Agnes Morley Cleaveland (1874–1958) was an American writer and cattle rancher who lived in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Her book about growing up on a New Mexico ranch in the late 19th-century, ''No Life for a Lady'', was a best seller. She was active in politics and journalism as well as in public speaking and as a

women's club The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...

organizer.

Early life

Agnes Morley was the oldest child of railroad engineer William Raymond Morley and author Ada McPherson Morley. Her siblings were William Raymond Morley, Jr. and Ada "Lora" Loraine Morley. Her father ran the Cimarron News as well as being the head of engineering for the

Maxwell Land Grant The Maxwell Land Grant, also known as the Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant, was a Mexican land grant in Colfax County, New Mexico, and part of adjoining Las Animas County, Colorado. This 1841 land grant was one of the largest contiguous private landhold ...

and Railway Company during the Colfax County War. After her father's death, her mother remarried and the family moved to remote ranchland near Datil, New Mexico. Along with her brother

Bill Morley William Raymond Morley Jr. (March 17, 1876 – May 27, 1932) was an American football player, coach, and rancher. Born in New Mexico, he played college football for the University of Michigan and Columbia University and was selected as an All-A ...

, she helped manage the ranch after her stepfather disappeared. Their mother Ada spent much of her time writing letters to authors, speakers, and politicians, including

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to so ...

; in 1896 she published a biography of

Francis Schlatter Francis Schlatter (1856–c. 1896) was an Alsatian cobbler who, because of miraculous cures attributed to him, became known as the Healer. Biography Schlatter was born in the village of Ebersheim, Bas-Rhin, near Sélestat, in Alsace on April 29, 1 ...

called ''The Life of the Harp in the Hands of the Harper''. The children grew up riding the range, working with horses and cattle, and hunting grizzly bears.

Education

Morley went away to high school in Philadelphia and Ann Arbor, and to college at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where she played guard on the

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

team. In 1896, she was in the first inter-collegiate women's sporting event, playing for the Stanford women's basketball team against

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. The players wore

bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...

, and an audience of 500 women attended; no men were allowed at the game, which took place in the Armory Hall. She graduated from Stanford in 1900.

Career

Morley was an early member and organizer of the

California Writers Club The California Writers Club traces its founding to the San Francisco Bay Area literary movement in the early part of the 20th century. The informal gatherings of Jack London, George Sterling, and Herman Whitaker, along with others, eventually became ...

. She wrote several stories and articles with

Eugene Manlove Rhodes Eugene Manlove Rhodes (January 19, 1869 – June 27, 1934) was an American writer, nicknamed the "cowboy chronicler". He lived in south central New Mexico when the first cattle ranching and cowboys arrived in the area; when he moved to New York wi ...

. She was also the head of the local chapter for the National Organization of Republican Women and Pro America, and headed the California Federation of Women's Clubs. Her book ''No Life for a Lady'' was published in 1941. It won a publisher's award and was critically acclaimed. It was released in a special edition for the U.S. Armed Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Marriage and children

Morley was briefly married as a teenager, in 1892, to Mason Chase. In 1899, Morley married Newton Cleaveland. They lived in Berkeley and often stayed in New Mexico. They had four children:

Norman Cleaveland Norman Cleaveland (April 4, 1901 – June 8, 1997) was an American rugby union player who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. Biography Cleaveland was born in California, but spent a considerable portion of his youth growing up on hi ...

, Loraine (Keffer) Lavender, (Agnes) Morley Cleaveland, and Mary Cleaveland Wohlers.

Published works

* ''The Greatest of These'' Short fiction published in ''West Winds: California's Book of Fiction''. San Francisco: Paul Elder & Company, 1914 * ''American Primer.'' 1931. * ''No Life for a Lady.'' 1941. * ''Satan's Paradise: From Lucien Maxwell to Fred Lambert.'' 1952. There are collections of Morley Cleaveland's papers at the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University libraries.

Notes

External links

The Prodigal Calf
a story by Agnes Morley Cleaveland and

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morley Cleaveland, Agnes 1874 births 1958 deaths American women writers American women's basketball players Writers from New Mexico Clubwomen