Bertha Hamilton
1905 - 1993
Fort Bridger
Bertha Matilda Hamilton was born on Christmas Eve, in a two- room cabin on the Hill Ranch, which her father purchased from mountain man Amos Hill. While her older sister Allene enjoyed helping their mother with cooking, cleaning, and gardening, Bertha became her dad’s helper on the ranch. She learned to ride early and became quite a good roper. She learned to care for her dad’s cattle herd and her mother’s herd of sheep. Bertha became her dad’s best hand. When her father passed away, he left a chunk of the original place to his son, John, but didn’t leave out his girls. Her dad left her a couple good parcels of land, which she continued to ranch when he was gone. She met and married Dave Landers in 1931, who had been married before and had four children. Bertha and her husband raised his children and added one together, Earl. In addition to her duties as a mother and rancher, she had also gotten her teacher’s certificate and taught school in several of the small schools around Wyoming. She also wrote several articles for the Stockman’s Journal and other agricultural publications.