Chance-Reay visited nearly a dozen states to speak with the relatives and friends of the first ladies and to dig through public records and view family mementos. It's been an inspiring search. Marguerite Nichols was the most elusive. There were no pictures of her on file and it was difficult to track down her family. It took me three years of looking until I finally found a photo of her in Iowa one week before the Riley County Historical Society opened an exhibit about the first ladies in March 1999.
Perseverance pays off.
Chance-Reay's search also resulted in some unexpected discoveries. Frances Denison's descendants provided her with a diary kept by Joseph Denison after he left K-State. Chance-Reay has since come across more Denison diaries. She also uncovered love letters to Joseph Denison from his first wife prior to their marriage. Her work on the first ladies is not yet complete.