Jessie Benton Frémont

Jessie Ann Benton Frémont was an American writer and political activist. She was the daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of military officer, explorer, and politician John C. Frémont. She wrote many stories that were printed in popular magazines of the time as well as several books of historical value. Her writings, which helped support her family during times of financial difficulty, were memoirs of her time in the American West. A strong supporter of her husband, who was one of the first two senators of the new U.S. state of California and a governor of the Territory of Arizona, she was outspoken on political issues and a determined opponent of slavery, which was excluded in the formation of California.