Hildegarde Dolson Lockridge (1908–1981) was a prolific writer whose career spanned nearly fifty years. Her work appeared in major magazines, plus she was the author of fifteen books—all published under her maiden name of Hildegarde Dolson.

Early life

Hildegarde was born and raised in

Franklin, Pennsylvania Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States, located at the confluence of French Creek and the Allegheny River. The population was 6,097 in the 2020 census. Franklin is part of the Oil City microp ...

, the oldest of four children born to Clifford and Katherine Dolson.''We Shook the Family Tree'', by Hildegard Dolson, 1946 From 1926 to 1929 she attended

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, but left at the beginning of her senior year to live in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She would later joke: "The day I arrived in New York, in October 1929, the stock market crashed with a bang." After holding down numerous jobs, Dolson found work as an advertising copywriter for Gimbels, Macy's, Franklin-Simon, and Bamberger stores.Contemporary Authors, First Revision, Vol. 5–8, Gale Research Company, 1969 She sold her first manuscript to ''The New Yorker'', and was later published in other major magazines, including ''Harper's'', ''Ladies Home Journal'', ''McCall's'', and ''Reader's Digest''. After her first book was published in 1938, Dolson became a full-time freelance writer.

Marriage to Richard Lockridge

Dolson once wrote "I'm a self-made spinster who crows too much about it, especially when I get paid by the word." She had at least one article published on the subject of why she should never marry. In 1965, when she was 56, she met mystery writer Richard Lockridge, and Lockridge quickly decided he wanted to marry her.''One Lady, Two Cats'', by Richard Lockridge, 1967, J. B. Lippincott Co. Dolson loved her Greenwich Village apartment, and Mr. Lockridge lived in the country. He had two beloved Siamese cats, and she preferred dogs. Despite the obstacles, within a few months of their first meeting Lockridge and Miss Dolson married in May 1965. Lockridge would refer to Hildegarde as either Hildy, or The Lady. Hildegarde Dolson Lockridge died on January 15, 1981, at St. Luke's Hospital in Columbus, North Carolina. She was 72 years old, and had been living in Tyron, North Carolina.''The New York Times'', January 17, 1981

Published books

* ''How About a Man'', 1938 * ''We Shook the Family Tree'', 1946 * ''The Husband Who Ran Away'', 1948 * ''The Form Divine'', 1951 * ''Sorry To Be So Cheerful'', 1955 * ''My Brother Adlai (with Elizabeth Stevenson)'', 1956 * ''A Growing Wonder'', 1957 * ''The Great Oildorado: The Gaudy & Turbulent Years of the First Oil Rush: Pennsylvania 1859–1880'', 1959 * ''William Penn, Quaker Hero'', 1961 * ''Guess Whose Hair I'm Wearing'', 1963 * ''Adventures of a Light-Headed Blonde'', 1964 * ''Disaster at Johnstown, The Great Flood'', 1965 * ''Open the Door'', 1966 * ''Heat Lightning'', 1970 * ''To Spite Her Face'', 1971 * ''A Dying Fall'', 1973 * ''Please Omit Funeral'', 1975 * ''Beauty Sleep'', 1977 * "How Beautiful With Mud", 1978

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockridge, Hildegarde Dolson 1908 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American writers Writers from Pennsylvania People from Franklin, Pennsylvania 20th-century American women writers