Mary Hannah Krout (November 3, 1851 – May 31, 1927) was an American journalist, author, and advocate for women's suffrage.
Early years and education
Mary Hannah Krout was born November 3, 1851 in
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only cha ...
to Robert Kennedy and Caroline VanCleve (Brown) Krout. She attended a subscription school in Crawfordsville and then a public school. While still in school, she had several poems published, including "Little Brown Hands," which was widely reprinted and even incorporated into grade school readers.
Career
She soon began her speaking career, addressing a Lafayette audience on women's suffrage. She taught for over a decade and began writing for newspapers. She got a job with the ''Crawfordsville Journal'' in 1879 and became the associate editor in 1881. She became editor of the
Terre Haute
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
''Express'' in 1882.
In 1888, she moved to Chicago. She wrote, "In 1888 I came to Chicago. I was willing to do anything in the line of newspaper work only to gain a foothold. I was confident of my ability to work my way up to the tiptop of my desires. Finally I obtained a position as society reporter on the Chicago Inter-Ocean." For 10 years Krout was on the staff of the
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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''Inter-Ocean'', serving as its staff correspondent in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
during the revolution in 1893, and furnishing special data subsequently for the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
. She was also staff correspondent in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
from 1895 to 1898, then went to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
for a syndicate of representative newspapers specially to investigate the commercial relations of China and the United States.
In 1907, Krout visited
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
for a second time, lecturing on American political and economic conditions and writing a series of articles for the
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
press on American topics. Later she engaged in miscellaneous literary work, and lectured on literary and other topics. According to Indiana Authors and their Books (1944), "Always, when the opportunity offered, she lectured on women's suffrage–in the States, in England , in New Zealand New Zealand, in China , in Hawaii."
[Banta, 186.]
Selected works
* ''Hawaii and a Revolution'' (1888)
* ''Alice in the Hawaiian Islands'' (1899)
* ''A Looker-on in London'' (1899)
* ''Two Girls in China'' (1900)
* ''Memoirs of Bernice Pauahi Bishop'' (1909)
* ''Reminiscences of Mary S. Rice'' (1908)
* ''Platters and Pipkins’ (1908)
* ''The Coign of Vantage'' (1909)
She also assisted
Susan Wallace with the completion of
Lew Wallace
Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of the New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Wallace is ...
's ''Autobiography'' following his death in 1905. It was published in 1906, a year before Mrs. Wallace died.
Family
Her younger sister
Caroline Virginia Krout
Caroline Virginia Krout (c. 1852–1931) was an American writer.
She was born in Balhinch, near Crawfordsville, Indiana, in about1852. She wrote several novels and a collection of short stories under the pen name Caroline Brown. In addition to b ...
was also a noted author.
References
Bibliography
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External links
*
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* Frances E. Willard and Mary A. R. Livermore, eds., “Krout, Miss Mary H.,
''American Women'' New York, Chicago, Ohio: Mast, Crowell & Kirkpatrick, 1897, v. 2, p. 442.
Mary Hannah Krout collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krout, Mary Hannah
1851 births
1927 deaths
American non-fiction writers
American women journalists
People from Crawfordsville, Indiana
Writers from Indiana