Lina Elise "Dolly" Grey

Lina Elise “Dolly” Grey was born on February 6, 1883, to a family of physicians. When she grew up, she decided to become a schoolteacher. In 1900, she took a break from her studies to take a canoeing trip and met Zane Grey. She married Zane Grey on November 21, 1905, in Manhattan, New York. The couple had three children: Romer, Betty, and Lore Grey.

 

Dolly was the glue that kept the Grey family stable while Zane followed his passions. She managed the household, raised the children, and proofread Zanes manuscripts. After repeatedly facing financial strife at the hands of Zanes frivolity and expensive taste, Dolly did what she could to manage the family’s finances but as a woman in the 1900s her options were limited. She started to put aside every other transcript Zane sent her to proofread as a financial failsafe. If the family was in dire need, she could publish one of the hidden transcripts.

 

Her letters to Zane, copies of which are available for viewing in our classroom, reveal that Dolly and Zane had a relationship that was imperfect and yet exemplary of the strongest bonds of friendship. Dolly passed away in 1957, 18 years after Zane, and managed to leave her children a substantial amount of property and profit.