The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-06-12
CARRIE NATION HAD WILD LIFE
Was tom Boy" Girl and Became
Reformer When She Married
Drunkard.

Mrs: Carrie Nation, who died
June 8 at Leavenworth, Kansas,
was born in Boyle county, Kentucky,
sixty-eight years ago. Her father,
George Moore, who came from a
wealthy and we'll connected Ken
lucky family, was born near Lex
ington, Kentucky. He was a farmer
and live stock trader and was con-
sidered man of strong character
and rather daring in his enterprises.
He was married twice, his second
wife, the mother Of Carrie, being a
Miss Campbell of Boylston county.
When Carrie was nine years old,
her parents removed to farm near
Versailles, in Woodford county, Ky.
Carrie Moore received her ed
ucation at the old schoolhouse near
the Moore farm when in the fifties
Yankee schoolmaster, named Han
ma, instructed the children of the
district. Carrie was strong willed
and self assertive and even in her
early school days made herself not
only the leader, but the dictator of
the other children. She was never
a jealous student, but was naturally
bright and quick wited and usual
ly knew her lessons. In those days
Carrie was large for her age, had
yellow hair and a fair complexion.
She was inclined to be tomboy and
was afraid of nothing. She domin-
ated the school and her. martial
spirit even conquered the boys.
Playing soldier was one of her
favorite pastimes and she liked
nothing better than to lead explor-
ing expeditions of other children in
to the woods and into caves in that
vicinity.
Her mother was deeply religious
and brooded over religious matters
until her mind became unbalanced
and she died in an asylum for the
insane. Carrie Moore was a regu-
lar attendant at the Christian
church Sunday school in the town
of Midway near her home. -
She manifested great interest and
enthusiasm in the study of the Bible,
and was always at the head of her
class. Through all her life she
prided herself on being a God-fear-
ing moral woman and imbued mill
tant spirit of Christian reformer.
She always was fond of quoting the
scriptures and later in her life,
when she took to the war path
against saloons, she never failed to
intersperse her harangues with
plentiful references to the Bible
From her mother she had Inherit
ed high-strung and extremely
nervous disposition, but her ply
steal constitution was excellent and
enabled her quickly to recover from
| the effects of her most exciting
raids. Carrie, from her earliest
youth, was fond of notoriety and
this characteristic, together with
the inherited mental instability and
her leaning toward zealotism explain
in large measure her later career,
When Carrie was fourteen years
old, her father, who had lost the
greater part of his fortune by
speculation, moved with his family
to Missouri. But little is known of
her life during the first years in
that state, but she married when
quite young. Her first husband was
drunkard who often maltreated
her. Not long after his death she
married David Nation, rising
young lawyer. In the early sos
Mr.. Nation was prosecuting attorney
at Muncie, Ind, and under Presi-
dent Garfield he was appointed in
spector of revenue on the Brazos
river, Texas. He moved to Texas
and held his Office until President
Cleveland removed him and filled
the position with a Democrat.
Then Mr.. Nation went to Rich
mond, Tex, where he started Re-
publican newspaper. 1t did not pay
and Mr.. Nation sold out. Next he
started hotel in the same town. He
and his wife conducted the hotel and
made considerable money. Mrs.
Nation made it point to look after
the spiritual as we'll as after the
physical welfare of the guests and
insisted that they should go to
church on Sunday.
She did not hesitate in dragging
unwilling guests to church by main
strength and after she had subdued
several DULLES and obstreperous cow
boys by her fearlessness and cour-
age, she became greatly feared.
After her husband had been run out
of town after having been mixed up
in fractional political fight, Mrs.
Nation conducted the hotel alone
until her daughter married. Then