Amy Ella Blanchard (June 28, 1854 – July 4, 1926) was a prolific American writer of children's literature.

Early life

Amy Ella Blanchard was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, in 1854, the daughter of Daniel Harris Blanchard and Sarah Reynolds. She was educated in public schools and then studied art in New York City and Philadelphia.

Career

Amy Ella Blanchard was at first a teacher of art in the Woman's College in Baltimore, now Goucher College. She taught school while studying art. She then taught drawing and painting for two years in Plainfield, New Jersey. Her first poem was published when she was 16 years old in a Salem newspaper. Three years later she published her first book, but it was not until 1893 that she obtained her first success with her stories. Bonnie Bairns

In 1888 she published her first book, and the first collaboration with

Ida Waugh Ida Waugh (October 24, 1846 – January 25, 1919) was an American illustrator of children's literature who often collaborated with her lifelong companion, Amy Ella Blanchard. Personal life Ida Waugh was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on O ...

, ''Bonny Bairns'', with the Worthington & Co. firm of New York. In this book the usual order was reversed, and the pictures were illustrated with verses. The combination was not only pleasant but pretty. The lithographs were beautifully executed and did full justice to the drawings, which were of a much higher quality than usually appeared in children's picture books. The verses that accompanied them made a pleasant jingle with just sense enough to make them attractive to the chubby critic.

Personal life

Amy Ella Blanchard was a lifelong companion of her artist collaborator

(1846-1919). They met when Waugh was still living with her parents and Blanchard was hired as tutor of Waugh's younger brother, future painter

Frederick Judd Waugh Frederick Judd Waugh (September 13, 1861 in Bordentown, New Jersey – September 10, 1940) was an American artist, primarily known as a marine artist. During World War I, he designed ship camouflage for the U.S. Navy, under the direction of Evere ...

. They lived together in Philadelphia and New York City, their homes a gathering place for authors. In 1906 Blanchard moved to Washington, D.C. where she lived at 1080 31st Street, N.W. During this period she became a popular writer of girls' books. Blanchard and Waugh had neighboring summer cottages at

Bailey Island, Maine Bailey Island is an island in Casco Bay, and a part of the town of Harpswell, in Cumberland County, Maine. As of the 2000 census, the island had a year-round population of 400. History Bailey Island originally bore the name Newaggin, give ...

where they helped organize the construction of a chapel in 1916. Winters were spent in

Redding Ridge, Connecticut Redding is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Early settlement and establishment At the time c ...

. From 1923 to 1925 Blanchard won for three successive years the first prize in a national contest promoted by the

National League of American Pen Women The National League of American Pen Women, Inc. (NLAPW) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) membership organization for women. History The first meeting of the League of American Pen Women was organized in 1897 by Marian Longfellow O'Donoghue, a writer ...

, of which league she was a member, for the best story written by American women writers. She died on July 4, 1926, at Bailey Island from apoplexy; she was found by her maid at the desk, a just complete poem forecasting her own death in front of her. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland, at her own request.

Works

Her works include: * ''As Others See Us'' (publication date unknown) * ''The Awakening of Martha'' (1923) * ''Baby Blossom'' (Worthington Co., 1888) * ''Because of conscience: being a novel relating to the adventures of certain Huguenots in old New York'' (J. B. Lippincott company, 1901) * ''Becky: a story'', (W. A. Wilde company, ca. 1922) * ''Betty of Wye'' (publication date unknown) * ''Bless it'', illust. by

(Worthington Co., 1890) * ''Bonny Bairns'' (poetry), illust. by

(Worthington, 1888) * ''Bonny Lesley of the border'' (W.A. Wilde, 1904) * ''The butterfly: Verses'', illust. by

(Worthington Co., 1890) * '' Daisies and Raindrops'' (poetry), illust. by

(E.P. Dutton & Company, 1882) * ''A daughter of freedom: a story of the latter period of the war for independence'', (W. A. Wilde Company, 1900) * ''A Dear Little Girl'' (publication date unknown) * ''A Dear Little Girl at School'' (George W. Jacobs & Co., 1910) * ''A Dear Little Girl's Summer Holidays'' (George W. Jacobs & Co., 1911) * ''A Dear Little Girl's Thanksgiving Holidays'' (George W. Jacobs & Co., 1912) * ''Dimple Dallas: the further fortunes of a sweet little maid'', illust. by

(George W. Jacobs & Co., 1900) * ''An everyday girl: a story'' (W. A. Wilde, ca. 1924) * ''Fagots and Flames: A Story of Winter Camp Fires'' (1916) * ''The Four Corners'', "Four Corners" series (G. W. Jacobs & company, 1906) * ''The Four Corners Abroad'', "Four Corners" series, illust. by Wuanita Smith (G.W. Jacobs, 1909) * ''The Four Corners at College'', "Four Corners" series (publication date unknown) * ''The Four Corners at School'', "Four Corners" series (publication date unknown) * ''The Four Corners in California'', "Four Corners" series, illust. by Wuanita Smith (G.W. Jacobs, 1907) * ''The Four Corners in camp'', "Four Corners" series (G. W. Jacobs & company, 1910) * ''The Four Corners in Egypt'', "Four Corners" series (G. W. Jacobs & company, 1914) * ''The Four Corners in Japan'', "Four Corners" series (G.W. Jacobs & company, 1912) * ''From Tenderfoot to Golden Eaglet: A Girl Scout Story'', (Wilde, 1921) * ''A frontier knight: a story of early Texan border-life'', also by William F. Stecher (W.A. Wilde Company, 1904) * ''A gentle pioneer, being the story of the early days in the new West'' (W.A. Wilde Company, 1903) * ''A Girl of '76'', illust. by

(W.A. Wilde Company, 1898) * ''A Girl Scout of Red Rose Troop'' (1918) * ''Girls Together'' (publication date unknown) * ''The Glad Lady'' (Dana Estes & Company, 1910) * ''Hearts and clubs: a comedy in three acts'' (The Penn Pub. Co., 1913) * ''Her Very Best'' (publication date unknown) * ''A heroine of 1812: a Maryland romance'' (W. A. Wilde company, 1901) * ''Holly Berries'' (poetry), illust. by

(1882) * ''Ida Waugh's Alphabet Book: For Little Ones Who, If They Look, Will Find their Letters in This Book'' (poetry), illust. by

(J.B. Lippincott, 1888) * ''An independent daughter'' (J.B. Lippincott Co., 1900) * ''Janet's College Career'' (publication date unknown) * ''A Journey of Joy'' (two girls and their chaperone on a trip through Europe) (1908) * ''Kittyboy's Christmas'' (publication date unknown) * ''Life's Little Actions'' (publication date unknown) * ''Little Maid Marian'', "Little Maid" series (1908) * ''A little maid of Picardy'', "Little Maid" series (W.A. Wilde company, ca. 1919) * ''Little Miss Mouse'' (publication date unknown) * ''Little Miss Oddity'' (1902) * ''A Little Tomboy'' (1903) * ''A loyal lass: a story of the Niagara campaign of 1814'' (W. A. Wilde, 1902) * ''Mabel's Mishap'' (publication date unknown) * ''Mammy's baby'', illust. by

(Worthington Co., ca. 1890) * ''Miss Vanity''(publication date unknown) * ''Mistress May'', illust. by

(George W. Jacobs, ca. 1901) * ''My own dolly'', illust. by

(Griffith and Farran, 1883) * ''Nancy first and last'' (J.B. Lippincott Company, 1917) * ''Playmate Polly'' (Penn Pub. Co., 1909) * ''A revolutionary maid: a story of the middle period of the war for independence'', illust. by

(W.A. Wilde, 1899) * ''A Sweet Little Maid'', "Little Maid" series, illust. by

(G.W. Jacobs, 1899) * ''Taking a stand'' (G.W. Jacobs & co., 1896) * ''Talbot's angles'', illust. by L. J. Bridgman (Dana Estes & Company, ca. 1911) * ''Tangles & Curls or Little Boys and Little Girls'' (poetry), illust. by

(Worthington, 1888) * ''Tell Me a Story'' (poetry), illust. by

(Worthington, 1888) * ''Three Little Cousins'' (publication date unknown) * ''Three pretty maids'' (J.B. Lippincott company, 1897) * ''Twenty little maidens'', illust. by

(J.B. Lippincott Company, 1893) * ''Two Maryland Girls'' (publication date unknown) * ''Two Girls'' (publication date unknown) * ''Wee babies: printed in colours from original designs'' (poetry), illust. by

(E.P. Dutton & Co., 1882) * ''Wee tots'', illust. by

(Worthington Co., 1890) * ''When Mother Was a Little Girl'' (poetry), illust. by

(Ernest Nister, 1909) * ''Wits' end'' (D. Estes & company, 1909) * ''Worth his while'' (George W. Jacobs, 1901) She contributed a few titles to the Camp Fire Girls series including: * ''The Camp Fire Girls of Brightwood: a story of how they kindled their fire and kept it burning'' (1915) * ''In Camp with the Muskoday Camp Fire Girls'' (W. A. Wilde company, ca. 1917)

References

External links

Several on-line facimilies of Blanchard/Waugh books
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Amy Ella American children's writers Writers from Baltimore 1856 births 1926 deaths 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists American women poets American women short story writers American women novelists People from Baltimore Novelists from Maryland 20th-century American women writers 19th-century American women writers