Yankee Gold: Mary Bernard Aguirre

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Mary Bernard Aguirre

Mary Bernard Aguirre whose husband's wagon train took Steve Elkins to NM was the daughter of Elkins' mentor, Joab Bernard. Bernard had a famous supply house in Kansas City which sold provisions to the wagon trains as they left for the west on the Santa Fe Trail.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beth Rogers’ research into New Mexico’s frontier history was triggered by an interest in the background of Stephen B. Elkins, a noted political figure of the post-Civil War period. She worked for Living magazine and was a parent activist in public education in West Virginia. Her active writing began when her analysis of a new school program was published in Charleston newspapers. She has written two unpublished novels, taught middle-school for three years, sold real estate in North Carolina, and served as a courtroom deputy clerk for the U. S. Court of Appeals, 4^th Circuit, in Richmond, Virginia where she resides.

Steve Elkins, a young Missouri attorney, flees an outlaw guerrilla band into New Mexico. His assignment: write a contract on a mine that divides the proceeds between private investors and the United States government. Competing forces of a general, a Mexican-American colonel, and a former local congressman undermine his mission. His legal expertise and connections are unrivaled and he sees in the territory the opportunity for advancement.

In New Mexico, Steve enters a political mine field which moves through the Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant administrations. His maneuvers demand increasing skill, diligence, and diplomacy. He faces bitter attacks in his aggressive moves against slavery, robbery, assassination, murder, and cattle rustling. He struggles for a private life while the exertions of his public role erode his quest to achieve a business environment, statehood, and a railroad for New Mexico.

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Mary Bernard Aguirre