A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Ada Claire Darby
St. Joseph News Press, 22 Dec 1953 (obtained from http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.missouri.counties.buchanan/1557/mb.ashx):
ADA CLAIRE DARBY, AUTHOR OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS, DIES (By Ada Lyon)
Miss Ada Claire Darby, widely recognized as an author of children's books, died this morning at 9, at Missouri Methodist Hospital after an illness of three months. A member of a distinguished family, she was prominent in social and club circles, in addition to pursuing a literary career. Two of her books were published this year, the last one "Pull Away, Boatman" issued in September, being considered the best of a long succession of notable books for girls.
She was the past president of the Runcie Club, vice president of the St. Joseph Historical Society and custodian for life of the Book of Remembrance of Christ Episcopal Church. She was an active member of St. Joseph Historic Homes Foundation.
Born in this city, Dec 31, 1883, to the late Dr. Charles Hammond Darby & Ada Leonard Darby, Miss Darby attended the public Schools here and graduated in 1901 from Central High School, making her debut at a dance given in her honor by her parents at the Benton Club in November 1803 [sic].
INTERESTED IN HISTORY: Her parents were both of English descent, Doctor Darby's ancestors having come to this country in 1659. One ancestor of Miss Darby was an early governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, another was president of Harvard University and a third was a chaplain in the Continental Army under Geroge Washington. A Great-Grandfather was one of three commissioners named by President Monroe in 1823 to survey the Santa Fe trail in its' Missouri Portions. From his correspondence she gleaned material for the book "On the Trail to Santa Fe".
Records of her ancestry and the stories of early days recounted by her mother awakened Miss Darby's interest in Stat and national history. Her Mother family home, Oakwood, at Fayette, MO, built in 1836 by Mrs. Darby's father, Abiel Leonard, is still occupied by his descendants. Her mother's childhood in the old mansion, constructed by slave labor from bricks made on the place and native lumber, furnished the setting for Miss Darby's first book "Pinafores and Pantaletts". It was published by Frederick A Stokes Co in 1927 and was the first of a series of seven concerned with the history of Missouri from 1800 through the Civil War, each book a decade apart of history. They were written in a period of 14 years, and included "Skip, Come -a-Lou"; "Hicory Goody", "Sometimes", "Jenny Wren", "Gay Soeurette", "Peace Pipes at Portage" and "Look Away, Dixieland".
A BRILLIANT SPEAKER: At the beginning of this month, her latest work, "Pull Away, Boatman" had a sale of 2493 copies, though it was off the presses only six weeks. Her early books continue to sell well, especially "Skip Come - A-Lou", and "Columbine Susan". The 25th anniversary of the publication of "Skip-Come-A-Lou" was observed in November during book week at Central Public Library.
Miss Darby's talent was as marked with the spoken as with the written word. Wit and charm combined to make her a brilliant public speaker and her book reviews were inimitable. She gave several series of these reviews. For years she was engaged to present all the programs of a current events club.
Much encouragement was given to her in her literary career by her mother and her half-sisters, the late Miss Mary Hawks and Mrs. George Dunbar. But she attributed the demand for her books less in praise than to sharp criticism from a professional critic. When she submitted an early manuscript to him, his comment was "The trouble with you is that you do not know how to write a story". She then determined in her own mind "I'll show you". She died, and leading publishers have vied for her work. In 1948, the Missouri Group Action Council of St. Louis honored her as one of the women of Achievement in this state.
GRATEFUL TO LIBRARY: Her books required a vast amount of research. Central Public Library here to which she always expressed her indebtedness certified her to the Library of Congress which mailed rare old books for her perusal.
She had definite daily hours of work each morning, and rarely let anything interfere with her regular writing. Her summers were spent at Oakwood in her childhood with many cousins. In recent years she spent vacations at Wind-Inwoyen, the ranch owned at Evergreen Colo, by a cousin, Mrs. Leonard Everett of Omaha. She was literary editor of the News Press from 1916 to 1927.
"Brave Venture", a story of the voyage of the Mayflower and of the first Thanksgiving Day was published in April of this year. "Seally Allen" written in 1929 was the story of a young girl in Columbia, MO, in that year.
SERVICES THURSDAY:
Miss Darby was the last of her immediate family, but there were unusually close ties between all the family connections of many cousins. All have been members of the Episcopal Church. The first Episcopal bishop of Missouri, the Right Rev. Stephen Hawks, was the first husband of Miss Darby's mother. Her mother's brother, the late Right Rev. Abiel Leonard, was the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah.
At the time of Miss Darby's death, first cousins were her nearest relatives living. Two of them are in this city, Mrs. R.A. Brown and Leonard Guitar.
The body will be at the home of Mrs. Brown, 519 North 8th street until it is taken to Christ Episcopal Church for services at 1:30 Thursday afternoon. The rites will be conducted by the rector the Rev. James S. Allen. Interment will be in Mount Mora Cemetery, Heaton Bowman is in charge of arrangements.
According to John Wanamaker, she did not marry.
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
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