Gere, Mariel Clapham (1874-1960). Cather’s university friend; a teacher. Mariel Gere, eldest daughter of Charles H. and Mariel C. Gere, born in Lincoln, NE, entered the University of Nebraska's prep school in the same year Cather did. She and her sisters visited Cather several times in Red Cloud, NE. Both were members of the Union Literary Society until Gere joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority in 1892. Gere graduated in the science course and taught chemistry at Lincoln High until 1941. She also served on the Lincoln City Library board for many years. Cather and Gere remained friends and correspondents; Gere defended Cather from accusations that she had been arrogant and friendless during her university years.

Tyndale, Julius Hilgard (1843-1929). Lincoln physician; Cather’s friend. Julius H. Tyndale was reared in Illinois, son of Sharon Tyndale and Mary Hilgard Tyndale. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and afterwards became a physician in New York City, specializing in diseases of the ear, nose, and throat, a practice which brought him into contact with actors and singers. He moved to Lincoln, NE, around 1893 to join his sister, Emma Tyndale Westermann, and her family. The Westermanns owned the Lincoln Evening News at the time, for which Tyndale wrote theater reviews. He was Cather’s friend and mentor as she began reviewing for the Nebraska State Journal and closely followed her career. Although they remained friends and correspondents until his death, there is only one brief letter from Cather known to be extant.

Axtell, James Wickliffe (1852-1909). Partner in Axtell, Orr, and Company, owner of the Home Monthly. Born in Waynesburg, PA, the first son and third child of Reverend Philip Axtell and Eliza Gibbons Axtell, James W. Axtell graduated from Waynesburg College in 1870 and married Mary Minor in 1874, with whom he two children who survived infancy, Clara and Philip. After establishing the Waynesburg Independent, Axtell moved to Pittsburgh, PA, in 1877 where he was a partner in the publishing firm Axtell, Rush, and Company, and founded the National Stockman and Farmer magazine. In partnership with Thomas E. Orr, Axtell purchased the Ladies’ Journal and changed the name to the Home Monthly. On the recommendation of Charles Gere, Axtell hired Cather to edit the Home Monthly. She stayed with the Axtells briefly on her arrival in Pittsburgh in June 1896 and edited the Monthly until June 1897. The Axtells left Pittsburgh for Nashville, TN, in 1899, where James managed the Cumberland Presbyterian publishing house until his 1909 death in Lincoln, NE, at the home of his daughter, Clara Axtell Poynter.

Axtell, Mary Helen Minor (1854-1926) (“Nellie”). Cather’s Pittsburgh acquaintance. Born in Waynesburg, PA, the third child of Henry Minor and Mary Phillips Minor, Mary Minor graduated from Waynesburg College in 1872 and married James W. Axtell in 1874. Their first daughter, Clara, was born before the Axtells moved to Pittsburgh in 1877, where Clay, who died in infancy, and Philip were born. Cather stayed with the Axtells when she first moved to Pittsburgh in 1896 to work for Axtell and Orr’s Home Monthly magazine. Mary and James Axtell relocated from Pittsburgh to Nashville, TN in 1899. At the time of her husband’s death in 1909, they were living in Lincoln, NE, with their daughter, Clara Axtell Poynter. Mary died in Nashville, TN.

Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881). Scottish author, translator, and historian. Born in Ecclefechan in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, to a Calvinist, working-class family, Thomas Carlyle attended the University of Edinburgh and began his career as a teacher of mathematics. He married Jane Baillie Welsh in 1826; after a time at a country estate in Scotland, the couple settled in London, England. Carlyle’s first major book, Sartor Resartus (1836; serialized 1833-34), was followed with several influential works, including the three-volume The French Revolution (1837). A controversial and influential thinker and writer, Carlyle was the subject of Willa Cather's first published piece of writing, "Concerning Thos. Carlyle" (1891), which she claimed she wrote for professor Ebenezer Hunt's class and was placed in the Nebraska State Journal without her knowledge.

Pound, Stephen Bosworth (1833-1911). Nebraska lawyer and judge. Born in New York, where he trained for the law, Stephen Pound came to Lincoln, NE, in 1866 to open a law office. He quickly became one of the leading lawyers of the city, and also served as a state district judge for thirteen years. He married Laura Biddlecombe in 1869; they had three children, Roscoe, Louise, and Olivia.

Nosworthy, Florence Pearl England (1872-1936). American artist, illustrator. Florence England was born in Milwaukee, WI, and studied art at the Boston (MA) Museum School of Fine Art and at the Art Students League in New York City. She illustrated books and magazines for both adults and children and drew many covers for popular magazines. Cather corresponded with her about her illustrations for “The Count of Crow’s Nest,” Cather’s story published in the Home Monthly in September and October 1896. England married William A. Nosworthy in 1897.