Who was the first woman to successfully swim across the Niagara River?
My family lore says it was my grandmother, Emma Rose, in 1919, and that
there were news reels to prove it. Also, who was the first American
woman to do so? Please provide documentation to
support the answer.

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 14 Jan 2005 19:01 PST

This article doesn't attest to her being the first, but it does say
that Kathleen Pray swam the river in 1917, two years before your
grandmother was suppose to have done it.

Is this suitable as an answer, since, at the very least, it disputes
the family lore you have long since been led to believe?

FAMILY: EMBRACING CHANGE
http://www.vvdailypress.com/family/embracing/

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 14 Jan 2005 19:11 PST

At second glance I see that I misread the article. Kathleen Pray was
BORN in 1917. She obviously swam the river much later. I'll keep
searching and let you know if I come up with anything.

tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Question by gabrielleadams-ga on 14 Jan 2005 21:06 PST

My aunt says that news the event of my Grandmother being the first
woman to swim across the Niagara River was shown in a National News
reel at movie theaters. I don't know if that bit of info will be of
any help. She lived in Buffalo, NY.

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Clarification of Question by gabrielleadams-ga on 15 Jan 2005 12:24 PST

Perhaps I should have been more specific, Nelson. I meant the first
documented case of an American (or Canadian or whomever)woman to have
swum all the way across the river.

I could not find any mention of an Emma Rose, but here's a fascinating
timeline of Niagara lore, involving the falls, the rapids, and the
river:

http://www.iaw.com/~falls/devil_frame.html

Probably a Native American woman whose name will never be know.