The Arizona diary of Lily Frémont, 1878-1881
By: edited by Mary Lee Spence.
Contributors: Spence, Mary Lee.
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Tucson
Language: eng
Number of pages: 276
Subjects: Frémont, Lily, b. 1842 -- Diaries.; Children of governors -- Arizona -- Prescott -- Diaries.; Silver mines and mining -- Arizona -- Prescott Region -- History.; Gold mines and mining -- Arizona -- Prescott Region -- History.; Prescott (Ariz.) -- Social life and customs.; Arizona -- Politics and government -- To 1950.
Description: Well traveled and gently reared, Elizabeth (Lily) Benton Fremont found herself heading for the rough-and-tumble West when her father, John C. Fremont, was named governor of Arizona Territory. In his shadow and that of her grandfather, U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, her life on the frontier would have gone largely unremarked but for one thing: Lily kept a diary.

Here, in rich detail, her day-by-day narrative and the editor's annotations bring to life Arizona's territorial capital of Prescott more than one hundred years ago. Lily gives us firsthand accounts of the operation of territorial government, of pressure from Anglo settlers to dispossess Pima Indians from their land, and of efforts by the governor and the army to deal with Indian scares.

Here also, underlying her words, are insights into the dynamics of a close-knit Victorian family, shaping the life of an intelligent, educated single woman.

As unofficial secretary for her father, Lily was well placed to observe and record an almost constant stream of visitors to the governor's home and office. Her diary is filled with unvarnished images of personalities such as the Goldwaters, General O. B. Willcox, Moses Sherman, Judge Charles Silent, and a host of lesser citizens, politicians, and army officers.

Lily's anecdotes vividly re-create the periodic personality clashes that polarized society (and one full-fledged scandal), the ever-present danger of fire, religious practices (particularly a burial service conducted in Hebrew), and attitudes toward Native Americans and Chinese.

On a more personal level, the reader will find intimate accounts of John Fremont's obsession with mining promotion, his complicated business dealings with Judge Silent, and his attempts to recoup his family's sagging fortune. Here especially, Lily outlines a telling profile of her father, a man roundly castigated then and now as a carpetbagger less interested in promoting Arizona's interests than his own.

For students of western history, Lily Fremont's diary provides a wealth of fresh information on frontier politics, mining, army life, social customs, and ethnicity.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-268) and index.
Table of contents: title: West to Prescott, June 8, 1878-January 1, 1879; title: Tenth Legislative Assembly, January 2-February 14, 1879; title: Lily gives French lessons, Jessie teaches history, February 15-August 22, 1879; title: The arrival of the mining experts, August 23-October 20, 1879; title: Selling the Silver Prince, October 21-December 31, 1879; title: Mineral wealth on every hand, January 1-March 18, 1880; title: Judge Silent's vindication, March 19-June 20, 1880; title: Territorial politics, June 21-November 21, 1880.