The Dearborn Independent, 1924-1927: articles by Frances Holbrook Pfeiffer

Henry Ford’s national weekly, published at Dearborn, Michigan. Found 10 Oct 2026; dates and pages checked against the page headers, and “The Passing of a Princess” read from its image by Claude. Bylined “Frances Holbrook Pfeiffer” unless noted. In date order:

• 13 Sept 1924, p. 4: “The Neutrality of the Oneidas.”
• 20 Sept 1924, p. 6: “The Passing of a Princess,” by “Francis [sic] Holbrook Pfeiffer.” A memoir of her childhood. “Old Mary was not really a squaw. She was a lady … a princess of the blood,” the “consort” of “Tom Squiqui, the nominal chief of the Skagits.” Mary worked at the family’s house, nursed the children and lived in a cabin “on our ranch,” until she “moved away from our ranch.” The child went with her family to a healing ceremony at “the great Potlatch House down the bay.” In the last scene Mary, dying, is taken away by canoe: “On the shore in front of our house my mother and I stood watching the canoes come down the bay,” and her mother took Mary’s hands and said goodbye. No place is named.
• 7 Mar 1925, p. 9: “The Romance of Dorothy Osborne.”
• 9 Apr 1927, p. 12: “Lucy Percy, the Countess of Carlisle,” byline “Frances H. Pfeiffer.” The contributors’ note (p. 32): “Frances Holbrook Pfeiffer lives in Los Angeles, California. She has made a special study of California history and has delved into odd corners of history in other countries.”
• 23 Apr 1927, p. 16: “Princesse des Ursins: the Woman Who Saved Spain.” The note: she “has written much on the history and resources of that state and is a contributor to some of the leading newspapers and magazines.”
• 7 May 1927, p. 16: “Dorothy Sidney: A Noble Lady of the 17th Century.”
• 27 Aug 1927, p. 24: “Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset and Pembroke.”
• 22 Oct 1927, p. 27: “A Tragedy of the Tar Pits,” “Copyright, C. M. Neuner.”
• 5 Nov 1927, p. 1: “The Discovery of Alta California,” the first of a series. The editor’s note (p. 32): “Frances Holbrook Pfeiffer, who writes of early days in California, is herself descended from pioneers of that state. Both her father and her mother settled on the West Coast in 1850 … She writes, ‘I have an inborn admiration and regard for heroic women of every age.’”
• 12 Nov 1927, p. 13: “The Days of the Dons.”
• 19 Nov 1927, p. 12: “California in Pioneer Days.” Reprinted in The Manning Times (Manning, South Carolina), 30 Nov 1927, Section One, p. 2 (page), “By Frances Holbrook Pfeiffer,” credited to the Dearborn Independent. A reader in Ogden, Utah, wrote in (31 Dec 1927) to say Promontory is in Utah, not Nevada.
• 26 Nov 1927, p. 24: “Under the Flag of the Bear,” the last of the series, which, the editor wrote, “has been much enjoyed, judging from letters received.”

The California series carries “Copyright, C. M. Neuner”; who that was is not known. The note’s “settled on the West Coast in 1850” is as printed: her father reached California in 1851 and Puget Sound in 1852, and her mother came to Washington Territory about 1856 (see their pages). The memoir’s “our ranch” and “the bay” fit the Holbrook claim on Penn Cove, and Mollie’s typescript (scan 112) has her mother comforting a chief “who had lost his wife,” telling him “that Mary had gone to ‘wake si ah illihee’ – to a happier land.”