WOMEN IN HISTORY - MARY FIELDS

African-American entrepreneur, stagecoach driver, pioneer​ – “Stagecoach Mary”
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Source: Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia Vol 1, Compton (1928) © www.arttoday.com

DATE OF BIRTH

1832

PLACE OF BIRTH

Tennessee

DATE OF DEATH

1914

PLACE OF DEATH

Cascade, Montana. Her grave is marked with a simple cross.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Born a slave, grew up an orphan, never married, had no children. The nuns were her family; Mother Amadeus was her mother. She loved the children of Cascade County and supported the local baseball team as their number one fan.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Mary Fields lived by her wits and her strength. She traveled north to Ohio, settled in Toledo and worked for the Catholic convent. She formed a strong bond with Mother Amadeus. When the nuns moved to Montana and Mary learned of Mother Amadeus' failing health, she went west to help out. Having nursed Mother Amadeus back to health, she decided to stay and help build the St. Peter's mission school. She protected the nuns. Mary was a pistol-packing, hard-drinking woman, who needed nobody to fight her battles for her. When turned away from the mission because of her behavior, the nuns financed her in her own business. She opened a cafe. Mary's big heart drove her business into the ground several times because she would feed the hungry. In 1895 she found a job that suited her, as a U.S. mail coach driver for the Cascade County region of central Montana. She and her mule Moses, never missed a day, and it was in this capacity that she earned her nickname of "Stagecoach", for her unfailing reliability.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Robert Miller.  The Story of Stagecoach Mary Fields (Silver Burdett Press, 1995)
  • Article in Ebony 32 (October 1977), pp.96-98.

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