Hidalgo County New Mexico


Nina Harris, wife of Stanley.
April 14,1892 - December 23,1979
One of twin girls born to John W and Minnie Black Marken in Hampton, Iowa.

In 1910, the family was traveling to California to visit relatives and stopped at Apache, Arizona and loved the country. On their return to Iowa, John sold their farm, meat market and slaughter house and returned to Apache where they built a homestead on 320 acres. The twins, Neva and Nina journeyed on to Los Angeles where they graduated from Woodbury College.

Nina became the postmaster at her Father’s mercantile store at Apache. Neva taught school, riding to and from school in her horse drawn buggy.

Nina and Stanley Harris were married at the Marken homestead on June 27th, 1920. After the ceremony, they moved to Rodeo where Stanley had prepared a home for his bride. Following is what the newspaper said of the wedding:
“Last Sunday at Apache a pretty wedding ceremony was performed when Miss Nina E Marken became the bride of J S Harris, a business man of Rodeo. The bride is the daughter of Mr and Mrs J W Marken of Apache, and her father owns a mercantile establishmment there. She was born in Iowa and graduated at the Hampton, Iowa high school and a Los Angeles business college. For nineteen years, she has assisted her father in the store and for the last six she has been the postmistress(sic) at Apache. The marriage was solemnized by the Rev G W Thomas of Apache, and afterward there was a marriage supper served. A number of relatives and friends were present. The couple will make their home at Rodeo in a home the bridegroom had already built and furnished for the bride.”

Nina was a charter member of the Rodeo Christian Church for over 35 years and was the church pianist during that time. She was also, the valley’s notary public for over 50 years, while raising two children, James Mayer and Neva Minette Harris. She also wrote the community news column for the Lordsburg Liberal and the Douglas Dispatch for many of those years.

She lived a long and very productive life before dying of heart failure at age 87 in Elks Grove, California.