Eva Roe Gaggin (January 9, 1879 – May 7, 1966), also known as E. R. Gaggin, was an American children's book author. She won a Newbery Honor in 1942 for her book, ''

Down Ryton Water ''Down Ryton Water'' is a children's historical novel by Eva Roe Gaggin. It tells the story of the Separatists of Scrooby and the Pilgrim Fathers through the first-person narrative of young Matt Over. The novel, illustrated by Elmer Hader, was ...

''.

Life

Gaggin was born as Mary Eva Gourley on January 9, 1879, in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

. Her name was legally changed to Mary Eva Gourley Roe on March 18, 1890, when she was adopted by Syracuse University mathematics professor Edward Drake Roe, Jr. She grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and began to write at a young age. Her first story won a prize from a Boston newspaper when she was 8 years old. In 1905, she graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

with a Bachelor of Philosophy. She married Edwin Hall Gaggin, an architect, on January 11, 1911. She had a child, named John Bridge Gaggin, that died on the day of his birth on July 23, 1919. In 1939,

The Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

published her book ''An Ear for Uncle Emil'', which was about a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

girl and her doll. Kate Seredy illustrated 83 drawings for the book. In 1941, Viking Press published her book ''Down Ryton Water'' about Pilgrims from the Mayflower ship. The book contained drawings by Elmer Hader. Gaggin's book ''Down Ryton Water'' was awarded a Newbery Honor in 1942. Gaggin died on May 7, 1966, at her home.

Works

*''Jolly Animals'' (c. 1930) *''An Ear for Uncle Emil'' (1939), illustrated by Kate Seredy *''Down Ryton Water'' (1941) *''All Those Buckles'' (c. 1945), illustrated by Mildred Cloete

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaggin, Eva Roe American women children's writers Newbery Honor winners 1879 births 1966 deaths Syracuse University alumni American children's writers People from Lawrence, Massachusetts