Mary Wilson Travis Arny (1909–1997) was a writer, naturalist, historian, and educator. Arny served as a professor of biology at

Montclair State College Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

(now Montclair State University) in Montclair, New Jersey. She also authored several books on history, nature, and ecology, and she wrote articles for newspapers in New Jersey.

Early life and education

Mary Wilson Travis was born to Thomas Travis, a clergyman, and Mary Travis, an artist, in Montclair, New Jersey on October 13, 1909. She graduated from the Beard School (now Morristown-Beard School) in Orange, New Jersey in 1928. She earned her undergraduate degree at the New Jersey College for Women (now part of

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

) in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Writing career

Arny published nine books between 1950 and 1972. Her second book, ''Seasoned with Salt'', discusses her family life and the history of their house at 149 Watchung Avenue. Known as the Garrabrandt House, its first owners were Nicholas and Mary Garrabrandt. They built the stone house in Speertown (now the community of

Upper Montclair Upper Montclair is a census-designated place (CDP), unincorporated community and neighborhood within Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for the CDP was 11,565.

) in 1723. While authoring books, Arny also wrote articles for multiple local newspapers in the

New York City metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

. She penned articles for ''The Montclair Times, ''The Cedar Grove Times'', and ''The Westchester News'' between 1940 and 1960. In 1966, the New Jersey Association of Teachers of English awarded her their Authors Award for ''Red Lion Rampant: An Informal History of

Essex County, New Jersey Essex County is located in the northeastern part of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 863,728, making it the state's second-most populous county, behind Bergen and Middlesex Counties.

''.

St. Edwards University St. Edward's University is a private, Catholic university in Austin, Texas. It was founded and is operated in the Holy Cross tradition. History Founding and early history St. Edward's University was founded by the Reverend Edward Sorin, CSC, ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

awarded her their Coronet Award in 1964.

Congressional hearing on trapping devices

In 1975, Arny testified before a U.S. Congressional hearing on painful trapping devices at the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. The Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment of the

Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries The United States House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries is a defunct committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries was created on December 21, 1887, replacing the Select Committee on Ameri ...

held the hearing.

Works

* 1950: ''The Birds and Mammals of Montclair'' * 1954: ''Seasoned with Salt'' * 1956: ''Red Lion Rampant: An Informal History of Essex County, New Jersey'' * 1963: ''A Goodly Heritage: Commemorative History of Montclair, New Jersey'' (with David Nelson Alloway) * 1964: ''Commonsense Garden Guide'' * 1965: ''Gardening Guidebook'' * 1965: ''Practical Gardening Ideas'' * 1972: ''Ecology: A Writer's Handbook'' * 1972: ''Windows to Wonder: A Laboratory Guide''

Family

Arny married Robert Arny on June 25, 1938. They had three children together: Thomas, Mary, and Nancy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arny, Mary Travis Montclair State University faculty 20th-century American writers Writers from New Jersey Rutgers University alumni People from Montclair, New Jersey 1909 births 1997 deaths Morristown-Beard School alumni