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Orpha Mattix Wickersham

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Orpha Mattix Wickersham

Birth	:	5 Nov 1898 White County, Indiana, USA
Death	:	4 Jan 1989 White County, Indiana, USA
Burial	:	Clarence Cemetery, Clarence, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.8972015, -91.0606003
Description	:	Orpha attended Indiana Normal School, and graduated from the University of Wyoming. She taught school in Laramie, Wyoming from 1921 to 1935 and homesteaded land there. She taught in Cheyenne, Wyoming from 1935 until retiring in 1963, when she returned to Indiana. She donated the family farm in Liberty Township to Purdue University as a memorial to the Wickersham family. Davis, Sheldon, Escalante, "The Wickersham Family in America," Heritage Books, Inc. 2001 "It all started with the intrigue of the 'wide open spaces' That was the reason Miss Orpha Wickersham gave for writing and asking for a teaching position... Read More	Orpha attended Indiana Normal School, and graduated from the University of Wyoming. She taught school in Laramie, Wyoming from 1921 to 1935 and homesteaded land there. She taught in Cheyenne, Wyoming from 1935 until retiring in 1963, when she returned to Indiana. She donated the family farm in Liberty Township to Purdue University as a memorial to the Wickersham family. Davis, Sheldon, Escalante, "The Wickersham Family in America," Heritage Books, Inc. 2001 "It all started with the intrigue of the 'wide open spaces' That was the reason Miss Orpha Wickersham gave for writing and asking for a teaching position in the West in 1920. As a graduate of Ball State teachers Normal College in Indiana, Miss Wickersham had determined to apply to a teachers' agency in Denver, Colorado-from which she received in 1921 her first assignment in Wyoming. Migrating from the security of a farm home to the free-wheeling frontier land near Gillette, Wyoming, was a somewhat frightening experience, even in those days. But she set forth, undaunted by the prospects of an alien environment. Arriving in late December, 1921, she began making preparations for her first school term. As standards for women teachers went in those days, Miss Wickersham was well-qualified. She had gained the appropriate certification to prepare herself. And she was a young woman of fearless moral fiber--a teaching requirement for any woman, especially a fledgling like Miss Wickersham. Almost at once she fell in love with the country. Despite the rude frontier life wh9ich was so alien to her, she made many friends, and earned much respect. Still, her first years in Wyoming could be summed up in two words: ruffians and rattlesnakes. Her first assignment pre-empted by another teacher, Miss Wickersham found it necessary to go even farther into this wild state -- 32 miles south of Gillette, where she was assigned to another school. Her wages were in the $65 to $85 a month range, and she paid her own board to live with the DeLong family, which included children which she taught. It was at the DeLongs' that she experienced her first 'three-day blow'--a howling blizzard that blanked everything with snow. The one high point of the storm, she recalled, was the browned soda biscuits served with warm Karo syrup and peanut butter--a delicious addition to a blizzard menu. The second year, however, found Miss Wickersham at the school originally promised her, near Gillette. That year, she boarded 2ith the Shallers, a fam8ily of Dutch descent with whom she became fast friends. Even though she was forced by unpredictable weather to stay in the schoolhouse where she taught, Miss Wickersham was practically adopted by the Shallers, who had lost an only son in World War One and a daughter in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Soon the young teacher had an opportunity to buy a homestead---three-quarters of a section, 20 miles from town. She did so, and Mr. Shaller contracted to build her first home in the West, Hoosier Hill. Once the home was built, Miss Wickersham determined to live alone and to fend for herself. She bought a horse, Toots, and began to ride back and forth to the school where she taught all eight grades. Great amounts of tumbleweed surrounded this school, and he older boys stacked and piled it for use in the pot-belly stove which dominated the schoolroom. Foodstuffs--beans and potatoes--were also stored, in the event vent of a sudden winter 'blow'. At first many of the boys, especially the tougher ones, tried to test the new schoolmarm's vigor. A bull snake stretched across the school's threshold was not uncommon, but the snakes soon disappeared when the mettle of the greenhorn teacher proved a match for the boys' shenanigans. This was 'dust bowl country' and black blizzards swept down the mountains as regularly as did the warm chinook winds which often turned late winter snowfalls into muddy quagmires. Moving was always on Miss Wickersham's mind, and once the winter was past--and with it the school term--she left Hooshier Hill for a short time to teach in the North. Here, in a school district north of Gillette, she met face-to-face a cluster of bootleggers with whom she was forced at times to board. The homes of the culprits often reeked of 'spirits,' and one house even sported an enormous woodbox to conceal the tools of the trade. Always a lady, the young teacher there found herself in some trying situations. Once, having taken the responsibility of administering required proficiency tests, she became embroiled in a 'nest of moonshiners' who often prevailed upon her good nature to oversee their business establishments. Frightened by her surroundings and their clientele, she agreed; it was not too long thereafter that she became convinced of the correctness of the 'dry cause.' After this 'bout amongst the bootleggers,' she again pulled up stakes and went to Buffalo, Wyoming. There she taught for four years, and helped to organize the first University of Wyoming extension courses. From Buffalo, she migrated to her last teaching post on the frontier: Superior, Wyoming, where she encountered not only snakes, but snake pits After finishing her academic degree, Orpha Wickersham headed to the University of Wyoming at Laramie, whe3re she served as the director of one of the school's dormitories, Hoyt Hall. She was the first woman resident of the U Student Council, and later served as an Assistant Dean of Women. In 1934, after 12 years of teaching in the wilds of Wyoming, she accepted a position in the Cheyenne Public Schools, where she remained until retiring and returning to her childhood home of Monticello, Indiana, in 1958. After blizzards and bootleggers, Cheyenne seemed a tame conclusion to her career in the West." Source: Magazine article "Rattlesnakes and Ruffians," by D. Lottes as it appeared in IN WYOMING. Joyce Rarick, Bucyrus, OH said "Orpha wrote me on August 12, 1985... Greetings-- I received the Mattix, Mattox, Maddox family names you sent. I sent them to Attorney General (Austin, Texas) Jim Mattox. I have not heard from him and he did not return the papers. may I have another? Sorry I cannot be with you. I am 86 years young and confined to the house. My many years -50- were spent in Wyoming where I homsteaded 640 acres and now I receive some nice oil checks. This has been a good year for I have had a few large ones. While I was living with the rattlesnakes I did not expect that. Surprises are always good. My farm - 327 acres is 9 miles n.e. of Monticello I have a farm manager. The corn and beans are not as good as usual due to dry weather. The wheat crop was good. Mary Mattix Swayze will not be able to go to Ohio (for our Mattox/Mattix reunion that summer.) Harold, her husband is ill. I have someone plant a nice garden in my back. I have many red and yellow meaty tomatoes. My good cook and helper is canning the tomatoes for herself. I am always glad to help someone. She helps me. May you all enjoy a good reunion. Sincerely Orpha Mattix Wickersham Orpha Mattix Wickersham never married.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Orpha Mattix Wickersham's memorial?
Orpha Mattix Wickersham's memorial is located at: Clarence Cemetery, Clarence, Cedar County, USA.
When did Orpha Mattix Wickersham death?
Orpha Mattix Wickersham death on 4 Jan 1989 in White County, Indiana, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Orpha Mattix Wickersham's memorial?
Latitude: 41.8972015
Longitude: -91.0606003

Family Members:

Parent

Chester Wickersham

(1869 - 1947)

Rieuann “Anna” Mattix Wickersham

(1870 - 1953)

Siblings

Gerald Leroy Wickersham

(1895 - 1953)

Ruth Bailey Wickersham

(1897 - 1962)

Randolph Boston Wickersham

(1906 - 1929)

Robert Swayne Wickersham

(1910 - 1929)

George H. Wickersham

(1916 - 1916)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Clarence Cemetery
Clarence, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8972015, -91.0606003

2. Saint Johns Cemetery
Clarence, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8885994, -91.0317001

3. Dayton Valley Cemetery
Clarence, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9322014, -91.0207977

4. Diamond Cemetery
Hale, Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9526500, -91.0491400

5. Brink Cemetery
Clarence, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9213982, -90.9903030

6. Stanwood Cemetery
Stanwood, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8814011, -91.1511002

7. Center Cemetery
Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9019012, -90.9555969

8. Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9763985, -91.0742035

9. Red Oak Cemetery
Tipton, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8365000, -91.1575000

10. Oxford Junction Cemetery
Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9764800, -90.9854200

11. Fairview Cemetery
Bennett, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8156013, -90.9863968

12. Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery
Lowden, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8658360, -90.9305830

13. Lowden Cemetery
Lowden, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8657990, -90.9289017

14. Massillon Cemetery
Massillon, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9150000, -90.9205000

15. Olin Cemetery
Olin, Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9838982, -91.1436005

16. Van Horn Cemetery
Lowden, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8438988, -90.9353027

17. Sweet Cemetery
Hale, Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0097320, -91.0692140

18. County Home Cemetery
Tipton, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7938600, -91.1370690

19. Hale Cemetery
Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0167007, -91.0599976

20. Mayflower Cemetery
Oxford Junction, Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9935989, -90.9494019

21. York Prairie Cemetery
Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7714005, -91.0250015

22. Walnut Grove Cemetery
Morley, Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9658012, -91.2093964

23. Parr Cemetery
Lowden, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7769432, -90.9922028

24. Richman Cemetery
Lowden, Cedar County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8300010, -90.9077450