Cora was born north of Gilroy in 1864. She moved to Corralitos when her father was assigned work. Cora went to the Corralitos School and was a bright learner. In 1877 Cora was thirteen. She became seriously ill with diphtheria. The disease took a severe toll on her body, but she began to recover some of her good humor. She was really looking forward to her upcoming birthday! Cora was not, however, a selfish person. While recovering from her illness, she learned many of the children in her close-knit community, no doubt friends of hers, also succumbed to the disease. In empathy with her community, she wrote memorial poems for many of the families who lost their children. Her poems brought comfort to grieving families. At thirteen, she became a published author with some of her poems appearing in newspapers like the Watsonville Pajaronian. Diphtheria would claim her life later that year.

Adapted from “Voices of the Heart: Memorial Poems from the Diphtheria Epidemic of 1876-78” (1993) by Phil Reader.
Retrieved from https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/items/show/134500. Accessed 2 Feb. 2021.