The Active Historian

Beatrice “Bea” Brosseau was born in Turton, South Dakota on October 9, 1892. She was the daughter of Virginia and David Brosseau.

Bea was a great relay racer, Roman rider, and bronc rider. She began competing when she was 16 years old.

She married Thomas “Tommy” Francis Kirnan on November 25, 1915 in Chicago, Illinois. They had met while she was working for the 101 Ranch Wild West Show run by the Miller Brothers of Oklahoma. They would perform together for the next several decades becoming one of the most well-known rodeo couples. Tommy was a great trick rider himself.

Below you can see a photo of Bea and Tommy Kirnan with Fox Hastings. Read more about her in my blog post, “Breaking Trail: Fox Hastings!”

Bea wintered in Fort Worth in 1921. She and Tommy eventually settled down in El Paso, Texas.

In 1923, the newspaper called Bea the “World’s Champion Woman Fancy Rider.”

The Morning Examiner wrote, “The women riders, Ruth Roach, Mable Strickland, Eloise Fox Hastings and Bea Kirnan, lived up to the advertised ‘flappers wide wild horses’ slogan.” (Morning Examiner, July 4, 1922)

In 1925, Bea Kirnan and several other cowgirls at the Old West Rodeo at the State Fair of Texas argued they deserved an equal shot at the money the men were earning. The women were often relegated to performing in exhibitions even though they could perform equal or better than several male contestants.

“We want a shot at that money and we are going to raise merry Ned until we get it,” Bea Kirnan said. “We are going to get a cut on the big money or we are not going to enter any more rodeos… Girl riders do more than half to make the show, and if they will let us we can show these men up.” (“State Fair Cowgirls Demand Equal Rights.” Fort Worth Record-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas), October 21, 1925.)

The cowgirls of the 1920s rodeo were very stylish. They designed and created many of their own outfits with a signature style. In May 1925, Bea’s wore khaki trousers, a rose-colored blouse, a sombrero, and a sash to compete in according a newspaper article.

“Please hold my hat, but don’t lose my powder puff.”

-Bea Kirnan
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 9, 1921)

Bea’s husband Tommy passed away in 1937 in Iowa Park, Texas. She retired from rodeo not long after this and took employment doing a variety of other jobs.

Bea was killed in a vehicle accident on December 3, 1960 at the age of 57. The highway had been covered in fog and a truck struck her near San Diego, California. She was buried at Highland Cemetery in Iowa Park, Texas.

Concluding Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading about the life of Bea Kirnan and will join me next time as we continue looking at more stories that make up American Western history.

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Sources

Secondary Sources

Books

Richard Rattenbury. “Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo.” [Pages: 10 & 153 talk about Bea; Pages: 153 & 251 talk about Tommy]

Chris Enss. “Along Came A Cowgirl: Daring and Iconic Women of the Rodeo & Wild West Shows.” [Pages: 74-75]

Websites

“Beatrice ‘Bea’ Brosseau Kirnan.” Find A Grave.

“Along Came a Cowgirl and Bea Kirnan.” Chris Enss website blog. September 27, 2022.

Chris Enss. “COWGIRL Iconic: Bea Kirnan.” COWGIRL Magazine. June 5, 2020.

“Doubleday’s Cowgirls: Women in the Rodeo Part One.” National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

“Doubleday’s Cowgirls: Women in the Rodeo Part Two.” National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Primary Sources

“Beatrice Kirnan.” U.S. Passport Applications. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 – March 31, 1925; Roll #: 2531; Volume #: Roll 2531 – Certificates: 422850-423349, 21 May 1924-22 May 1924 (Certificate Number: 423235)

“Beatrice Brossean.” “Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871–1920.” Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2010. Illinois Department of Public Health records. “Marriage Records, 1871–present.” Division of Vital Records, Springfield, Illinois. (FHL Film Number: 1030610)

Federal Census Records

“Beatrice M Brosseau.” 1910 United States Federal Census. Chicago Ward 13, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T624_255; Page: 9b; Enumeration District: 0648; FHL microfilm: 1374268.

“Beatrice M Kirnan.” 1930 United States Federal Census. Precinct 3, Tarrant, Texas; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0116; FHL microfilm: 2342132.

Photographs

“Texas rodeo performers [Tommy Kirnan and Bea Kirnan].” Erwin E. Smith. 1920s. Gelatin dry plate negative. Erwin E. Smith Collection of the Library of Congress on Deposit at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. LC.S6.535. (Public Domain)

“A female rodeo performer [Bea Kirnan] and her mount showing the highly decorated bridle of the animal, somewhere in the Southwest at the rodeo grounds.” Erwin E. Smith. 1920s. Gelatin dry plate negative. Erwin E. Smith Collection of the Library of Congress on Deposit at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. LC.S6.834. (Public Domain)

Newspapers

“World’s Most Famous Riders and Ropers Winter in Fort Worth.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX), January 23, 1921.

“Girl Trick, Bronc And Steer Riders At Fat Stock Show Stage Spectacular Stunts.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX), March 9, 1921.

“Hats Off!” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX), March 5, 1922.

“Bugger Red Is Hurt When He Bulldogs Steer.” Morning Examiner (Bartlesville, Oklahoma), July 4, 1922.

“‘The Passing of the West.’” Evening Star (Washington, District of Columbia), May 27, 1923.

“Daring Girls to Vie for Big Prizes at Ten Austin’s Rodeo.” The Buffalo Times (Buffalo, NY), August 20, 1923.

“Ladies Take to Polo; Scares Railbirds; 30,00 Gymnasts Gather.” The Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), August 20, 1923.

“The Cowboys’ Ship Arrives in London With Competitors For Wembley Rodeo.” Daily Mirror (London, London, England), June 6, 1924.

“Six Reasons Why ‘Frontier Day’ Is A Success.” The Houston Post (Houston, TX), July 17, 1924.

“Bea Kirnan And Her Favorite Trick Riding Horse, ‘King.’” Wichita Falls Times (Wichita Falls, TX), April 28, 1925.

“Woman Rider of International Fame Masters ‘Blue Dog.’” Evening World-Herald (Omaha, NE), May 14, 1925.

“Lady Trick Riders At Rodeo.” The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kansas), June 29, 1925.

“Tommy and Bea Kirnan.” The Richland Beacon-News (Rayville, LA), September 19, 1925.

“State Fair Cowgirls Demand Equal Rights.” Fort Worth Record-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas), October 21, 1925.

“Bea Kirnan One Of Most Charming And Skillful Horsewomen At Rodeo.” Wichita Falls Times (Wichita Falls, TX), April 25, 1926.

“Come to the Monster Miller-King Rodeo.” The Amarillo Globe-Times (Amarillo, TX), July 1, 1929.

Wichita Falls Times (Wichita Falls, Texas), December 11, 1960. (Page 4)

*All newspaper clippings in this blog post were pulled from newspapers.com. All digital primary sources were accessed on ancestry.com. I am not affiliated with either website. I just wanted to let you know where I found my digitized sources.

*Blog Cover Photo: “A female rodeo performer [Bea Kirnan] and her mount showing the highly decorated bridle of the animal, somewhere in the Southwest at the rodeo grounds.” Erwin E. Smith. 1920s. Gelatin dry plate negative. Erwin E. Smith Collection of the Library of Congress on Deposit at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. LC.S6.834. (Public Domain)