Mary Anita (Snook) Southern (1896 - 1991)

Born 14 Feb 1896 in Mount Carroll, Carroll, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Wife of William Irwin Southern — married 21 Apr 1922 in Orange, California, United States

Died 23 Mar 1991 at age 95 in California, United States

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Biography

Neta (Snook) Southern is Notable.

This profile is part of the Snook Name Study.

Neta (Snook) Southern was an Illinoisan.

Neta was a Pioneering Aviator.

Birth & Baptism

Census 1900

Census 1910

Census 1920

Passport application for father and Neta

William applied for a passport in Iowa.^[1]

Marriage

Mary married William Irwin Southern on 21 April 1922 in Santa Ana, California, United States.^[2]

Census 1930

Census 1940

Death

Neta died (age 95) on 23 March 1991 in Santa Clara.^[3] Mary died on 23 March 1991 and was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, United States.^[4] Neta was in an obituary on 27 March 1991 in San Francisco, California, United States. She died (age 84) in about 1991 in Los Gatos.^[5]

Notable citation

Mary Anita aka Neta Snook was a Pioneer aviator who achieved a long list of firsts. She was the first woman aviator in Iowa, first woman student accepted at the Curtiss Flying School in Virginia, first woman aviator to run her own aviation business and first woman to run a commercial airfield. She was a test pilot and barnstormer. Yet "Snooky", as her friends called her, was fated to be remembered for her relationship to Amelia Earhart.

Neta Snook became the first woman to enter a men's air race at the Los Angeles Speedway in February 1921, finishing fifth and telling the media, "I'm going to fly as cleverly, as audaciously, as thrillingly as any man aviator in the world."

She was Amelia Earhart's flight instructor.

At the age of 25, Snook married Bill Southern in 1922, became pregnant and gave up flying, selling her business. Not much was heard about Neta Snook Southern in the years following her retirement.

After Earhart disappeared during her famous flight in 1937, Snook began lecturing and speaking about her career in aviation and, later, wrote her autobiography, I Taught Amelia To Fly. Neta flew for the first time in decades, when she was invited to pilot a replica of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis in 1977. In 1981, she was acknowledged as the oldest woman pilot in the United States. Snook died at age 95 on March 23, 1991 at her ranch home in California.

One year after her death, Neta Snook Southern was inducted into the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame.

Sources

1. ↑ Passport Application: "U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925"
   National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Roll #: 1492; Volume #: Roll 1492 - Certificates: 140750-141125, 12 Feb 1921-14 Feb 1921; Certificate Number: 140884
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1174 #600023188 (accessed 6 November 2023)
   Name: William Snook; Gender: Male; Birth Place: Ohio; Residence Place: Iowa; Child: Mary Neta Snook.
2. ↑ Marriage: "California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980"
   California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61460 #1450615 (accessed 6 November 2023)
   Mary Neta Snook marriage to William Irwin Southern on 21 Apr 1922 in Santa Ana, California, USA.
3. ↑ Death: "California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997"
   Place: Santa Clara; Date: 23 Mar 1991
   Ancestry Record 5180 #6938806 (accessed 6 November 2023)
   Neta Snook Southern death 23 Mar 1991 (born 14 Feb 1896) in Santa Clara, mother's maiden name Sisler.
4. ↑ Burial: "U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current"
   Original data: Find a Grave. Find a Grave®. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi; URL: Find A Grave: Memorial #100453886
   Ancestry Record 60525 #62646727 (accessed 6 November 2023)
   Mary Anita Southern burial (died on 23 Mar 1991) in Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. Born on 14 Feb 1896.
5. ↑ Obituary: "U.S., Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current"
   The San Francisco Examiner; Publication Date: 27 Mar 1991; Publication Place: San Francisco, California, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/461948791/?article=ef28ceff-b322-4fb9-9c11-278796400105&focus=0.015370667,0.5553205,0.18624054,0.9716464&xid=3355
   Ancestry Record 61843 #597301720 (accessed 6 November 2023)
   Name: Neta Southern; Gender: Female; Death Age: 84; Birth Date: abt 1907; Marriage Date: 1922; Residence Place: Illinois; Death Date: Abt 1991; Death Place: Los Gatos; Obituary Date: 27 Mar 1991; Obituary Place: San Francisco, California, USA; Newspaper Title: The San Francisco Examiner; Parents: Stanley Steamer; Spouse: William Southern; Child: William William Curtiss Southern.

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neta_Snook_Southern

• http://ameshistory.org/content/neta-snook

• https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/amelia-earhart

• https://www.historynet.com/anita-neta-snook.htm

• https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/amelia-earhart-and-neta-snook-pioneering-aviators/

• https://pioneersofflight.si.edu/content/flight-instructor-neta-snook-amelia-earhart

• https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/27/obituaries/neta-snook-southern-aviator-95.html

• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q520661