THE DARLING OF THE PLAINS
By Carra Copelin
Mary Ann "Molly"
Dyer Goodnight remains a positive role model for people, young and old. Her
strength and spirit are qualities that have made Texas what it is today for
Texans and the rest of the world.
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| Molly Goodnight |
Molly was
born September 12, 1839, in Madison County, Tennessee to a prominent lawyer,
Joel Henry and Susan Lynch Dyer. When Molly was fourteen, the family moved to
Fort Belknap, Texas, where she worked as a schoolteacher and raised her five
brothers after her parents died.
In the
mid-1860s, she met Charles Goodnight and they married on July 26, 1870 in
Kentucky. They settled in Pueblo, Colorado, where they worked their ranch until
drought and the Panic of 1873 caused the family to move back to Texas. Irish
investor, John George Adair backed Goodnight and the two men became partners,
moving with their wives to the Palo Duro Canyon where they established the vast
JA Ranch in May of 1877.
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| Goodnight home with buffalo herd |
Molly
became the surrogate mother and nurse to the cowboys of the area earning their
respect for her compassion and natural remedies she developed for their wounds
and fevers. She taught a number of them to read and mended their clothes and for
this they nicknamed her "Mother of the Panhandle" or "Darling of
the Plains".
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| Cowboys on the JA Ranch |
She persevered as a ranch
woman, teacher and healer. According to WOMEN IN TEXAS by Ann Fears Crawford
and Crystal Sasse Ragsdale (Eakin Press, 1982), Molly’s home remedies included
“coal-oil for lice, prickly pear for wounds, salt and buffalo tallow for piles,
mud for inflammation and fever and buffalo meat broth for a general
tonic."
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| Molly and Charles Goodnight |
In 1898, Molly and Charles
helped establish Goodnight College through the donation of 340 acres. Molly
passed away in April 1926. Her gravestone is inscribed with a fitting tribute:
"Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight, One who spent her whole life in the service of
others."
Today, visitors can catch a
glimpse of Molly Goodnight's life in various exhibits at the Armstrong County
Museum in Claude, Texas. The museum is also working to restore the Goodnight
Home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more,
visit: http://armstrongcountymuseum.com .
I chose Molly Goodnight
because she is the epitome of Texas history and its people and she embodies the
spirit of the characters I write about. I'm so glad to be a part of Women's
History Month and Sweethearts of the West.
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| Carra Copelin, Author |
Award winning author Carra Copelin writes contemporary and historical romance. Her current project is The Texas Code series of romantic suspense novels to include CODE OF HONOR, CODE OF CONSCIENCE, CODE OF JUSTICE, CODE OF LAW, and the historical KATIE AND THE IRISH TEXAN, and MATELYN AND THE TEXAS RANGER.
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| Summer 2013 Release |
