Garber, Silas (1833-1905). American governor. Born into a large family in Ohio, Garber followed family members to settle in northeastern Iowa. There, in 1857 he married Rosella Dana. In 1860, their son William Seward Garber was born and in 1862 Rosella died. Garber enlisted in the Union army at the outbreak of the Civil War, rising to the rank of captain. On a visit to family in California in 1866, he met twelve year-old Lyra Wheeler, whom he married eight years later. In 1870 Garber led a band of settlers to open land in south-central Nebraska, founding the town of Red Cloud on his homestead and in 1874 he was elected governor of Nebraska. After serving two terms, he returned to Red Cloud, where he and Lyra lived just outside town. The grove of trees surrounding their house was a popular place for summer picnics and dances, which Cather attended. Garber founded the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Red Cloud in 1886; it failed in the Panic of 1893, and Garber’s health and fortune slowly declined. Cather knew Garber as the town’s most prominent citizen, and she portrayed him as Captain Forrester in A Lost Lady (1923).

Garber, Lyra Wheeler (1855-1921). Red Cloud resident. Born in Georgia, Lyra moved with her family to Illinois in 1856 and to California in 1859, where her father kept hotels in Nevada County; she first met Silas Garber there in 1866 when he was visiting his elder brother Jacob. Lyra reportedly attended a convent school in Grass Valley, CA, and a finishing school in San Francisco. In 1875, when Silas Garber was governor of Nebraska, he returned to Grass Valley and married Lyra Wheeler. After his term was up in 1878, the couple moved to Red Cloud, NE. Widowed in 1905, Lyra stayed there until 1912. In 1914 settled in Grangeville, ID, where a sister lived, and cut her ties to Nebraska. In 1915, she married Swan Anderson, a considerably-younger bank cashier. They moved to Oregon in 1918, where she died. Cather observed Silas and Lyra Garber during their Red Cloud years and made them the prototypes for Daniel and Marian Forrester in A Lost Lady (1923).

Menuhin, Hephzibah (1920-1981). Pianist. Born in San Francisco, CA, to Moshe and Marutha Sher Menuhin, immigrant Russian Jews by way of Palestine, Hephzibah began studying piano at the age of four and gave her first recital at age eight. The studies and career of her older brother, violinist Yehudi, dominated the family (the youngest child, Yaltah, was also a pianist). In 1930, the Menuhin family took up residence in Paris, where Cather first met them in the home of Jan Hambourg and Isabelle McClung Hambourg and became a family friend; the children called her “Aunt Willa.” In the 1930s the Menuhin family made the Ansonia Hotel its home base during their frequent stays in New York City. Cather took the Menuhin children on walks around Central Park, read Shakespeare with them, and gave them books as gifts. Hephzibah served as Yehudi’s accompanist; they made their first recording together in 1933 and often performed together. The family purchased a ranch in Los Gatos, CA, in 1935. In 1938, after a concert in London, England, Hephzibah met Australian Lindsay Nicholas, whom she soon married (Yehudi married Lindsay’s sister Nola). She abandoned her plans for a solo debut at Carnegie Hall, moved with Nicholas to Australia, and had two sons, Kronrod and Marston. She continued to perform occasionally in Australia, including with Yehudi when he toured the country. Although Cather mentions carrying on a correspondence with Hephzibah after her move to Australia, these letters have not been located. Cather enjoyed a late life visit from Hephzibah and Yehudi and their families in 1947. In 1955, Hephzibah divorced Nicholas and married Richard Hauser. Together, they were active in human rights advocacy, and Hephzibah continued to perform. She died in London, England.

Menuhin, Marutha Sher (c. 1892-1996). Mother of Yehudi, Hepzibah and Yaltah Menuhin. Born in Russia, Marutha Sher married Moshe Mnuchin, a Hebrew teacher, in 1914. After brief stays in Palestine and New York City, where son Yehudi was born, they moved to San Francisco, CA, in 1917 and changed their surname to Menuhin. Their daughters Hepzibah and Yaltah were born in San Francisco. They educated all three children at home and sought out musical instruction for them when each was a small child. However Yehudi’s career as a violinist was given top priority. With the support of Yehudi’s patron Sidney Ehrman the family moved to New York City and Paris to advance Yehudi’s musical studies. In 1930, the Menuhin family took up residence in Paris, where Cather first met them in the home of Jan Hambourg and Isabelle McClung Hambourg. Cather evidently approved of Marutha’s parenting of her gifted children, and they became friends. In the 1930s, the Menuhin family made the Ansonia Hotel its home base during their frequent stays in New York City, and Marutha encouraged Cather’s growing relationship with her children. The family purchased a ranch in in Los Gatos, CA, in 1935, which became Marutha’s primary residence when she was not on tour with her children. Her relationships with Yehudi and Hepzibah remained strong as they emerged into adulthood, but Yaltah rebelled against her mother’s authority and the two became alienated from one another. Although only one brief letter from Cather to Marutha Menuhin is known, they evidently carried out a regular correspondence. Marutha Menuhin died in Los Gatos.

Menuhin, Yaltah (1921-2001). Pianist. Born in San Francisco, CA, to Moshe and Marutha Sher Menuhin, immigrant Russian Jews by way of Palestine, Yaltah began studying piano at the age of three. The studies and career of her older brother, violinist Yehudi, dominated the family (their second child, Hepzibah, was also a pianist). In 1930, the Menuhin family took up residence in Paris, where Cather first met them in the home of Jan Hambourg and Isabelle McClung Hambourg and became a family friend; the children called her “Aunt Willa.” In the 1930s, the Menuhin family made the Ansonia Hotel its home base during their frequent stays in New York City. Cather took the Menuhin children on walks around Central Park, read Shakespeare with them, and gave them books as gifts. The family purchased a ranch in Los Gatos, CA, in 1935. As Yaltah grew older and wanted to pursue her own musical career, her relationship with her mother grew difficult—Marutha supported Hepzibah’s role as Yehudi’s accompanist but believed a solo career inappropriate for a woman (even though many recognized that Yaltah was the most gifted musician of the three children). In June 1938, just shy of her seventeenth birthday and apparently under duress from her mother, Yaltah married William Stix, a lawyer from St. Louis, MO, who worked in Washington, DC; Cather attended the wedding. In 1939 Yaltah first separated from and then divorced Stix. In 1941, she eloped with U.S. Army officer Benjamin Rolfe. Her parents publicly disavowed the marriage and she and her mother stopped speaking to one another. The Rolfes had two children, Robert and Lionel. None of Cather’s extant letters to Yaltah mention the turmoil surrounding her marriage, divorce, and remarriage, however. Yaltah’s final marriage to American pianist Joel Ryce was long and happy, and during it she pursued a performing career. According to her son Lionel Rolfe, she treasured her letters from Cather and often reread them. She eventually gave them to him so he could sell them and use the funds to support his aspiration to become a writer.

Menuhin, Yehudi (1916-1999). Violinist and conductor. Born in New York City to Moshe Mnuchin and Marutha Sher Mnuchin, immigrant Russian Jews by way of Palestine who changed the spelling of their surname and moved the family to San Francisco in 1918, Yehudi started violin lessons at age four and made his first public appearance in 1922. His two younger siblings, Hepzibah and Yaltah, studied piano, although his parents prioritized the musical career of their son over their daughters. With the support of patron Sidney Ehrman, the Menuhin family followed Yehudi’s teacher Louis Persinger to New York City. Ehrman also sponsored Yehudi for a year of study in Paris, France, with Georges Enesco. Yehudi began attracting national attention in 1927 and recorded and toured the U.S. in 1929. That year at Carnegie Hall, his performance of concertos by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms with Bruno Walter and the Berlin Philharmonic inspired Albert Einstein to proclaim “now I know there is a God in Heaven”; Cather was also in the audience for this concert. In 1930, the Menuhin family took up residence in Paris, where Cather first met them in the home of Jan Hambourg and Isabelle McClung Hambourg and became a family friend; the children called her “Aunt Willa.” In the 1930s, the Menuhin family made the Ansonia Hotel its home base during their frequent stays in New York City. Cather took the Menuhin children on walks around Central Park, read Shakespeare with them, and gave them books as gifts. Yehudi’s sister Hepzibah accompanied her brother on piano; they made their first recording together in 1933 and often performed together. The family purchased a ranch in Los Gatos, CA, in 1935, and after a world tour that year, Yehudi withdrew from performing for 18 months and stayed at the ranch with his family. He returned to the concert stage in 1937 and met and married Nola Nicholas in 1938 (Hepzibah married Nola’s brother Lindsay). Yehudi and Nola had two children, Krov and Zamira. Cather enjoyed a late life visit from Hepzibah and Yehudi and their families in 1947. Cather corresponded regularly with the adult Yehudi, giving him personal advice, although only one original letter has surfaced. In 1947, Yehudi and Nola divorced and he married British ballerina Diana Gould, with whom he had two more children. Living in Europe, he continued his career as a performer and also became a conductor, established a school in England, and became a British citizen. He died in Berlin, Germany, while on tour.

Menuhin, Moshe (1893-1983). Russian-American teacher of Hebrew. Born in Russia into a distinguished religious Jewish family, Moshe Mnuchin moved to Palestine with his family as a child. In 1913 he moved to the U.S., where he married Marutha Sher in 1914. After the 1916 birth of their son Yehudi and Moshe’s 1917 graduation from New York University, they moved to San Francisco, CA, where their daughters Hepzibah and Yaltah were born. They changed their surname to Menuhin in 1919 when they became U.S. citizens. While Moshe taught Hebrew, Marutha supervised the musical education of their children, which later took them to New York City and Paris. Cather first met the Menuhin family in the Paris home of Jan Hambourg and Isabelle McClung Hambourg in 1930. In the 1930s, the Menuhin family made the Ansonia Hotel its home base during their frequent stays in New York City, and Cather developed strong bonds with the children and Marutha although apparently less so with Moshe. The family purchased a ranch in Los Gatos, CA, in 1935, which became their primary residence. Moshe Menuhin was a prominent voice for anti-Zionism within the U.S. Jewish community.

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). English playwright, actor, and poet. Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright of the English language. While not much is known definitively about his life, he was a member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company of theatrical players, beginning in 1594 (the group later changed their name to the King’s Men). From 1590 to 1613, he wrote thirty-seven plays that continue to be widely performed. Cather’s lifelong love for Shakespeare’s work began in childhood as the Cather family had several volumes of Shakespeare in their book collection. While at the University of Nebraska, she took four semesters of Shakespeare and in 1891 published a two-part essay, “Shakespeare and Hamlet” in the Nebraska State Journal. Her fiction is filled with allusions to Shakespeare. In her later years, she formed an informal Shakespeare book club with the child prodigies Yehudi, Hepzibah, and Yaltah Menuhin and spent the last winter of her life reading his works.

Lewis, Edith Labaree (1881-1972). Magazine editor, advertising copywriter, and Cather's domestic partner. Born in Lincoln, NE, to Henry Euclid Lewis and Lillie Gould Lewis, Edith Lewis attended the preparatory school associated with the University of Nebraska, earning college credits from the University before transferring to Smith College in Northampton, MA, in 1899. She received an A.B. in English from Smith in 1902 and returned home to teach elementary school. She met Willa Cather in the summer of 1903 at the home of Sarah Harris, publisher of the Lincoln Courier. Moving to New York City soon afterward, Lewis settled into a studio on Washington Square and found work at the Century Publishing Company. Cather was her guest when she visited the city from Pittsburgh. In 1906, at Cather's suggestion, Lewis applied for a position as an editorial proofreader at McClure's Magazine, and the two women worked together on the McClure's staff for six years. In 1908, they moved into a shared apartment at 82 Washington Place, and then, in 1912, to Five Bank Street. Lewis left McClure's in 1915 to become managing editor of Every Week Magazine, where she stayed until the magazine folded in 1918. In 1919 she began a long career as an advertising copywriter at the J. Walter Thompson Co. In 1926 Edith Lewis acquired the land on which she and Cather built their cottage on Grand Manan Island. When they lost their apartment on Bank Street to subway construction in 1927, they shared quarters at the Grosvenor Hotel when they were both in New York City. In 1932 they took an apartment at 570 Park Avenue. Throughout their relationship, Lewis was closely involved in Cather's creative process, reading and editing her work in pre-publication forms. Cather's will appointed Lewis as executor of her literary estate and a beneficiary of her literary trust. Lewis authorized E.K. Brown as Cather's first biographer and published her own memoir of Cather, Willa Cather Living (1953). She remained in their Park Avenue apartment after Cather's death and died there after a long period of illness and invalidism. She is buried at Cather's side in Jaffrey, NH.

Hess, Myra (1890-1965). British pianist. Born to a Jewish family in London, England, Myra Hess began playing piano as a young child, studying at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1907 she made her debut, then toured in Britain and Europe. She made her American debut in 1922, becoming popular as a soloist and in ensembles. Cather became acquainted with her through her publishers, Alfred and Blanche Knopf. Myra Hess was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1936 and Dame Commander in 1941. During World War II, when bombings and curfews made evening concerts impossible, Hess organized thousands of weekday lunch-time concerts by eminent musicians.

Creighton, Mary S. Miner (1873-1968). Clubwoman; Cather’s friend from childhood. Born in Iowa, Mary Miner was the second daughter of James and Julia Miner, neighbors of the Cather family in Red Cloud, NE. Willa Cather later recalled that when she first moved into town with her family and enrolled in school in 1885, “Margie Miner was so jolly I wanted awfully to know her.” They became lifelong friends and correspondents, and Mary’s sisters Irene and Carrie were equally close to Cather. Mary Miner wed local physician E. A. Creighton in 1900 and lived the rest of her life in Red Cloud. She was the prototype for Julia Harling in My Ántonia (1918).

Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750). German composer. Born in Eisenach, Germany, into a family of musicians, Johann Sebastian Bach was a preeminent baroque-era composer, whose most famous works include: "Toccata and Fugue in D minor," "Mass in B Minor" (1724-1749), the "Brandenburg Concertos" (1711-1720), and "The Well-Tempered Clavier" (1722-1740). After hearing Yehudi Menuhin play Bach in concert Cather wrote, “I think that was the most beautiful and lofty music I have ever listened to” (#2048).