 She had been voted by its readers "most popular actress" in a contest the magazine had conducted over the previous few weeks.As her reward, she received a fully nickel-coated Columbia bicycle from the American Bicycle Company, along with an ornate tool storage pouch, a solid silver cyclometer from The Standard Watch Company, and a silver search lamp from the Bridgeport Brass Company.On October 1, 1898, Caroline Miskel Hoyt, who had become acutely ill with kidney problems, became gravely ill following the birth of her son.