USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -“Dame Shirley ” was the pen name taken by Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe (1819-1906) when her letters were published out west in the periodical The Pioneer, by editor Ferdinand C. Ewer.

Detailed explanation-2: -In these letters Louise Clappe writes of life in San Francisco and the Feather River mining communities of Rich Bar and Indian Bar. She focuses on the experiences of women and children, the perils of miners’ work, crime and punishment, and relations with native Hispanic residents and Native Americans.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Shirley letters (1922) is the book edition of a series of letters written by Mrs. Clappe to her sister in 1851 and 1852. They were first published under the pseudonym of “Dame Shirley” in the Pioneer magazine, 1854-55.