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arah W inchester is as beguiling a subject as one can imagine. Her simultaneously secretive and public life called for such a wide spectrum of sources—ranging from archives to zip codes—that as I acknowledge those who helped I am afraid that some will be left out. I offer gratitude and admiration for many, many friends, colleagues , professionals, and strangers who helped map out this life story. The idea for this work came from Bob Johnson, librarian (retired) at Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library in San José. He planted the seed and over the years has asked about its progress. Other librarians and archivists have also been essential to this work,including BarbaraAusten (Connecticut Historical Society),Allison Botelho (New Haven Free Public Library), Lisa Christiansen (Stocklmeir Library and Archive, California History Center, De Anza College), Mary Hanel (Santa Clara City Library) and the staff at the Mission Branch of the same Santa Clara library, Margaret Kimball (Stanford University Archives),Thom Peters (Hopkins School,New Haven),Carol Peterson (San Mateo County History Museum Archives), and Sean Campbell and Mary Robinson (Buffalo Bill Cody Museum in Cody,Wyoming). The most important sources for this book were found at History San José, a regional museum and archive. I am grateful to the former archivist, Paula Jabloner, for initially showing me the Leib papers and the Hansen Collection.The current archivist, Jim Reed, was remarkably accommodating over a period of a few years, even through the relocation of the archives and a thunder-and-lightning storm that took out power and Internet service for over a month at precisely the time I requested images and permissions.Thank you,Jim,for your good-natured and professional help. Richard Hansen, grandson of Sarah Winchester’s ranch foreman John Hansen, sent copies of pictures, letters, documents, and references to me. His kindness is a warm reflection on his parents and grandparents, who made a home at the Winchester place for more than two decades. Likewise, the great-granddaughter of Winchester’s attorney, Frank Leib, Acknowledgments xxi p S xxii / acknowledgments Marian Leib Adams, agreed to be interviewed. She provided detailed family background and access to an unpublished manuscript of a Leib family history. April and Hans Halberstadt rescued some Leib-Winchester letters from a Saturday morning garage sale and shared them for this work.The general manager of the Winchester Mystery House, Shozo Kagoshima, was very courteous in agreeing to be interviewed and helpful in explaining how the public views today’s tourist attraction. Others who helped in sometimes very detailed ways were Bob Knapel and Charlene Duval; Dale Fiore at Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven; Katerina Rohner, who sent current photographs of New Haven; and architect Leslie Dill, who accompanied me on a tour of the Winchester Mystery House.She helped to identify the portions of the house lost in the 1906 earthquake. I appreciate the people and institutions that loaned photographs with permission to this publication,namely,Marian LeibAdams;the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum in Cody,Wyoming; Richard Hansen; History San José; the San Mateo County History Museum Archives; and the Whitney Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. I am also thankful to LeeAnn Nelson of Nelson Design in San Ramon, California, for designing and producing the maps and family trees that appear in this book. I always get new insights from working with an amazing artist like LeeAnn. The California History Center at De Anza College, where I teach, has welcomed me and inspired me. Tom Izu, Executive Director, and Lisa Christiansen, archivist, are both friends and colleagues who have apparently never tired of hearing or asking questions about Sarah Winchester. Lisa responded to many arcane requests, and Tom has a knack for seeing a much larger picture than most.The history center’s class “Significant Californians” welcomed Sarah Winchester as a subject worthy of the title, and students who took that class in Fall 2008 rendered important insights and questions about our visit to the Winchester Mystery House. I am grateful for the support of De Anza College Dean of Social Sciences, Carolyn Wilkins-Greene,and History Department Chair,Margaret Stevens. The nursemaid of this project has been Grey Osterud of Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts. My one-time San José State University professor —turned friend—then editor has followed and cajoled this project with faith and insight. Despite life-threatening health challenges, Grey consistently encouraged and questioned at the same time. She is a firstrate critic and supportive friend, as well as an...

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