Dear Sabrina,

  I don't recall encountering an "Annie Freeze"--but it's worth remembering that Willow Shade was sold to a D.A. Fries (pronounced "Freeze") in 1883.  (Apparently Mr. Fries was a heavy drinker and really let the place run down.)  So you might check the census for an Annie Fries (remembering the vagaries of Cather's spelling).  It's possible that this woman was brought up in the (former) Cather house, not the family?  Or another entirely different possibility--is it possible that she's African American?  African Am. servants lived with the Wm.Cather family at Willow Shade.

  I've seen one of the 1913 letters to her father, but not the other.  Maybe we could put our heads together on the IDs.  I'm interested in regard to the scholarly ed. of Sapphira, which I am editing.

  Good luck!

  Ann Romines


Sabrina Ehmke Sergeant <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

  I'm working on the Cather Archive's Calendar of Letters project and have a quick question for anyone who is savvy about Cather's Virginia connections.   In two consecutive letters to her father (both written in 1913 from Gore, Virginia), Cather mentions someone by the name of Freeze (Mrs. Freeze in the first letter followed by a reference Annie Freeze in the next letter).   Apparently, Mrs. Freeze told Cather that she wishes she were a Cather and was fortunate to have been raised in the family.  For encoding purposes, I'm trying to figure out if Mrs. Freeze and Annie Freeze are the same person—does anyone know anything about this character from the Cather's Virginia past?

  Thanks much,
  Sabrina



  --
Sabrina Ehmke Sergeant
UNL