The Active Historian

Nan Jeanne Aspinwall was born in New York on February 2, 1880 to Oliver and Lena Aspinwall. Her family moved to Nebraska and she grew up in Liberty. Her parents were shopkeepers in town.

She began working in vaudeville in her late teens to support herself. In 1899, she appeared as “Princess Omene,” but would later change her act to become the “Montana Girl.”

As the Montana Girl she was considered a “lariat expert,” horsewoman, roper, and sharpshooter.

She married Frank P. Gable, a trick rider and roper. They traveled together with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East Wild West show where Nan was paid $35 per week. She described their act to a newspaper in 1958. “My part of the act was to stand out in the audience and shoot a cigarette out of his mouth,” Nan said. “Only we used chalk instead of cigarettes.” (“Two-Gun Nan In Hollywood.” The Enid Daily Eagle.)

Ocean to Ocean on Horseback

When looking at the newspapers, it wasn’t quite clear who exactly challenged Nan J. Aspinwall to her cross-country journey. Some articles say it was Buffalo Bill Cody, while others state it was an English magazine. Regardless, she chose to undertake the journey.

She chose a thoroughbred chestnut mare, Lady Ellen, for the journey. Nan chose her because “[she] could step across the ties on railroad trestles… [Nan] didn’t want any mustang trampling all over [her] while [she] was sleeping on the desert.” (“To Help Film Picture.” The Austin Daily Herald.)

Nan and Lady Ellen set out on September 1, 1910 at 12:30 PM carrying a message from the Mayor P.H. M’Carthy of San Francisco to Mayor Gaynor of New York City. The message read:

“My Dear Mayor: Miss Nan J. Aspinwall leaves this city at 12:30 today. Miss Aspinwall will ride to your city on horseback, and I sincerely hope and trust that she will reach there in perfect health. I am quite well satisfied that she will be given a splendid reception on her arrival and in calling on Your Honor, Mayor of the greatest city in the world – New York.” (“Girl Rides Horse 3,000 Miles With Letter To Mayor.” The Evening World)

Nan performed her vaudeville act in towns along the way and sold postcards to financially support her long journey.

On July 8, 1911, Nan completed the roughly 180-day trip arriving in New York City. She had covered 4500-miles of different types of terrain across the United States.

She returned home after her long trip and set out on new business ventures.

Later Years

Sometime after 1911, Nan and her husband opened their own vaudeville show. She took on a new identity as “Two-Gun Nan.” They worked together for several more years.

Sadly, on September 4, 1929, Nan’s husband Frank P. Gable passed away.

In 1958, Nan J. Aspinwall Gable became the subject of a “Death Valley Days” television film. This film was based on her life especially highlighting her cross-country trip in the early-twentieth century.

Nan J. Aspinwall Gable passed away on October 24, 1964, in San Bernardino, California. She was 84 years old.

Concluding Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed learning about the story of Nan J. Aspinwall. She set out on a journey that not many people had attempted in the early-twentieth century and became an inspiration for many.

Please join me next time as we continue ‘breaking trail’ and uncovering stories from the American West!

---

Sources

Secondary Sources

Websites

“Nan J. ASpinwall, Western Entertainer.” Nebraska State Historical Society.

“Nan J. Aspinall, Western Entertainer.” Blog. Nebraska State Historical Society.

“Nan Jeanne ‘Two-Gun Nan’ Aspinwall Lambell.” Find A Grave.

“Frank P. Gable.” Find A Grave.

Primary Sources

*You can find photos and souvenirs from Nan J. Aspinwall at the Nebraska State Historical Society. There are several cool photos on their website!

Photographs

“Nan J. Aspinwall.” Glass Negative. Bain News Service. George Grantham Bain Collection. Library of Congress. LOC Control Number: 2014686045.

Newspapers

“Recreations.” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Honolulu, Hawaii), March 16, 1910.

“Real Montana Girl Arrives in Fresno in Search of Horse.” The Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, California), July 1, 1910.

“Woman Will Ride Horseback From Ocean To Ocean.” Los Angeles Evening Post-Record (Los Angeles, California), July 9, 1910.

“Miss Nan Aspinwall, Who Plans to Ride Across the Continent Alone.” Los Angeles Herald (Los Angeles, California), July 9, 1910.

“Cowboy Girl To Cross Continent.” The Union (Grass Valley, California), September 1, 1910.

“Telegraphic Brevities.” The Marysville Appeal (Marysville, California), September 1, 1910.

“Lariat Girl on Long Trip.” Lincoln Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska), September 2, 1910.

“The Cowboy Girl.” The Hawaiian Star (Honolulu, Hawaii), September 7, 1910.

“Will Visit Old Home.” The Kennard Enterprise (Kennard, Nebraska), September 16, 1910.

“From Ocean To Ocean On Horseback; Feat Attempted By Plucky Girl Rider.” The Spokane Press (Spokane, Washington), September 28, 1910.

“Nan J. Aspinwall Arrives.” The Liberty Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska), February 17, 1911.

“Miss Nan J. Aspinwall In City…” Falls City Daily News (Falls City, Nebraska), March 3, 1911.

“Girl Is Crossing Continent on a Horse.” The Kansas City Post (Kansas City, Missouri), March 15, 1911.

“The Airdome Opens.” The Mitchell Commercial (Mitchell, Indiana), May 11, 1911.

“Her Mare Saves Cowgirl.” The Weekly Alaska Christian (Fairbanks, Alaska), May 15, 1911.

“Western Cowgirl Riding From Pacific To Atlantic, Will Soon Be On Broadway.” The Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), June 15, 1911.

“Girl Rides Horse 3,000 Miles With Letter To Mayor.” The Evening World (New York, New York), July 8, 1911.

“Nan Aspinwall.” Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York), July 13, 1911.

“Nan J, Aspinwall.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, Oregon), July 16, 1911.

“Crosses Continent Alone On Horseback.” Evening World-Herald (Omaha, Nebraska), July 21, 1911.

“Other Endurance Feats Horseback Riding.” The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana), August 6, 1911.

“Woman’s Record Ride.” Los Angeles Evening Express (Los Angeles, California), August 8, 1911.

“Was A Great Feat.” The Weekly Wymorean (Wymore, Nebraska), August 10, 1911.

“Nan J. Aspinwall, the Girl Who Took a 5,000 Mile Horseback Ride.” Fremont Tribune (Fremont, Nebraska), November 16, 1911.

“Nan Aspinwall Back From Her Record-Breaking Ride.” The Butte Miner (Butte, Montana), April 29, 1912.

“Two-Gun Nan In Hollywood.” The Enid Daily Eagle (Enid, Oklahoma), February 11, 1958.

“To Help Film Picture.” The Austin Daily Herald (Austin, Minnesota), February 11, 1958.

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