Alice Ramsey
Alice Huyler Ramsey (born November 11, 1886 in Hackensack , New Jersey , † September 10, 1983 in Covina , California ) was an American motorist who was the first woman to cross the United States in an automobile in the summer of 1909 .
Early years
Alice Taylor Huyler was born in Hackensack, the administrative seat of Bergen County in New Jersey, to the lumber and coal merchant John Edwin Huyler and his wife Ada Mumford Farr . Already in school she showed a high technical and mechanical understanding. In 1903 she went to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie , but dropped out after two years to marry the administrative clerk, who was more than twice her age, John Rathbone Ramsey. Their son John was born in 1907, followed by daughter Alice in 1910.
In 1908 the family bought a Maxwell automobile and Alice Ramsey took driving lessons from the local car dealer. Ramsey was fascinated by the new mode of transport and became a passionate driver. In September Alice Ramsey took part in an endurance race from Hackensack to New York City for the first time with her automobile . She proved to be an excellent driver who controlled her vehicle even on difficult terrain. Alice Ramsey was elected chairwoman of the New York Women's Motoring Club and headed the women's division of the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Club . In other races, Ramsey was able to achieve several victories.
Crossing the United States
Representatives from Maxwell-Briscoe became aware of Alice Ramsey and suggested she make an effective advertising drive across the United States. In 1903, the doctor Horatio Nelson Jackson was the first person to drive the route from the west coast to the east coast. On further trips, women were only present as passengers, so Alice Ramsey was to be the first woman driver to cover the more than 6000 kilometers long route.
Maxwell-Briscoe built a car for Alice Ramsey based on the current DA model and instructed its branches to provide Ramsey with sufficient spare parts and fuel and, if necessary, to accompany them to the next town with a second vehicle. In addition, the company provided detailed reports in advance of the trip. Since her husband insisted that Alice Ramsey not drive alone, she invited her sisters-in-law Margaret Atwood and Nettie Powell as well as her friend Hermine Jahns as travel companions. Ramsey was the only one who could drive a car. At the beginning of June 1909, the preparations for the historic trip were completed.
On June 9, 1909, Alice Ramsey and her companions met in the New York salesrooms of Maxwell-Briscoe on Broadway . It was there that AL Westgard, who was responsible for creating the AAA road maps , gave the starting signal for the trip to San Francisco .
Ramsey arrived in Chicago after ten days . The journey there went without major incidents, Ramsey and her fellow passengers were welcomed in the cities. On the next section to Iowa, however, the women suffered from continuous rain, which turned the unpaved roads into almost impassable mud slopes. Shortly before the city of Sioux City , the rear axle of the Maxwell broke. Ramsey was forced to take a three-day break, but was able to continue on July 6th. The poor road conditions also led to repairs to the vehicle on the following days, so that Ramsey did not reach Cheyenne , Wyoming until July 14th .
On July 17th, the ascent into the Rocky Mountains began , which, according to Ramsey, was less arduous, but also less scenic. After only four days, the women reached Salt Lake City , where they had the Maxwell cleaned and repaired. As they continue their journey through the Rocky Mountains, the car crashed into a ditch. Ramsey had to have a new axle made in Salt Lake City. Because of the delays, her companions traveled ahead by train, and Ramsey made the arduous journey to Nevada alone with a representative from Maxwell-Briscoe . On this section Alice Ramsey met a group of Indians who showed little interest in her and the automobile.
On August 4th Alice Ramsey and her companions left the town of Reno for the last leg of their journey. The ascent into the Sierra Nevada took place via Lake Tahoe , from where it went on to California. For the first time since Chicago, Ramsey was able to drive on paved roads again. The journey from Sacramento to Oakland was a triumphal procession for Ramsey and her friends, their Maxwell was escorted by numerous enthusiastic drivers. They crossed the San Francisco Bay by ferry and finally reached their destination San Francisco on August 7, 1909, 60 days after starting in New York.
Ramsey arrived on the west coast three weeks later than planned, but the Maxwell was idle for a total of 18 days due to various repairs and breaks in the journey. On the 42 days of driving, the four women covered an average of 146 kilometers a day. A tire had to be changed a total of eleven times during the journey. Alice Ramsey carried out all tire changes herself, and she also participated in the rest of the repair work whenever possible.
Alice Ramsey has been celebrated for her driving skills and highlighted as an example for the new generation of emancipated women drivers. In view of Ramsey's performance, Maxwell-Briscoe advertised their car with the slogan “The car for a lady to drive” , which neither steep mountains, thick mud nor deep sand could harm. Just nine months later, Blanche Stuart repeated Scott Ramsey's crossing of the United States.
Next life
Alice Ramsey remained loyal to motor racing, but initially refrained from further long-distance driving after the birth of her second child. It was not until 1919 that she made a second voyage from the east to the west coast of the United States. She repeated the trips almost every year into old age.
In 1933, John Rathbone Ramsey died. Six years later, Alice Ramsey moved to Ridgewood , New Jersey, and finally settled in Covina in 1949. On the 50th anniversary of her first trip from New York to San Francisco, several newspapers commemorated Ramsey, unaware that the 72-year-old was still an active driver.
In 1960 Alice Ramsey was named "Motorist of the Century" by the American Automobile Association , and further honors and honorary memberships from automobile sports associations followed. In 1961, Ramsey published her recollections of the 1909 drive in the book Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron .
Alice Ramsey died in 1983 at the old age of 96. On October 17, 2000, she was posthumously inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame as the first woman .
Individual evidence
- ^ Maxine N. Lurie, Marc Portfolios: Encyclopedia of New Jersey . Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick 2004, ISBN 0-8135-3325-2 , p. 677; many websites incorrectly give 1887 as the year of birth based on the fact that she took her record drive at the age of 22.
- ^ A b The New York Times : Her own mechanic to drive to 'Frisco , June 6, 1909.
- ^ Carlos Arnaldo Schwanters: Going Places. Transportation Redefines the Twentieth-Century West . Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2003, ISBN 0-253-34202-3 , pp. 129-130.
- ^ The New York Times : Women autoists reach Chicago , June 20, 1909.
- ^ The New York Times : Mrs. Ramsey nearing 'Frisco , July 11, 1909.
- ↑ quoted from Curt McConnell: "A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It." , P. 48.
- ^ Curt McConnell, "A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It." , P. 23.
- ^ The New York Times : Women auto drivers in endurance run , October 31, 1909.
- ^ Curt McConnell, "A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It." , P. 56.
literature
- Alice Huyler Ramsey: Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron . Castle Press, Pasadena 1961.
- Curt McConnell, "A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It." The First Coast-to-Coast Auto Trips by Women, 1899-1916. McFarland, Jefferson 2001, ISBN 0-7864-0970-3 .
Web links
- A Plucky Woman and a Maxwell . Article about Alice Ramsey by David O. Lyon
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ramsey, Alice |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ramsey, Alice Huyler |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American automobile pioneer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1886 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hackensack (New Jersey) |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 10, 1983 |
| Place of death | Covina |