Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, Number 1, 1996

Oakwood, the Silver Queen's summer home in Holladay. Her brother and sister, John and Nellie Bransford, are sitting on the porch. Courtesy of Harold Lamb.

Few personalities in Utah history have held more fascination for historians, have created a greater body of lore, or have eluded a biography longer than Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes Known familiarly as the Silver Queen, she was a classic rags-to-riches persona during a time when that theme dominated U.S. popular literature. Flamboyant, mercurial, and strong-willed, she rode her Park City wealth to entree into the upper crust of Utah, California, New York, and European society, leaving behind a confusing welter of legends, rumors, and suppositions that has never ceased to scintillate the popular imagination. The first selection, based on an exhaustive search of probate and other original sources, tells her amazing story and places her within a larger historiographical context than she has ever known before.

The next two articles also deal with personalities, though of a much different sort Denis Julien was a solitary and enigmatic figure—a mountain man who explored the length and breadth of Utah's pre-territorial landscape. Typical of his type, he left virtually no written record of his comings and goings Yet, his fewjottings—autographs on rock—have teased travelers and historians ever since In contrast, George Anton Zamloch drummed his way through Utah with great fanfare, seeking to mystify people in a different way—with feats of magic. His personal reminiscence, penned years later and just recently discovered, is almost as astonishing as his sleight of hand must have seemed The excerpts featured here promise to delight and entertain just as much as his stage show did more than a century ago.

The final piece illuminates the history of one of Utah's oldest ethnic groups, the Chinese. Creating their distinctive enclaves within a half-dozen counties, these energetic immigrants nurtured hopes and pursued dreams within a frequently hostile social environment Though Utah's Chinatowns have long since disappeared, their colorful legacies remain to enrich and enliven our cultural heritage.