The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction - Linda Gordon

A story tied to the orphan trains of the early 1900s, this book revealed to me a slice of Arizona history I'd never known.  A group of Irish orphans from New York were taken by Catholic nuns to pre-chosen adoptive parents in Morenci and Clifton.  The towns were Arizona copper mine centers.  The children were to be adopted by Mexican families arranged by the local Catholic French priest.  When they arrived, the white locals kidnapped them, objecting to their placement with Mexican families. The resulting dispute between the kidnappers and the Catholic guardians went to the US Supreme Court.

This is a dense volume of historical accuracy with many details of the people, copper mining industry, Arizona territory settlement and the prejudices of the 1900s.  For those who have lived in Arizona, there are many familiar names that will resonate.  

Quotes/Notes:

p. 16 after 1880 the Catholic church had a faction with assimilationist tendency that promoted Catholic expansion westward

"Nortenos" were Northern Mexicans and they were anti-clerical 

p. 99 - "Race is a pigment of the imagination" - sociologist Ruben Rumbaut

p. 207-list of names of families and the children they adopted [saved image]

p. 257 - Vigilantism 

p. 284 - William Henry Brophy, mgr of the Phelps Dodge company store in Bisbee -founded Brophy Prep

[note: I gave book to speaker at WVGS conference in 2024]

Published: 1999  Read: 2023  Genre: History

The Lost World of the Old Ones - David Roberts

Sub-title: Discoveries in the ancient southwest

I tried to get an earlier book by this author called In Search of the Old Ones that is a cult favorite among climbers and adventurers however its only available at the Heard Museum library for in-library use. 

This sequel chronicles the explorations of the author throughout Arizona, Utah and New Mexico looking for remnants of ancient civilizations.  He practises leaving artifacts as they are, instead of collecting and taking them away from where they were found.  An amateur anthropologist and archeologist, he seeks out the experts to consult and travel with to understand the cultures. 

A great read that gives me a new appreciation of the rich history of my part of the world.


Published:  2015  Read: May 2018  Genre: Adventure