Frances Trego Montgomery (July 18, 1858 – April 5, 1925) was an American children's book writer best known for her series of books about the goat Billy Whiskers. Frances Trego Montgomery was born on July 18, 1858 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Starting in 1902, Montgomery published a series of children's books starring the goat Billy Whiskers, who had mischievous adventures all over the world. The immense popularity of the books took

Saalfield Publishing The Saalfield Publishing Company published children's books and other products from 1900 to 1977. It was once one of the largest publishers of children's materials in the world. The company was founded in 1900 in Akron, Ohio, by Arthur J. Saalfi ...

from a small

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

publishing company to one of the world's largest publishers. The many fans of the series included a young

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. The books also contain rather coarse descriptions of ethnicities. She wrote a pair of books about the "Electric Elephant", a mechanical hollow elephant the protagonist uses to tour the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

and galaxy. She also created the board game ''Lottery of Marriage.'' Frances Trego Montgomery died on 5 April 1925 onboard the ''SS Franconia'' as it was sailing between

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Personal life

She married wealthy Chicago broker Hugh M. S. Montgomery and they had two daughters. They divorced in 1909. She married George Porteous in 1910 and that marriage was annulled in 1913.

Bibliography

Billy Whiskers

Source: * 1. Billy Whiskers; the Autobiography of a Goat (1902) * 2. Billy Whiskers' Kids; or, Day and Night; A Sequel to Billy Whiskers (1903) * 3. Billy Whiskers, Jr. (1904) * 4. Billy Whiskers' Friends (1906) * 5. Billy Whiskers' Travels (1907) * 6. Billy Whiskers, Jr. and His Chums (1907) * 7. Billy Whiskers at the Circus (1908) * 8. Billy Whiskers' Vacation (1908) * 9. Billy Whiskers at the Fair (1909) * 10. Billy Whiskers' Grandchildren (1909) * 11. Billy Whiskers Kidnaped (1910) * 12. Billy Whiskers Twins (1911) * 13. Billy Whiskers in an Aeroplane (1912) * 14. Billy Whiskers in Town (1913) * 15. Billy Whiskers in Panama (1914) * 16. Billy Whiskers on the Mississippi (1915) * 17. Billy Whiskers at the Exposition (1915) * 18. Billy Whiskers Out West (1916) * 19. Billy Whiskers in the South (1917) * 20. Billy Whiskers in Camp (1918) * 21. Billy Whiskers' Adventures (1920) * 22. Billy Whiskers in the Movies (1921) * 23. Billy Whiskers Out for Fun (1922) * 24. Billy Whiskers' Frolics (1923) * 25. Billy Whiskers at Home (1924) * 26. Billy Whiskers' Pranks (1925) * 27. Billy Whiskers in Mischief; Continuing the Famous Billy Whiskers Series (1926) * 28. Billy Whiskers and the Radio; Continuing the Famous Billy Whiskers Series (1927) * 29. Billy Whiskers' Treasure Hunt; Continuing the Famous Billy Whiskers Series (1928) * 30. Billy Whiskers Tourist; Continuing the Famous Billy Whiskers Series (1929) * 31. Billy Whiskers Stowaway; Continuing the Famous Billy Whiskers Series (1930)

Other works

* ''Cats and Kilts''. Von Hasten. Hugo, illus.- N.D Bane & Hopkins * ''Chickens and Chicks''. Von Hofsten. Hugo. illus. - N.D. Barre & Hopkins * ''Christmas with Santa Claus''. Hallock, Ruth Mary (1876-) (Illus./ 24cm 154p. c.1905. The Saalfield Pub * ''Dogs and Puppies''. Von Hofsten. Hugo, illus. (Illus.). ND. Barsc & Hopkins. * ''Frances and the Irrepressibles at Buena Vista Farm''. c 1905. The Saalfield Pub. Co. * ''On a Lark to the Planets: A Sequel to the "Wonderful Electric Elephant"'' (Akron, Ohio: The Saalfield Publishing Co, 1904), illustrator Winifred E. Elrod * ''Pigs and Piggies''. Von Hofsten, Hugo, illus. N.D. Banc & Hopkins. * ''Santa Claus' Twin Brother''. Hofsten, Hugo Von. Illus. 1907 Brewer, Banc & Co * ''The Wonderful Electric Elephant'' (Akron, Ohio: The Saalfield Publishing Co, 1903), illustrator C M Coolidge] * ''Zip: The Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier''. Violet Moore Higgins, Higgins. Violet Moore. illus, c 1917. The Saalfield Publishing Company.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Frances Trego Created via preloaddraft 1858 births 1925 deaths American women children's writers American children's writers People who died at sea