Frances Issette Jessie Pearson, known as Issette, (2 November 1861 – 25 April 1941) was an English golfer and the first honorary secretary of the

Ladies Golf Union The Ladies' Golf Union (LGU) was the governing body for women's and girls' amateur golf in Great Britain and Ireland. It was founded in 1893 and was based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland until merging with The R&A at the start of 2017. Issette ...

which was founded in 1893.

Personal life

Pearson was born at Gatcombe House,

Littlehempston Littlehempston is a village and civil parish in the South Hams District of Devon in England consisting of 83 households, with a population of 207 in the parish. It has also been called Little Hempston and Hempston Arundel. The village has many ...

, near

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

, Devon. Her given names were ''Mable Frances'', but she used the names ''Frances Issette Jessie'' and was known as Issette. She married Thomas Horrocks Miller (1846–1916) in 1911.

Golf career

Pearson SB and Scott littlestone medallists1894

In 1893 Pearson visited Littlestone golf club in the autumn of 1893 to see if the national championship could be hosted there. She was hosted by Littlestone's ladies's captain

Mabel Stringer Mabel Emily Stringer (25 September 1868 – 10 February 1958) was a British golf enthusiast and sporting journalist. She founded a number of golf organisations and served on others. Life Stringer was born in New Romney in 1868. Her parents were ...

. Stringer beat her on their first game together, but they became life long friends and colleagues. Pearson had reached the final of the

British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of the ...

in 1893 and she would repeat that position in 1894, losing to

Lady Margaret Scott Lady Margaret Rachel Scott (5 April 1874 – 27 January 1938) was a dominant player in early women's golf, who won the first three British Ladies Amateurs in 1893, 1894, and 1895. Scott was a daughter of John Scott, 3rd Earl of Eldon, and the fo ...

on each occasion.

Legacy

While

telegraphic address A telegraphic address or cable address was a unique identifier code for a recipient of telegraph messages. Operators of telegraph services regulated the use of telegraphic addresses to prevent duplication. Rather like a uniform resource locator ( ...

es were in use the LGU's address was "Issette". A brand of ladies' golfwear is named "Issette" in her memory. She founded a cup and a handicap system that allowed men and women of mixed abilities to compete together.

Publications

*''The Ladies' Golf Union year book / compiled and edited by the Hon. Sec. Ladies' Golf Union (I. Pearson).'' (London : Ladies' Golf Union, 189?) *''Our Lady of the Green. A book of ladies' golf. With chapters by I. Pearson, A. B. Pascoe and others. Edited by L. Mackern and M. Boys.'' (London : Lawrence & Bullen, 1899)

References

English female golfers Golf administrators People from South Hams (district) People from Singleton, Lancashire 1861 births 1941 deaths {{UK-golf-bio-stub