Nellie Verrill Mighels Davis (née Verrill) (September 10, 1844 – June 24, 1945) was a US civic leader and journalist. In 1897, she was the first woman to report a boxing prize fight (

Fitzsimmons Fitzsimons (also spelled FitzSimons, Fitzsimmons or FitzSimmons) is a surname of Norman origin common in both Ireland and England. The name is a variant of "Sigmundsson", meaning son of Sigmund. The Gaelicisation of this surname is Mac Shíomóin. ...

Corbett Corbett may refer to: * List of Corbetts (mountains), 222 mountains in Scotland between , with prominence over * Corbett, Oregon, a community in the United States * Corbett Award, US award for athletics administrators * Corbett (surname), people w ...

) in the United States. She was also the first State President of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and an officer of the

Pacific Coast Women's Press Association Pacific Coast Women's Press Association (PCWPA; September 27, 1890 - 1941) was a press organization for women located on the West Coast of the United States. Discussions were not permitted regarding politics, religion, or reform. The members of the ...

Biography

Nellie Verrill was born in

Greenwood, Maine Greenwood is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 774 at the 2020 census. The town was named for surveyor Alexander Greenwood. The village of Locke Mills, on State Route 26 in the northern part of Greenwood, is the ...

, September 10, 1844. In 1866, she married first

Henry Rust Mighels Henry Rust Mighels (November 5, 1830 – May 27, 1879) was a US journalist and politician. A writer of the Sagebrush School, he was the editor and publisher of Carson City, Nevada's ''Nevada Appeal''. He was born in Norway, Maine. He served ...

, owner and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the ''

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

Nevada Appeal The ''Nevada Appeal'' is a twice-weekly newspaper published in Carson City, Nevada, by Pacific Publishing Company. The paper has sister publications across northern Nevada: *''Lahontan Valley News'' & Fallon Eagle Standard (Fallon, Nevada) *''N ...

''. They had three sons and two daughters. In 1877 and 1879, Davis was the first woman to report on the state Legislature, which is located in Carson City. Their son, Henry R. Mighels Jr., eventually took over as editor of the ''Appeal'' in 1898.

Ella Sterling Mighels Ella Sterling Mighels (May 5, 1853 – December 10, 1934) (née: Ella Sterling Clark; during first marriage: Ella Sterling Cummins; pen name: Aurora Esmeralda) was a California pioneer, author and literary historian. She was born in Mormon Isla ...

, ex-wife of their son

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, was the "First Literary Historian of California". Widowed at the age of 35, she hired

Samuel Post Davis Samuel Post Davis (April 4, 1850 – March 17, 1918) was an American journalist, politician, and historian. Though primarily a journalist, Davis also wrote poetry, plays, short stories, and humorous sketches. A humorist, he was one of the wri ...

, of the ''Virginia Chronicle'' to be her editor and she served in the role of

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. She married Davis in 1880, and he took over operations of the ''Nevada Appeal''. They had two daughters. In 1897, she was the first woman to report a

prize fight Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

(

);

, at the time, being the only state in the US where prize fighting was legal. She was also the organizer and first State President of the

in Nevada. She was buried at Lone Mountain Cemetery in Carson City between her two husbands.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Nellie Verrill Mighels 1844 births 1945 deaths Writers from Maine American newspaper reporters and correspondents People from Carson City, Nevada People from Greenwood, Maine American women journalists American centenarians Victorian writers 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American writers 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Journalists from Nevada Journalists from Maine Women centenarians Pacific Coast Women's Press Association