In the 22 December 1906 edition of the Highland Park News-Herald & Journal we learn that “MOTHER RANSOM IS NINETY-ONE.” Let me quote briefly from the article describing her birthday party:
“On Thursday a snowy-haired lady, who is cherished in the hearts of a thousand friends, celebrated her ninety-first birthday anniversary. She is "Mother” Ransom, one of the few brave women who volunteered as army nurses who is still living. It was a real birthday party of delightful white-haired men and women, and other friends, who gathered in the reception rooms of the First Methodist Episcopal Church In the afternoon, with Rev. Robert Mclntyre, the pastor, there to do honor to this cherished woman of the church. The rooms were trimmed with soft asparagus ferns and rosebuds. Beneath a niche of soft greenery sat the sweet guest of honor, upon a chair wreathed with fragrant California flowers.”
The article goes on to talk briefly of her time as an Army nurse during the Civil War.
If you’re looking for old editions of local newspapers, including our own Highland Park News-Herald & Journal, you should check out the California Digital Newspaper Collection housed at the University of California at Riverside and available online at https://cdnc.ucr.edu/
