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*Claude, Armstrong County, Texas (1890s-1921)​}}​

*Claude, Armstrong County, Texas (1890s-1921)​}}​

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'''Laura Vernon Hamner''' (July 17, 1871 &ndash; September 20, 1968) was an [[United States|American]] [[author]], ranch [[historian]], [[journalist]], [[radio]] commentator,  [[educator]], and public official from the [[Texas]] Panhandle. She was informally known in her later years as "Miss Amarillo," a reference to her adopted city of [[Amarillo]].<ref>Ranching exhibits, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas, include reference to Laura Vernon Hamner.</ref>​

'''Laura Vernon Hamner''' (July 17, 1871 &ndash; September 20, 1968) was an [[United States|American]] [[author]], ranch [[historian]], [[journalist]], [[radio]] commentator,  [[educator]], and public official from the [[Texas]] Panhandle. She was informally known in her later years as "Miss Amarillo," a reference to her adopted city of [[Amarillo]].<ref>Ranching exhibits, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas, has an exhibit on Laura Vernon Hamner.</ref>​

==Background==

==Background==

==Writings==​

==Writings==​

In the early 1890s, while she assisted her father in his [[newspaper]] work in Claude, she met Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) and his first wife, Mary Ann. In 1935, six years after Goodnight's death, she wrote ''The No-Gun Man of Texas,'' a [[novel]]-ized [[biography]] of the legendary [[cattle]]man, former co-owner with [[John George Adair]] of the [[JA Ranch]]. Her research into life stories of old-timers led to ''Short Grass and Longhorns'' (Norman, [[Oklahoma]]]: [[University of Oklahoma]] Press, 1943) and ''Light 'n Hitch'' (1958). For more than thirty years, Hamner wrote features for ''The Amarillo Globe-News.'' She appeared weekly on radio to discuss life during early Panhandle times.<ref name="hbook"/>​

In the early 1890s, while she assisted her father in his [[newspaper]] work in Claude, she met Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) and his first wife, Mary Ann. In 1935, six years after Goodnight's death, she wrote ''The No-Gun Man of Texas,'' a [[novel]]-ized [[biography]] of the legendary [[cattle]]man, former co-owner with [[John George Adair]] of the [[JA Ranch]]. Her research into life stories of old-timers led to ''Short Grass and Longhorns'' (Norman, [[Oklahoma]]]: [[University of Oklahoma]] Press, 1943) and ''Light 'n Hitch'' (1958). For more than thirty years, Hamner wrote features for ''The Amarillo Globe-News.'' She appeared weekly on radio to discuss life during early Panhandle times.<ref name="hbook"/>​

 

In 1947, she published in ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' an article about Matthew "Bones" Hooks (1867–1951), an [[African-American]] [[cowboy]] from Amarillo. Born to former slaves, Hooks was only semiliterate but had an historical consciousness. He crossed the West Texas plains, broke [[horse]]s, and handled the remudas on cattle drives, later settling into life as a townsman. Hooks became a leader of the black community in Amarillo and the High Plains. He established one of the first black churches in West Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bones+Hooks:+Pioneer+Negro+Cowboy-a0155039526|title="Bones" Hooks: Pioneer Negro Cowboy''|publisher=Free Online Library|accessdate=December 14, 2019}}</ref>​

In 1947, she published in ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' an article about Matthew "Bones" Hooks (1867–1951), an [[African-American]] [[cowboy]] from Amarillo. Born to former slaves, Hooks was only semiliterate but had an historical consciousness. He crossed the West Texas plains, broke [[horse]]s, and handled the remudas on cattle drives, later settling into life as a townsman. Hooks became a leader of the black community in Amarillo and the High Plains. He established one of the first black churches in West Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bones+Hooks:+Pioneer+Negro+Cowboy-a0155039526|title="Bones" Hooks: Pioneer Negro Cowboy''|publisher=Free Online Library|accessdate=December 14, 2019}}</ref>

 

==Later years==​

==Later years==​

In the  1920s, Hamner and a friend, in an effort to encourage other writers, formed the group, Panhandle Pen Women, with a friend Phebe Kerrick Warner (1866-1935). In her later years, at her room in the Herring Hotel in Amarillo, she frequently met with literary agents, publishers, and writers from throughout the world. At one point, she lived briefly on a land claim in [[Oklahoma]]. She adopted a child. She was made an honorary member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. “Laura V. Hamner Week” was frequently observed in Amarillo.<ref name="hbook"/>​

In the  1920s, Hamner and a friend, in an effort to encourage other writers, formed the group, Panhandle Pen Women, with a friend Phebe Kerrick Warner (1866-1935). In her later years, at her room in the Herring Hotel in Amarillo, she frequently met with literary agents, publishers, and writers from throughout the world. At one point, she lived briefly on a land claim in [[Oklahoma]]. She adopted a child. She was made an honorary member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. “Laura V. Hamner Week” was frequently observed in Amarillo.<ref name="hbook"/>​

 

Hamner died in [[Alabama]] while visiting a relative. A [[Methodist]], she is interred beside her parents at the Goodnight Cemetery in Armstrong near Claude, Texas. Most of her papers are in either the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas, or the [[Eugene Barker|Eugene C. Barker]] Texas History Center of the [[University of Texas]] at [[Austin]]. She is included in the University of Texas “Listing of Great Texas Women”.<ref>[http://www.utexas.edu/gtw/directory.php?C=H Great Texas Women - Listing<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>​

Hamner died in [[Alabama]] while visiting a relative. A [[Methodist]], she is interred beside her parents at the Goodnight Cemetery in Armstrong near Claude, Texas. Most of her papers are in either the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas, or the [[Eugene Barker|Eugene C. Barker]] Texas History Center of the [[University of Texas]] at [[Austin]]. She is included in the University of Texas “Listing of Great Texas Women”.<ref>[http://www.utexas.edu/gtw/directory.php?C=H Great Texas Women - Listing<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>​

 

==Publications==​

==Publications==​

*Hamner's first major publication, ''The No-Gun Man of Texas'' (1935) was the result of her long-term acquaintance with legendary Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight.​<br>

*Hamner's first major publication, ''The No-Gun Man of Texas'' (1935) was the result of her long-term acquaintance with legendary Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight.​<br>