Sherwood, Carrie Belle Miner (1869-1972) Civic leader; Cather's friend. Born in Waukon, IA, to James L. Miner and Julia Erickson Miner, Carrie Miner was the eldest of their children. The family moved to Red Cloud, NE, in 1878, where the Miner Brothers store became the largest in town. Cather remembered meeting Carrie there. In 1884, Carrie, her mother, and siblings were confirmed in the Catholic church. In 1888, she studied music at St. Mary’s Academy at Notre Dame, IN. She married bank clerk Walter Sherwood in late 1889; they had two sons. The Sherwoods travelled often in the West, and visited Europe in 1930. They built a new house at 3rd and Seward streets in Red Cloud in 1908; Cather sometimes sent materials for Carrie to keep in its spacious attics. Carrie Miner Sherwood led local Red Cross work during the two World Wars, served on the Red Cloud school board and park commission, and was active in the League of Women Voters and in the Ladies Guild of Grace Episcopal Church. Cather corresponded with Carrie Miner Sherwood throughout her life and dedicated My Ántonia to Carrie, model for Frances Harling in the novel, and her sister Irene. Carrie was one of Mildred Bennett’s chief sources for The World of Willa Cather (1951), and was instrumental in setting up what is now the Willa Cather Foundation in Red Cloud.

Nash, John Burnet (1872-1939). American lawyer. Born in Syracuse, NY, John Nash graduated from Yale University in 1895 and the New York Law School in 1897. He was an associate with Perkins & Jackson and worked for the Title Guarantee Trust Company before joining Breed Abbott & Morgan as an associate in 1915; he became a partner in 1921. He specialized in estate law, teaching the subject at New York Law School. He and his wife, Cordelia Dana Nash, had two daughters, Mary and Katharine. Nash began handling legal matters for Cather around the time she moved to Five Bank Street in 1912, continuing to do so until his unexpected death from an embolism following surgery.

Lindbergh, Anne Morrow (1906-2001). American author and aviator. Born in Englewood, NJ, to Dwight Morrow and Elizabeth Cutter Morrow, Anne Morrow graduated from Smith College in 1928 with a degree in English. She married aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1929 and became his copilot. Cather met the Lindberghs in 1931, when both she and Charles Lindbergh were given honorary degrees by Princeton University. On March 1, 1932, the Lindberghs first child, Charles Jr., was kidnapped; the crime and the discovery of the boy’s body ten weeks later were a media sensation. Cather admired Anne Lindbergh’s first book, North to the Orient (1935), which recounted her 1931 journey with Charles to Asia via the great circle route in 1931. Lindbergh’s best-known book is Gift from the Sea (1955), an inspirational meditation on modern life and particularly the challenges facing women, which has sold more than three million copies.

Lindbergh, Charles Augustus (1902-1974). American aviator. Born in Detroit, MI, to parents of Swedish descent and raised in Minnesota, Charles Lindbergh wanted to become a flyer in World War I but was too young. After three semesters studying engineering at the University of Wisconsin, he left to become a barnstorming pilot and later enlisted in the Army Air Service and became a captain in the Missouri National Guard. Lindbergh’s 1927 nonstop flight from New York to Paris piloting the Spirit of St. Louis made him an international celebrity. In 1929 he married Anne Cutter Morrow, who became his copilot. Cather met the Lindberghs in 1931, when both she and Charles Lindbergh were given honorary degrees by Princeton University. On March 1, 1932, the Lindberghs first child, Charles Jr., was kidnapped; the crime and the discovery of the boy’s body ten weeks later were a media sensation. In 1939 Charles Lindbergh advocated against American involvement in World War II, and although he eventually supported the war, his non-interventionist stance tarnished his reputation. His bestselling book about his pioneering flight, The Spirit of St. Louis (1953), was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.