Eliza Anna Farman Pratt (1837–1907) (

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s, Ella Farman and Dorothea Alice Shepherd) was an American writer of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

, best known for editing '' Wide Awake'' magazine for 16 years, starting in 1875.

Early life

Farman was born November 1, 1837Elbert Eli Farman, LL.D., Foreman-Farman-Forman Genealogy, pages 74, 75, Tobias A. Wright, 1911 in

Augusta, New York Augusta is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 2,020 at the 2010 census. The Town of Augusta is in the southwestern part of Oneida County. History Augusta was settled in 1793 by a man named Gunn, whose son, Pete ...

,Ella Farman Pratt (death notice), Kearsarge Independent and Times (Warner, N.H.), May 24, 1907 the daughter of Rev. Tural Tufts Farman and Hanna Burleson Farman. She was educated at a girls’ school in New York, where she met Emma L. Shaw, who became a close friend. For a time Farman and Shaw worked as teachers, before they decided to move to Michigan and try to earn their living by farming.Lowe, Berenice Bryant, Tales of Battle Creek, page 262-264, The Albert L. and Louise B. Miler Foundation, Inc. 1976

Literary career

In about 1870 Eliza Farman began writing in earnest, submitting work under the name of Ella Farman. In 1875 she used the name of D. A. Shepherd when she sold a story entitled ''Two Girls that Tried Farming'' to ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. When the story was expanded, and published as a book, the pen name of D. A. Shepherd was used once more. Farman wrote children’s stories, and for the first few years she received editing help from her friend Emma Shaw. Several children’s books were published by D. Lothrop Company. When publisher

Daniel Lothrop Daniel Lothrop (August 11, 1831 – March 18, 1892) was an American publisher.''The National Cyclopaedia of American biography'', Vol 8 (1898) James T. White & Company, New York Biography Daniel Lothrop was born in Rochester, New Hampshire, Ro ...

decided to publish a children’s magazine entitled '' Wide Awake'' he chose Farman as editor. She edited ''Wide Awake'' from 1875 until 1891, with the assistance of co-editor

Charles Stuart Pratt Charles Stuart Pratt (1854–1921), who sometimes wrote under the pen names of C. P. Stewart and C. P. Stuart, was an American writer of children's literature, best known for being the art editor of '' Wide Awake'' magazine for 16 years, startin ...

. Farman and Pratt wed in 1877.John William Leonard, Who’s Who in America, Volume 8, page 1893, A. N. Marquis, 1914 Farman and Pratt also worked on other D. Lothrop Company children’s magazines. They edited ''Babyland'' from 1877 to 1892 and then from 1894 to 1897. They also edited ''Little Men and Women'' for an unknown period of time. From 1897 until shortly before her 1907 death Farman and Charles Stuart Pratt edited ''

Little Folks ''Little Folks'' was a monthly United States children's magazine for young readersKelly, R. Gordon, ''Children's Periodicals of the United States'', pages 282 - 285, Greenwood Press, 1984 from three to twelve years-old. It was founded by publi ...

'', a children’s magazine published by S. E. Cassino Company, in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. Pratt continued on as editor until 1909. Until at least 1912 the ''Little Folks'' Contents page stated “Edited from foundation to May, 1909, by Charles S. and Ella Farman Pratt.” During her work as editor Farman published approximately 20 books, most of them for children.

Personal life

Eliza Anna Farman wed

on November 11, 1877, For most of their married life the couple lived in

Warner, New Hampshire Warner is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,937 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts, Rollins State Park and Mount Kearsarge State Forest. The town's centra ...

. Farman Pratt had a son, Ralph Farman Pratt, born July 7, 1878. He became a landscape painter.Marquis, Albert Nelson (editor), Who’s Who in New England, Volume 2, page 872, A. N. Marquis & Company, 1916 Farman Pratt was in poor health for several years, before dying at her home from

myocarditis Myocarditis, also known as inflammatory cardiomyopathy, is an acquired cardiomyopathy due to inflammation of the heart muscle. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, chest pain, decreased ability to exercise, and an irregular heartbeat. The ...

(inflammation of heart muscle) and

neurasthenia Neurasthenia (from the Ancient Greek νεῦρον ''neuron'' "nerve" and ἀσθενής ''asthenés'' "weak") is a term that was first used at least as early as 1829 for a mechanical weakness of the nerves and became a major diagnosis in North A ...

(fatigue, anxiety) on May 22, 1907. She was buried in South

Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer") , image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...

Selected works

* ''Anna Maylie'' (1873) * ''A Little Woman : A Story for Other Little Women'' (1873) * ''Anna Maylie : A Story of Work.'' (1873) * ''A Girl’s Money'' (1874) * ''A White Hand'' (1875) * ''Mrs. Hurd's Niece : Six Months of a Girl's lLfe'' (1876) * ''The Doll Doctor, and Other Stories,'' (1877) * ''Sugar Plums'' (1877) * ''Good-for-Nothing Polly'' (1877) * ''Little Miss Mischief and Her Happy Thoughts'' (1878) * ''How Two Girls Tried Farming'' (as Dorothea Alice Shepherd) (1879) * ''The Home Primer'' (1882) * ''Nursery Primer'' (1882) * ''Rosabell's Adventure'' (1883) * ''Christmas Snowflakes'' (1883) * ''Yule Tide'' (1884) * ''Polly Himself'' (1886) * ''The Cooking Club of Tu-Whit Hollow'' (1886) * ''All the World Over : Interesting Stories of Travel, Thrilling Adventure and Home Life'' (1892) * ''Mrs. White's Party : and Other Stories'' (1894) * ''A Dozen Darlings and Their Doings'' (1898) * ''The Play Lady : a Story for Other Girls'' (1900) * ''The Little Cave-Dwellers'' (1901) * ''"Chicken Little" : Picture Guessing Story for Little Children'' (1903) * ''The Little Owls at Red Gates'' (1903) * ''Dear Little Sheila : a Picture Guessing Story for Children'' (1905) * ''Grandma Crosby's Household. a Story for Girls'' (1907)

References

External links

* * Michigan Woman's Press Association, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hPHhAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA395, * Occupations for Women: A Book of Practical Suggestions for the Material Advancement, the Mental and Physical Development, and the Moral and Spiritual Uplift of Women, url= https://archive.org/details/occupationsforwo00will, pag
296
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farman, Ella 1837 births 1907 deaths American children's writers People from Battle Creek, Michigan