Mary Tracy Earle (October 21, 1864 – September 7, 1955) was an American fiction writer. She contributed short stories and occasional essays to various periodicals. Among her published works can be counted ''The Wonderful Wheel'' (1896), ''The Man Who Worked for Collister'' (1898), ''Through Old Rose Glasses'' (1900), and ''The Flag on the Hilltop'' (1902).

Early life and education

Mary Tracy Earle was born in

Cobden, Illinois Cobden is a village in Union County, Illinois, Union County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt.” The population estimate as of 2025 is 1,064. Cobden is regionally known for the masc ...

, October 21, 1864. Her parents were Parker and Melanie (Tracy) Earle. Parker was the horticultural director at the

World Cotton Centennial The World Cotton Centennial (also known as the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, in 1884. At a time when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United St ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 1884. Melanie's mother,

Hannah Tracy Cutler Hannah Maria Conant Tracy Cutler (December 25, 1815Alexander Street Press. Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600–2000''Author Details: Cutler, Hannah Maria Conant Tracy, 1815–1895''. Retrieved on May 28, 2009. – February 11 ...

was an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

as well as a leader of the temperance and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

movements in the United States. Mary had two brothers: Charles Theodore Earle, and the

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

Franklin Sumner Earle Franklin Sumner Earle (September 4, 1856 – January 31, 1929) was an American mycologist who specialized in fungal plant diseases. He was the first ever mycologist to be employed at the New York Botanical Garden, and was the author of ''The Gene ...

. Earle attended Cobden High School. She represented Alethenai Literary Society in the intersociety oratorical contest of 1884, while attending the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 1885 (B.S.) and received an A.M. degree in 1903.

Career

Beginning in 1885, Earle lived in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, where she began to write, at first not with any purpose, but simply in accordance to the inspiration. As she grew older, her predilection for literary pursuits became more pronounced, and in 1898, when she removed to

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 ...

, it was with the intention of devoting herself seriously to a writing career. She continued writing through 1904. From 1904 to 1907, she served as a Librarian and Editorial Assistant, Estación Central Agronómica de Cuba. In 1907, she returned to writing. On July 1, 1906, in Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba, she married William Titus Horne (1876-1944), Professor of Plant Pathology in the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. From 1887, Earle contributed short stories and occasional essays in ''The Outlook'', ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ''The Century'', ''Everybody's'', ''Harper's Weekly'', ''McClure's'', ''Scribner's'', as well as other magazines and papers. She was also the author of: ''The Wonderful Wheel'' (Century Company, 1896); ''The Man Who Worked for Collister'' (Copeland & Day, Boston, 1898); ''Through Old Rose Glasses'' (Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, 1900); and ''The Flag on the Hilltop'' (Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, 1902). Most of her stories were of the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, where she had spent much of her time, but some are of

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

Personal life

In 1907, Earle was living in Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba. In 1913, she was living in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. She died in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

, September 7, 1955.

Selected works

* ''The Wonderful Wheel'', 1896 * ''The Man Who Worked for Collister'', 1898 * ''Through Old Rose Glasses'', 1900 * ''The Flag on the Hilltop'', 1902

References

Attribution

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Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, Mary Tracy 1864 births 1955 deaths 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American short story writers 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers People from Union County, Illinois Writers from Illinois University of Illinois alumni American women novelists