Golddigger: The Legendary Nellie Cashman
When Nellie Cashman is five years old, she, her mother, and sister flee the great famine in Ireland to come to Boston. There is no U.S. government assistance offered, and the tiny family must rely on their own toil and grit to survive with only their fellow Irish refugees and the Catholic Church for solace. Needless to say, they are not welcomed by the local Bostonians. But as she struggles, Nellie has grandiose plans.
She convinces her mother and sister to move yet again, this time to San Francisco, where Nellie’s dreams include finding ways to help herself and others through the lucrative business of mining for gold and other means of business in the far West. She describes herself as “an explorer and opportunistic entrepreneur,” but over her long life she becomes infinitely more. Nellie is a nurse, humanitarian, philanthropist, and builder of churches and hospitals where they are most needed. Though she is a proto-American rugged individualist, she also takes over the task overseeing her five nieces and nephews are raised properly while she simultaneously saves the lives of countless rough miners and other desperate people. Despite the massive amount of profit she earns from her restaurants and mining stakes, she keeps little for herself. The rest goes to her family, hospitals and churches. She survives robbery attempts, conniving would-be husbands and the worst of nature in the searing heat of Arizona and freezing cold of Alaska. Along the way she meets Wyatt Earp, Butch Cassidy and Jack London, all of whom are the better for her acquaintance.
Author Morris excels in bringing this little known yet historical American legend to brimming life. It is amazing so few of us have even heard of Nellie Cashman. She represents the best of the original American immigrant experience, and I would’ve been honored to meet her in life. Readers will come away feeling buoyed. Superb.
