Is Prentice Ritter a real charachter that was married to Nola John's?

Answer 1

Although it is assumed that Ritter brought Nola to his ranch after receiving a letter from her I don't believe Prentice Ritter and Nola John were married. In those days, a married woman took the name of her husband. It was frowned upon to keep her maiden name because of wagging tongues. Ritter had said that he was not the marrying type.

The miniseries was written by Alan Geoffrion who also wrote the book. The story centers around two historical events, that of the British buying horses in the West in the late 19th century and Chinese women being transported from the West to the other states to serve as prostitutes. A few minor vignettes included hanging for stealing. Since real lawmen were few, and far, an offense like that was taken care of from the nearest tree, or barn. Not sure if the characters were real once-in-a-long-time heroes or not. The credits at the end of the movie make it seem so but could not find any historical facts on those names.