Ida Elizabeth Hester Smith Genung (1848-1933), better known as Ida Genung, was a Council Bluffs, Iowa native, who was known in Arizona for her healing remedies, her gardening and her cowgirl skills.
In 1852, her family moved to California, where they met with Paulino Weaver ; later to be credited by her family as being the person who taught Ida "masculine skills". Weaver had rheumatism; he recovered thanks to the care of Ida's father, a doctor, and he gave Ida's family a portion of his own ranch as a way of expressing his gratitude for saving his life.
Charley Genung , who was born in New York, had emigrated to California as well. He first fell in love with Ida in 1863, when Ida was 15 years old. He worked around the Yavapai country later that year, returning to California in 1868. On February 16, 1869, Charley and Ida married.
The couple received a milk cow and a number of mules as wedding presents from Ida's parents. They moved to Arizona for what Charley thought would be a one year stay. During their trip to Arizona, one of the mules kicked Charley, seriously injuring his leg. As a consequence, Ida had to manage the animals herself the rest of the way.
As they passed by the Colorado river, helped by an Indian, Ida witnessed one of the most terrifying sights of her life, after having asked the Indian to help her mules and her cow to be untied, so that they could pass safely by the river. While Ida, her husband and her animals crossed the river safely, they heard screams. Ida and Charley turned around to see the corpses of the Indian and his horse, who had drowned.
The Genungs ended up near the Hassayampa river , where they were met by six friends. Ida decided to cook one apple pie for each of their friends, but, when she went to get the apple pies, she found that her cow had eaten them all.
The Genungs settled in Walnut Grove , where Charley agreed to a game of seven up in an effort to recover $1,300 dollars he owed another rancher; the money he earned would be used to pay the rancher. He lost, however, and, by March of 1870, the Genungs had moved to Peeples Valley.
She returned to California in 1871, specifically to San Bernardino, to give birth to the couple's first baby, a son. On her way back to Peeples Valley, she found a badly injured cowboy; he had been kicked by his mule, who felt scared as the Yavapai Indians approached him and kicked him, sending him to the floor and leaving him there. The Yavapai proceeded to shoot at him with his own rifle, leaving him with one critical bullet wound plus dozens others that were produced by bullet scratches. Ida asked her husband to help by bringing the injured man a pillow while she herself gave him first aid treatment and cleaned some of the blood from his ears and other parts of his body. An Army doctor soon arrived from the Date Creek camp and saved his life. The man survived to life fifty more years.
Afraid that she and her family could be subject to Indian attacks, she frequently stayed at neighbor's houses. Later in 1871, her husband left her at a neighbor's home for what he thought would be a two day trip. Legend has it that as he left, she screamed at him: "Don't forget the indigo!'.
Her husband returned nineteen days later, having participated in a raid that saw 56 Apaches lose their lives and 133 horses recovered by the cowboys. He returned with an indigo in hand and told her "Here's the indigo, wife, and I had a helluva (sic.) time getting it!".
Ida's brother presented her with two guns, both Colt-45s, and a dog, named "Pete", for her family's protection. With time, "Pete" became a very dear being to Ida, and she trained him to help recognize danger by teaching him about guns and arrows; everytime "Pete" would see someone approach the Genung's home carrying either a gun or an arrow, he'd run inside with his back's hair raised, helping Ida get ready to face possible attackers.
Ida did, however, with time, realize that Indians living around her home did not want to harm her or her family, they approached her family house in a rather admiring way, because they admired Ida's gardening works.
As time passed by, the Genung family home actually became a tourist attraction, as all kinds of people, including celebrities, cowboys and Indians, would stop by and enjoy Ida's fruits and vegetables, some even staying overnight. Ida became friends with a Yavapai Indian whose life was saved by Charley as she was running, at age eleven, from a man who was trying to rape her and burn her alive. The Genung's took this Indian girl into their family as one of their own, and the friendship between Ida and the girl lasted until Ida passed away. The Indian, named "Maria", called Ida "Mama'. Ida had eight children by herself.
In 1875, her daughter Mabel Amanda was born. Mabel Amanda would go on to become a medical doctor herself. Ida suffered a prolapsed uterus from this birth. She soon travelled by train to Los Angeles.
From 1878 to 1889, the Genung home was burned three times. No one was ever a suspect in the fires, although evidence suggested the fires were arson.
In 1890, as she was travelling to Phoenix, she escaped death by a very close margin. Travelling with her six year old daughter and a helper, their car was hit by a 40 feet wall of water, but they all were able to survive.
In 1911, daughter Mabel Amanda received her degree as a doctor. In 1916, Charley Genung died of Bright's disease. Ida Genung then spent the rest of her life more privately.
For seventeen years after that, Indian Mary stayed by her side. In 1931, by invitation of the Arizona governor, they moved to his Prescott mansion, where they, along with Ida's children and grandchildren, lived until Ida died in 1933, at the age of 85.
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