEAN B. LAMAR.

Mrs. Lamar was the daughter of a celebrated Methodist minister, John Newland Maffitt, and sister of Fred Maffitt, commodore in the Confederate Navy. She was the wife of the first vice-president and the second president of the republic of