Why would someone want to perpetuate false myths that claim
Mary Fields was an angry instigator of brawls, gunfights, and fist fights when in fact she was not?
In 2001 I began research to write a biographical book about Mary Fields. Published in 2016, the title is Deliverance Mary Fields, First African American Star Route Mail Carrier in the United States: a Montana History.
From the first moment I learned of Mary Fields I knew that she had to be far more extraordinary than the short paragraph of words I had read. I believed, being a third generation descendant of Montana settlers, that an African American woman who dared to live independently among whites and further, who traveled back and forth on a known route daily for eight years amidst immigrants, outlaws and drifters who embraced prejudice, greed and the desire to manifest claims to a new life, whether that be striking a gold vein, building a cattle ranch, business ventures or political power - knowingly accepted the risk of being attacked or murdered. Legal consequence of such violent acts was unlikely. Certainly, this woman was courageous. Who was she? Why did she choose this life? What else had she achieved? I wanted to know the true story of Mary Fields. Accurate, documented information about this remarkable woman was extremely scarce. It still is, now more than ever. During ten years of research, I was fortunate to discover a substantial number of records and documentation of Mary Fields’ true life which I included in the book called Deliverance Mary Fields, published 2016. For over one hundred years, false legends have been mistaken for truth. These falsities began to proliferate in the 1950's due to lack of reliable records and sadly, due to authors and publishers who repeated the myths. I suppose they believed the exaggerations because they had read it in earlier articles. Vertical Divider
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We all know that writing something does not make it true. New false and exaggerated claims about Mary Fields are rampant and more extreme every day. It seems as though each new article I read of late, contains more falsities. What I find most disturbing is that the majority of this “new” information is derogatory, endorsing communal celebration of violence and anger.
To the contrary, we all have reason to be proud and inspired by this amazing frontier woman who against the odds, pursued and manifested freedom, rights and liberty and at the same time helped others in her community regardless of race, color, or creed. She was insightful, tenacious, generous, brave, and compassionate; an example of an authentic enlightened American pioneer who deserves our reverence and appreciation. Why would someone want to perpetuate lies that claim that Mary Fields was an angry instigator of brawls, gunfights, and fist fights when in fact she was not? If you would like to become aware of basic facts versus fiction about Mary Fields' life, I offer a brief cheat sheet. Please help stop the terrible misinformation that perhaps unknowingly endorses violence and racism rather than celebration of an American whose life offers an example of how to reduce violence and work toward creating a better world instead. 
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LEGENDS & MYTHS ABOUT MARY FIELDS
TRUE - FALSE
Mary Fields was 6 feet tall. |
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X |
Mary Fields weighed 200 pounds. |
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X |
Mary Fields wore men’s pants. |
X Only under skirts to stay warm |
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Mary Fields routinely swore and cussed in public. |
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X |
Mary Fields smoked cigars. |
X |
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Mary Fields drove a stagecoach. |
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X |
Mary Fields was the 2nd woman hired by the US Postal service in the United States. |
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X |
Mary Fields was the 1st woman hired by the U.S . Postal service in the United States. |
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X |
Mother Mary Amadeus got the mail carrier job for Mary Fields. |
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X |
Mary Fields was the first African American Woman Star Route Mail Carrier in the United States. |
X |
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Mary Fields obtained the mail route herself from a contracter who had bid for & purchased the route as a business venture from the government. This was the procedure for star routes. |
X |
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Mary Fields delivered the mail, freight and occasional passengers driving a horse and wagon. |
X |
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Mary Fields was paid $50 a week as the star route mail carrier. |
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X Far Less |
Mary often engaged in and incited fist fights. |
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X |
Mary Fields was an excellent riflewoman. |
X |
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Mary Fields was an excellent horsewoman. |
X |
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Mary Fields participated in gun fights or shoot-outs. |
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X |
Mary Fields NEVER shot or killed anyone during her life on the frontier in Montana. |
X |
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Mary Fields was born a slave in 1832 in Hickman County, Tennessee. |
X |
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Mary Fields had a voracious appetite for whiskey. |
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X No time-period documentation. Hearsay |
Mary Fields was an angry hostile type, looking for a fight. |
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X |
Mary Fields could read and write. |
X |
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Mary Fields was the slave “companion of Ursuline Mother Amadeus”. |
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X |
Mary Fields first met Ursuline Mother Amadeus in Ohio where Mary worked as groundskeeper for the convent. |
X |
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Mary Fields traveled from Ohio to Montana when she learned that her friend, Ursuline Mother Mary Amadeus was dying from pneumonia. |
X |
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Mary Fields nursed the Mother Amadeus back to health & remained in Montana assure the nuns' survival. She provided game, repaired the dilapidated living quarters, built a hennery to provide eggs and much more. |
X |
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Mary Fields was an excellent gardener and planted seasonal vegetable & herb gardens to feed over 100 native American girls and the Ursuline nuns. |
X |
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Mary Fields was a freighter who drove horses and wagon a distance of thirty-four miles or further to obtain supplies for the Ursuline nuns at their mission in the Montana wilderness. |
X |
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Mary Fields was a smart, capable frontier pioneer who helped the religious, homesteader, native American and townspeople communities. |
X |
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Mary Fields assisted people who struggled to survive in the isolated, frontier hinterland regardless of their race or ethnicity. |
X |
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Mary Fields nursed native American girls during three epidemics. |
X |
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Mary Fields was forced to leave the Ursuline mission by the State Bishop of Montana, whose claims of Mary’s quarrelsome behavior were never validated. |
X |
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Mary Fields relocated to the nearest settlement, Cascade, Montana, and established a restaurant. |
X |
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Forced to close the eatery because she fed the hungry without charge, Mary discovered an advertisement for a rural mail carrier, from Cascade to the Ursuline mission and back daily, and applied. |
X |
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Mary Fields got the contract for the star route mail carrier route from Cascade, Montana to the Saint Peter’s Mission and back: 34 miles, 6 days per week, driving a horse and wagon or walking when snow prevented wagon passage. |
X |
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Mary Fields completed two four-year terms from 1895 to 1903. |
X |
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Mary Fields retired after the mail route in 1903. |
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X |
Mary Fields established and operated a laundry service after she completed the mail route contracts. |
X |
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Mary Fields established a childcare service and spent her wages purchasing fresh fruit and candy for the children. |
X |
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Mary Fields positively impacted children’s lives: white, native American, Metis. She loved them and they loved her. |
X |
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Mary Fields helped to create a better world for diverse Montana communities regardless of race, color, or creed. She stood her ground but was not a ruffian like many people like to claim today. She was an asset; an example to her community; a courageous, generous, pioneer woman who followed her vision to manifest freedom and political rights in a world fraught with antagonism. Mary Fields is an inspiration to all Americans; past, present, and future. |
X |
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Mary Fields owned or operated a saloon in Cascade. |
Value |
X |
Mary Fields was a "saloon woman". |
X |
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Mary Fields was a member of an outlaw gang. |
X |
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Mary Fields wore a top hat. |
X |
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Mary Fields knew Nat Love. |
X |
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Mary Fields knew Gertrude "Treacherous Trudy" Smith. |
X |
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Mary Fields knew Bass Reeves. |
X |
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Mary Fields knew Jim Beckworth. |
X |
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Mary Fields knew Rufus Buck. |
X |