Territorial Women's Memorial Rose Garden ALVINA MARIA RODRIQUEZ BENNETT Alvina Maria, daughter of Andrea de Albelino y Josefa Vasquez and Apolonio Rodriguez, was born on February 3, 1853, at Half Moon Bay, California. Alvina was a great-great-granddaughter of Juan Antanasio Vasquez and Maria Gertrudes Castilo de Vasquez, who had come to Alta California with the De Anza expedition from Villa de Sinoloa, Mexico, in 1769. Half Moon Bay was originally called San Benito and later Spanishtown. It was located near Rancho Corral de Tierra, the Vasquez family ranch that was a grant from the Spanish government. Approximately 4,200 acres of the original grant remain intact at the present time (2007) and have been purchased by a private foundation and will be attached to Golden Gate National Park. On September 10, 1870, Alvina married Charles Henry Bennett at Santa Clara, California. Alvina and Charles had 10 children: Charles Wallace, born October 17, 1871; Susan Caroline Modesto Bennett Whiteside, born December, 17, 1872; Emma Christine Bennett, born January 30, 1876; Jennie Christine Bennett, born August 8, 1878; Robert Lorenzo, born January 1, 1879; Alvina Elizabeth Bennett Mackin Clyburn, born April 22, 1883; Bertha Jane Bennett Eckert, born May 14, 1885; Grant Thomas, born December 22, 1887; Birdie Josephine Bennett Maxwell, born May 9, 1889; and Allie Bridget Bennett Johnson, born January 28, 1893. Alvina and Charles and their first four children came to Prescott in 1876 for Alvina’s health. She had a brother who had been here, and he advised them of the dry climate. They went back to California after a short time but returned permanently in 1878. Their first home was on the site of the new Banning Creek dam that was being erected at that time. They later moved to what became known as the old Bennett homestead that was located about a mile north of the Banning Creek damsite. There they engaged in ranching and homesteading. The old ranch site is now covered by Lake Goldwater. Alvina was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Prescott. As the mother of one of the larger families in Yavapai county, she was a busy and dedicated mother, homemaker and wife. Alvina died on July 1, 1923, in Pomona, California, while visiting her daughter Minnie Whiteside. At the time of her death, she had 30 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Prescott. Alvina’s daughter, Alvina Bennett Mackin Clyburn, her daughters-in-law, Catherine Cecilia Healy Bennett and Fannie Elizabeth Lindsay Bennett, and her granddaughters, Eileen Bennett Seaman and Evelyn Mackin Zuchero, are all commemorated in the Rose Garden. Donors: Robert E. Mackin, great-grandson and Anita Mackin Chronister, great- granddaughter May 2007
Territorial Women's Memorial Rose Garden NORA ANN MCWHORTER MADERS Nora, daughter of Matilda Jane Watson and Sutton McWhorter, was born on January 16,1873 in Howard County, Kansas, in a wagon on the way west from Kentucky. The McWhorter family arrived in Camp Verde, Arizona, in 1875. Nora's father and grandfather brought with them to Arizona 60 head of "blooded stock" and established ranches in Cherry Creek. They also became involved in mining. Nora grew up at the Peck Mine near Crown King, where she attended school. She also went to school in Cherry Creek. On June 12, 1875, Nora married James Henry Maders at Cherry Creek, where the couple established their home and ranched until James' death in 1932. Nora and James had 12 children: William Howard, born June 27, 1895; Robert Burns, born September 7, 1896; Le Roy, born March 12, 1899; Dudley Brooks, born July 21,1901; Elbert Sutton, born August 24, 1903; James Henry, born May 16, 1906; Eugene, born July 9,1907; Fields Alexander, born October 23, 1908; Arizona Rose Merwin, born February 8, 1910; Horace Nellis, born October 14, 1911; Hazel Winifred Richards, born April 3, 1914; and Jessie Bell Higgins; born February 14, 1917. Nora was a hard-working ranch wife and a devoted mother and wife. Nora died on January 8, 1960, and was buried at Mt. View Cemetery. Donor: Norma Merwin Orr February, 2001
Additional documentation and photographs may be available in the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives and Library.
Territorial Women's Memorial Rose Garden CATHERINE CECILIA HEALY BENNETT Kate, the daughter of Annie Simon and Barney Philip Healy, was born September 5, 1891, in Olmitz, Kansas. She came with her family to Goodwin, Arizona, in 1895 from New Mexico. The second child in the family, Kate, was given many chores to do around the house such as getting in the wood and packing water into the house. After her mother became postmistress at Goodwin, Kate's chores increased because she helped her mother in serving meals to travelers and the miners who came after their mail once a week. They usually stayed to eat at the stagestop, located between Prescott and Crown King. There were no schools in the area, so Kate stayed with a family in Prescott to attend school. On September 7, 1910, Kate married miner Grant Thomas Bennett in Groom Creek. She made all of their own bread and did all the laundry by hand. She developed many a blister on her hands scrubbing all the dirty clothes on a washboard, having three sons and a husband all wearing Levi's. Kate's and Grant's children were Irene Catherine McNeil (June 29, 1911), Marvin Evan (December 4, 1912), Eugene Theodore (August 15, 1916), and Ralph Wilbur (March 4, 1922). Her love of children encouraged her to become a foster parent to five children whom she considered part of the family and who kept in contact with her up to her death. Known to all as "Granny Bennett," Kate was everyone's favorite babysitter. When the Goldwater Dam was scheduled to be built, the Forest Service notified all the ranchers in the Groom Creek area to get rid of their cattle. The Bennetts sold all their livestock and the ranch. They lived variously in Mayer and Big Bug. Kate was a member of the Moose Lodge and a charter member of the Mayer Civic Improvement Club, responsible for securing equipment for the Mayer School and establishing a scholarship fund for high school seniors. Kate died on February 27, 1984, in Prescott and was buried at Mountain View Cemetery. Donor: Sterling "Cody" Bennett
Additional documentation and photographs may be available in the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives and Library.