We recently received a link to the website of the Alpine Historical Society in Alpine California. One of their notable residents was Marguerite Borden Head, a former member of the Koreshan Unity who, by the early 1920’s, had become the librarian of the town of Alpine. Her son, Vic, writes of his mother, Marguerite, who wrote poetry under the pen name of Zuella Sterling.
Marguerite is known here as a member of the Koreshan Unity Orchestra, playing the piano. She was a part of that “second-generation” of Koreshans, along with the likes of the McCready sisters, Bertie and Ruth Boomer, Claude Rahn and Imogene and Laurie Bubbett.
Marguerite married Robert Head in 1910 and moved to New Hampshire, then to California (and the connection to Alpine), then back to New Hampshire. She apparently divorced in 1929 and in 1945 sold her home and moved back to Alpine where she died in 1954.
With so many Koreshans, they seemed to disappear after the death of Cyrus Teed and the slow decline of the Unity. It is nice to see one who went on to a very successful life.
As mentioned, Marguerite is known for her poetry. A Google search for “Zuella Sterling” turns up a very interesting array of articles and music that Marguerite either wrote or contributed to.