Larcena Pennington

Larcena Pennington (January 10, 1837-March 31, 1913) was a member of the first family with American citizenship to set foot in Arizona, and a survivor of many life-threatening moments.

Early life

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, she was the daughter of Elias and Julia Ann Pennington. Larcena had a total of seven sisters and four brothers. After Julia Ann Pennington died, the surviving Penningtons moved to Texas. In 1857, with the promise of economic prosperity, they traveled by train on what would have been a trip to California. On that trip, they reached Sonoita Creek, in what is now Benson, Arizona. Back then, the area was part of New Mexico. They had to stop in Sonoita Creek, because their animals were exhausted and Larcena had mountain fever.

Marriage

The Penningtons lived and worked at Fort Buchanan for two years. The men got contracted by the government to supply hay, while the women sewed soldiers' uniforms. At the fort, Larcena met John Hempstead Page. The couple fell in love; on December 24 of 1859, they were married. Their wedding had some historical significance, as they were the first couple of American citizens to be married in Tucson.

Kidnapping

On March 16 of 1860, Larcena was kidnapped, along with her friends William Randall and Mercedes Sais Quiroz, who was 11 years old at the time. Mercedes was the first one to be taken by the kidnappers, members of the Apache tribe. She screamed once trapped, and Larcena tried to save her with a revolver, but when she turned around, Larcena was already surrounded by Apaches. She was told that her husband had been killed by the group.

Larcena and Mercedes were forced to walk. Larcena began to cut off pieces of her clothing, to leave a trail for rescuers. The Apache noticed what she was doing, however, and they separated Larcena and Mercedes, making Larcena walk for 16 miles (26 km). Larcena became slow walking and the Apaches then decided to kill her. They took off her clothes, leaving her naked. They also took her boots, and shot her eleven times, throwing her into rocks that were about 17 feet (5 m) below them, and leaving her for dead.

Larcena fainted, and she was unconscious for a few days. She woke up and heard voices of rescuers, including her husband. Larcena tried to call them for help, but the dehydration from the walking, the days spent without food and the beating she took, took away most of her voice. She later fell back into unconsciousness. Days later, she woke up again and cured some of her wounds by putting snow on them. She got up and began to walk back home, but her feet and legs got tired, so she ended up crawling down the mountain where she had been taken.

It took her fourteen days to get off the mountain. She ate grass and drank melted snow to survive during that period. After 14 days, she saw a men's camp that had been deserted. Luckily for her, fire was still burning from the camp's woods. She found some flour, and soon, she had her first real meal in two weeks, consisting of a couple of pieces of bread. Larcena could hear the voices of the men who had left camp, but they were too far away for her to reach immediately, so she crawled for one more day until some of the men noticed her. Seeing as she was bleeding, hungry, thirsty and badly hurt, the men took pity on her and took her to a doctor in Tucson.

Soon after she recuperated, she and husband John got back together, and she learned that Mercedes was still alive. The young Mexican girl had been traded to Fort Buchanan military men for some Indian prisoners. Larcena was hailed as a heroine by many across the West, because her story of survival made the headlines of important newspapers.

In 1861, her husband was killed by Apaches. He was buried on the spot where he was killed. Larcena was pregnant with the couple's only child, a girl, when his death occurred. Larcena never got to see her husband's grave.

Later life

Later, Larcena moved with her father. The American Civil War was about to begin, and Larcena was worried that Indians would turn more violent with the absence of military personnel. Larcena and her family soon moved to Patagonia. While the Cochise Indians were attacking, and during a smallpox attack, Larcena gave birth to her daughter, Mary Ann.

The Penningtons moved again, to Tubac. The family's men worked hard every day, while the women stayed at home, caring for the younger ones and cooking. By April of 1864, the Penningtons were the only residents of Tubac. Larcena's young brothers carried very long guns, to protect the family from further attacks.

Tragedy struck again in 1867, when Larcena's sister died of malaria. In 1868, her brother Jim Pennington was killed during a persecution of Apache Indians. In June of 1869, her father and another brother were both murdered while working at a farm. The remaining members of the Pennington family then went to Tucson, and decided to move on to California. But, about 20 miles (32 km) outside Tucson, they had to return when Larcena's sister Ellen became gravely ill with pneumonia. Despite seeking medical help at Tucson, Ellen also died. After that, the only two Penningtons left were Larcena and her brother Jack. Jack moved on to Texas, but Larcena remained in Arizona.

In August of 1870, she married William Fisher Scott, a Scottish lawyer and judge. Larcena and William had two children, a son and a daughter. Larcena refused to leave Arizona, despite all the hardships she went through there. Larcena became a newborn Christian and one of the first members of the Congregational Church in Tucson. She was also named president of the Arizona Historical Society. She lived a relatively quiet life from then until her death. The City of Tucson honored her by naming a street after her.

References

*Leo Banks, "Stalwart Women: Frontier Stories of Indomitable Spirit" (ISBN 0-916179-77-X)