Minnie Thomas Boyce (born Minnie May Thomas, 1870 – December 19, 1929) was an American writer.

Early life

She was born in

Fortville, Indiana Fortville is a town in Vernon Township, Hancock County, Indiana, Vernon Township, Hancock County, Indiana, Hancock County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,784 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography Fortville is ...

, the daughter of Charles Perrine Thomas and Nancy Jane Humphries Thomas. She took courses in English at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Career

Boyce wrote poetry and short stories which appeared in many American periodicals in the 1890s and 1900s, including the "Punkin' Holler" tales in Chicago's '' Inter Ocean.'' "Humorous sketches and stories of

Hoosier Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate; however, "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 ...

life are specially Mrs. Boyce's forte, although her poems for children are eagerly sought for," commented one reporter in 1893. A play by Boyce, ''The Hennypeckles'', was performed in Muncie in 1908, and in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and Yorktown in 1909. Boyce also gave speaking recitations, taught oratory, and wrote opinion pieces for newspapers. On divorce, she wrote, "It seems to me that there could be nothing more terrible, more barbarous, than for the law or any other institution to compel two people to live together all their lives who are utterly separated in mind and taste and devotedness." She was active in the Western Association of Writers and the Indiana Writers' Association.

Personal life

Minnie Thomas married Charles Wilson Boyce in 1889. They had a son, James G. Boyce, and lived in Muncie, Indiana. Her husband, who managed an electric light plant, died in 1896, and she died in 1929, aged 59 years, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

References

External links

* * Minnie Thomas Boyce
"The First Sorrow"
a short story, in Edward Joseph Hamilton, ed., ''Indiana Writers of Poems and Prose'' (Chicago 1902). {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyce, Minnie Thomas 1870 births 1929 deaths 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers American women short story writers People from Muncie, Indiana Writers from Indiana