Daring to Be Different: Missouri's Remarkable Owen Sisters

For Further Reading and Research

For Further Reading and Research The American Woman: Who Was She? edited by Anne Firor Scott (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1971), is a relatively brief (182 pages) review of the changing role of women in American society in the century following the Civil War—the period in which the Owen sisters lived. This book includes excerpts from leading theoreticians of feminism, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Charlotte Perkins Gilmore, and Carrie Chapman Catt, as well as a copy of the document “Declaration of Sentiments,” which was adopted at the historic Woman’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, and is often credited with being the opening salvo in the battle for woman’s rights. Cave Regions of the Ozarks and Black Hills, by Luella Agnes Owen (Cincinnati: Editor Publishing, 1898), offers a very readable description of Luella Owen’s cave explorations and provides interesting insights into the author’s knowledge and personality. Charles Godfrey Leland: A Biography in Two Volumes, by Elizabeth Robin Pennell (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1906) is a useful resource for more information about Mary Alicia Owen’s lifelong friend and mentor. “Ever Toward the Setting Sun They Push Us: American Indian Identity in the Writings of Mary Alicia Owen,” by Greg Olson (master’s thesis, University of Missouri, Columbia, 2009), is an interesting and well-researched resource.   For Further Reading The Half Not Told: The Civil War in a Frontier Town, by Preston Filbert (Mechanicsburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books, 2001), presents a grim overview of life in St. Joseph during the Civil War—the divided loyalties of its citizens, the often harsh Union occupation , and the devastation wrought by guerrillas. Hardship and Hope: Missouri Women Writing about Their Lives, 1820–1920, edited by Carla Waal and Barbara Oliver Korner (Columbia : University of Missouri Press, 1997), is an anthology that covers approximately a century, starting before Missouri became a state and stopping the year that the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the vote. Among the authors are Kate Chopin, Carry Nation, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Many of the selections are letters or diaries. The Incredible Owen Girls, by Jean Fahey Eberle (St. Louis: Boar’s Head Press, 1977), is a must-read for anyone interested in a closer look at the daily lives of Mary, Luella, and Juliette. This book is out of print but paperback copies are still available at online sources such as Amazon.com. History of the Growth and Development of Saint Joseph, by Nellie Utz (mimeographed copies in the St. Joseph Public Library and the St. Louis Public Library), provides a brief but fascinating history of the short-lived Pony Express. Missouri Caves in History and Legend, by H. Dwight Weaver (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2008) examines the historical and cultural significance of Missouri caves from prehistoric times to the twenty-first century, discussing early cave exploration and research, including that of Luella Owen. Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Woman’s Rights Movement, by Sally G. McMillen (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), is a timely book that serves to remind readers of the struggles of women of the late 1800s and early 1900s who campaigned so vigorously for women’s rights. The author describes the lives and contributions of Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone, among others.  For Further Reading The Southern Lady: From Pedestal to Politics 1830–1890, by Anne Firor Scott (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970) is included here because, given St. Joseph’s Southern heritage and the fact that the Owen sisters’ parents had themselves emigrated from the South, it is a good source to help the reader better understand the stance of James and Agnes Owen as well as that of Mary, Luella, and Juliette regarding women’s rights. In addition to these sources, the reader is urged to consider reading works by Mary Alicia and Luella Owen. Mary’s short stories, such as “The Taming of Tarias,” can be found on the Internet , and many of her articles and books are readily available in various public libraries, the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, and the State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia. The Missouri Folklore Society papers are at the University of Missouri Western Historical Manuscript Collection in Columbia; Mary’s collection of Mesquakie artifacts and correspondence relating to the collection are at the Missouri State Museum in Jefferson City; and clippings relating...