Erastus F. Beadle was born in New York State in 1821. In 1857 he went west to Omaha, where he failed to make his fortune. In 1858 he returned to New York, where he prospered as senior partner of Beadle and Adams, publisher of the popular Beadle's Dime Novels.
Ronald C. Naugle is Huge-Kinne Professor of History at Nebraska Wesleyan University. He is coeditor of Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers (Nebraska 1991) and coauthor of History of Nebraska (Nebraska 1997).