Nationality American Occupation Writer, poet | Name Margaret Ashmun Role Writer | |
Born July 10, 1875 Rural, Wisconsin Died 1940, West Springfield, Massachusetts, United States Books The Heart of Isabel Carleton, No School To‑Morrow, The Singing Swan: An, Isabel Carleton in the West | ||
Margaret Eliza Ashmun (July 10, 1875 – March 15, 1940) was an American writer from Rural, Wisconsin. She trained as a teacher and taught for a few years then concentrated on her writing. She edited collections of short stories and writing textbooks, and wrote dozens of poems, essays, and stories that were published in the popular magazines and newspapers of her day. She was the author of more than 18 novels for both adults and young readers, especially girls.
Contents
Life
Margaret Ashmun was born in Rural, Waupaca County, Wisconsin, the daughter of Claude “Sam” Ashmun and Rachel Jane Smith. Jehudi Ashmun was Margaret’s great uncle. Margaret was a graduate of Stevens Point College and received her bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1904 and her M.A. in 1908. She was the head of the English Department at Stout Institute, Menomonie, Wisconsin, 1904–06, and a member of the Department of English at the University of Wisconsin 1907-12. In 1912 she went to New York City to concentrate on her writing. Besides New York City, she lived in a number of other locations in the east including Northampton, Massachusetts, and Cos Cob, Connecticut. Throughout her life she kept up her home in Rural, spent some winters in Madison, and went abroad several times for considerable periods. In 1928 she adopted a little girl, whose death ten years later was a great shock and grief to her. Margaret Ashmun died March 15, 1940 at the age of 65 in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
Awards
RR Donnelley Literary Award (2009) included Margaret Ashmun as a Notable Wisconsin Author, selected by The Literary Awards Committee of the Readers’ Section of the Wisconsin Library Association. A notice appears on the Cybrary Reviews blog. Annual Margaret Ashmun Day is held in mid-June in the village of Rural, Wisconsin.
Works
Textbooks
Novels
Isabel Carleton Series (1916-1920), Reissued August 1927, November 1930, and September 1934
Nonfiction
Articles/Essays/Stories
Published Poems online