ABOUT THE AUTHOR  

                             Growing up in the West Virginia town of Elkins, Beth Rogers, like most of the other 
                              residents, knew something of the town's founder, Stephen B. Elkins. Descendants
                       populated the town, living in its finest homes. Elkins became the U. S. Secretary
                              of War under Benjamin Harrison. By 1890 Elkins was a Republican U. S. Senator from
                              West Virginia following his father-in-law, Democratic Senator Henry Gassaway Davis. 
                       However, few among the townspeople knew Elkins's most interesting origins in Missouri
                       and New Mexico.

                              Elkins's poliical career, his allegiance to the Union Army in the Civil War, included
                              his rebellion against his own family, his storied activities in New Mexico, and his 
                              contribution to the development of the West. All of these were matters of hearsay,
                              speculation, mystery, and intrigue. Such intrigue led Beth and her father into a game:
                              Who could uncover the secret experiences of the town founder's career? The game
                               became a life-long pursuit. In 1992 Ms. Rogers began to assemble a monograph
                       published by the New Mexico Historical Review (S. B. Elkins: Business in New
                              Mexico's Early Banking Era, 1873-1875) and the writing of the present narrative.

                     The relationship between public policy and personal property has affected citizens' 
                      fortunes for over three centuries. Ms. Rogers returned to address this story after
                      selling investment properties for five years. Its relevance today, its association with
                      financial markets, is as strong as it was following the Civil War.

                     Beth Rogers currently lives in Richmond, Virginia where she is producing an article
                     for the Missouri Review entitled "The Kansas and Missouri Border War Moves West."

                            

.