[3]: 161 Throughout her childhood, Stratton became familiar with the region's flora and fauna,[3]: 161 and when she was older she would ride with her father's cowhands.
[1] Although mostly taught at home by her mother, for a time Stratton did attend public school in Arkansas City.
[1] Now Zoe Tilghman, she moved into the house her husband had shared with his previous wife, Flora, and their three children.
[1] From 1925 to 1934, Tilghman worked at Oklahoma City newspaper Harlow's Weekly as a literary editor.
[3]: 164 Tilghman's historical works have been noted for their bias towards "officers of the law," and unflattering and stereotypical depictions of Native Americans, with the exception of her biography of Comanche leader Quanah Parker.
[3]: 167 Also through the Federal Writers' Project, Tilghman wrote Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State.