• ENTREPRENEUR
• Immigrated to the U.S. with her family during the Irish Potato Famine
• Started mining for gold and silver in Nevada, befriending many male miners and joining them on an expedition to British Columbia
• Opened her own boarding house and saloon, using much of the profits to build a hospital in Victoria
• BRAVED harsh winter conditions for more than two months in search of stranded miners, nursing the survivors back to health
• Moved to Tombstone, AZ and opened a shoe store, restaurants, and a hotel, helping locals who were down on their luck by paying for medical care and other needs, even nursing many herself
• Raised money for the town's first school and hospital​
• ​Adopted her sister's five children when their parents died, paying for them to attend a boarding school while she followed the miners, searching for the next big gold strike and opening businesses catering to prospectors
• Despite her travels, she maintained a close relationship with the children through visits and letters
• Settled in Coldfoot, Alaska, 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle, where -- in her late seventies -- she drove a dog sled across 750 miles of tundra
• Donated much of her wealth to charities, eventually passing away in the same Victoria hospital that she had built

Famous Friends

While in Tombstone, Cashman became a favorite among many of its now famous residents, including gunslinger Doc Holliday. According to local legend, he was eating at her restaurant one day when another customer insulted her food. Holliday pulled out his gun, aimed it at the customer, and said, "What did you say about Miss Nellie's food, mister?" "Food's delicious," the man replied, "good as I've ever tasted." Withdrawing his revolver, Holliday said, "Yep, that's what I thought you said."

Bibliography: Monson, Marianne. Frontier Grit: The Unlikely True Stories of Daring Pioneer Women. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 2016. Print.

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