PURDY, Anna

The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, AZ January 15, 1992, p. 2 Anna Purdy, Wickenburg’s oldest resident, died last Thursday, January 9 at age 98. Mrs. Purdy, who was born before the turn of the century in Nogales, lived all but three years of her life in the town she loved best – Wickenburg. Jeanne-Marie Scott, a historian, spent extensive hours with Mrs. Purdy over the past 20 years, and provided the family with her research. The railroad roadbed that had been re-surveyed in 1893, so that the line would come out of the foothills at Wickenburg, instead of the Vulture Mine, and the suitability of the small riverside settlement for the family life attracted several families from the valley, including the Wisdoms. Mrs. Purdy’s father, John Wisdom, moved his family to Wickenburg by wagon in 1896 and homesteaded 80 acres adjacent to Henry Wickenburg in the area which is now know as the Simpson-Pouquette Ranch. With the start-up of the rail line in 1895, mining and ranching in the Wickenburg area became more viable. Roads were built or surfaced with a considerable increase in horse-drawn wheeled traffic. There was a large need for the making and repairing of both ranch and mine hardware. John Wisdom established his own blacksmith shop on the river side of what is now Kerkes Street in the Luhrs-Newell Building. By 1903 the family had rebuilt and moved into the big adobe on the other side of the street from the blacksmith shop. Anna was a familiar sight all over town; she never walked when she could run, and never ran when she could ride, which was most of the time. One of the great loves of her life was her little horse “Blackie”. Being a tomboy she loved helping her father in his shop, much to the distress of her mother, Francesca. Anna attended school in the little white wooden building, which had been brought over from the Vulture Mine in 1895 and placed on the site of the present basketball court next to the 1905 Garcia Schoolhouse. All the children from up and down the river rode their horses to school, so Anna rode Blackie down the Hassayampa River. In 1907 she was sent to boarding school in Prescott for “finishing” for one year. She returned home to fall in love and marry Alvin Purdy, the new clerk at Brayton’s, in 1910. The next few years were spent on the Bar FX ranch until the couple purchased their own ranch adjacent to Anna’s parents on the Hassayampa. It was during this time, in 1923, that they adopted their only son, Pat. In 1924, a bridge was built again across the Hassayampa and a road had been built past the Purdy Ranch, enabling them to travel by automobile. Cars and trains also stopped at the Old Brill ranch, a mile below them. With the establishment in 1934 of the Wickenburg Sun, and its continuous publication since then, Anna Purdy’s quiet “Wickenburg Club and Church Lady” life was occasionally chronicled along with that of others. World War II brought a great change to the lifestyle and lives of all living in Wickenburg. Anna and Alvin moved from the ranch to Jefferson Street. Alvin Purdy died in 1966 and Anna continued to live in the home that they had built in 1960. Anna took great pleasure in her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, her many friends – young and old – to the end of her life. Pat Schlicker, Anna’s granddaughter, feels there are many stories concerning the community and her grandmother and her many friends that need to be preserved. Anyone who would enjoy sharing their story is asked to contact Pat at Box 824. If there are enough respondents, it has been suggest by Anna’s friends to place a loose leaf notebook at eh public library as a historical reference for future generations. Anna Wisdom Purdy was born March 11, 1893 in Nogales, Arizona. She was a lifelong resident of the state. Mrs. Purdy is survived by two granddaughters, Patricia A. Schlicker of Wickenburg and Peggy Telles of Wittmann; six great-grandchildren; Adam, Leonard and Cynthia Horton and Christine, Maureen and Jackie Telles; and four great-great grandchildren; Jonathan, Christina, Patrick and Ashley Horton. Services were Monday at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. Fr. Michael McGovern officiated, with burial in the Wickenburg Cemetery.