BUFFALO - In the fall of 1882, Margaret Brock Hanson's maternal grandfather, W.J. Thom, came westward from St. Louis, Mo., for health reasons.

Hanson, a skilled writer, later recounted how Thom, while seeking health, adventure and fortune in the West, was not a stockman, nor was he totally adapted to Western life.

Two generations later, Hanson, a city girl who married a Niobrara County rancher, Dan Hanson, totally absorbed the Western lifestyle. She and her husband devoted themselves to the rearing of their six children. In addition to teaching them the value of the land and livestock, Hanson, who was a renowned historian, compiled volumes of information about the history of not just Johnson County, but much of the rest of Wyoming.

Hanson, 86, died Tuesday. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at the Harold Jarrard Park Building in Kaycee.

Hanson was raised in Buffalo. She wrote how, though she spent her early years on her father's ranch at Mayoworth, she eventually attended school in Buffalo. She wrote for the book, "Buffalo's First Century," about what a joy her childhood was.

Later, in an interview with this writer, Hanson called herself "a country child, turned city girl, turned country wife, mother and grandmother." She became a professional photographer and, in black and white, produced multitudes of pictures.

Her granddaughter, Elizabeth Hanson Baxter, mother to Hanson's only great-grandchild, Grant, said her own interest in photography stems from the connection she had with the woman known as "Grammy."

"She gave me my first camera and taught me so much. She also encouraged me to pursue the craft of photography and never be afraid to be independent," Baxter said. "Most people knew my grandmother as a historian or author, but few knew her as the photographer like I did."

Retired Buffalo banker and classmate Robert Holt praised Hanson for her photography skills and said he will always remember her for her historical contributions to Wyoming. He said her book, "Powder River Country," where she recorded information from her father's papers, has captured much of the history of this area for posterity.

"I remember a lot of her good photos," Wilbur Jones of Kaycee said. Jones' father, Henry, went to work for Hanson's father one summer. He ended up staying on the ranch for 65 years.

Kathleen Streeter worked as housekeeper and companion for Hanson for five years.

"She always was most pleasant to work for," Streeter said. "I learned so much history from her. When her daughters stopped in to see her, she would call me from what I was doing and have me join the three of them around the table. She treated me more like a friend, rather than an employee. My daughter also worked for Margaret for a time, and she feels the same way. We both respected the entire family."

Former Jim Gatchell Museum director Gary Anderson said Hanson and other family members supported both the Gatchell facility and Kaycee's Hoofprints of the Past museum.

"They contributed financially, and Margaret always gave so much of herself by sharing her research, her pictures and her knowledge," Anderson said. "She really leaves behind a true legacy and truly deserves the moniker, 'Johnson County's and Wyoming's historian laureate.'"