Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young (July 21, 1882 – February 18, 1954) was an American writer and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

who wrote under her

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also used ...

Ruth Comfort Mitchell, as well as her married name, Mrs. Sanborn Young. She was the wife of California State Senator Sanborn Young. Family Mitchell was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, July 21, 1882. She spent summers in the town of

Los Gatos Los Gatos (, ; ) is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located in the San Franci ...

, where her parents and grandparents had summer homes. At age 14, her first poem was published in the ''Los Gatos Mail'', thus launching her literary career, which continued throughout her lifetime. In 1914, literary friends in San Francisco introduced her to Sanborn Young, who had recently sold his grain business and was traveling. The couple were married in October 1914 in the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

and moved to

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, where Ruth continued her literary pursuits, and he studied

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

. One of her plays, ''The Sweetmeat Game'' (1916) was set in

San Francisco's Chinatown The Chinatown centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, () is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese enclaves outside Asia. It is also the oldest and largest of the four notable Ch ...

and inspired her to design her house, known as the Yung See San Fong House, in a Chinese style. Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young wrote novels, poems, short stories, and plays. Because of her fame, many of the literati visited her house. The Youngs were known to be friendly with President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

Robert W. Service Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a British-Canadian poet and writer, often called "the Bard of the Yukon". The middle name 'William' was in honour of a rich uncle. When that uncle neglected to provide for hi ...

Gertrude Atherton Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (October 30, 1857 – June 14, 1948) was an American author. Paterson, Isabel, "Gertrude Atherton: A Personality" The Bookman'', New York, February 1924, (pgs. 632-636) Many of her novels are set in her home sta ...

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

, and

Fremont Older Fremont Older (August 30, 1856 – March 3, 1935) was a newspaperman and editor in San Francisco, California for nearly 50 years. He is best known for his campaigns against civic corruption, capital punishment, prison reform, and efforts on ...

. Others who were known to visit the house included actresses

Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

and

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...

, Senator

James D. Phelan James Duval Phelan (April 20, 1861 – August 7, 1930) was an American politician, civic leader, and banker. He served as nonpartisan Mayor of San Francisco from 1897 to 1902. As mayor he advocated municipally run utilities and tried to protect ...

, and Governor William D. Stephens. Ruth was very involved with the annual Los Gatos Pageant, the Los Gatos Christian Church, the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

, and the Los Gatos History Club. Both the Youngs were involved in

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politics. Ruth served as

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

woman from California for eight years and as national and state president of Pro-America, an organization of Republican women founded in 1933. Meanwhile, Sanborn served as a

California State Senator The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

for thirteen years. In February 1954, Ruth was found dead in the bathtub. Sanborn died 10 years later.

Bibliography

*''The Night Court and Other Verse'' (1916) *''Play the Game!'' (1921) *''Jane Journeys On'' (1922) *''Corduroy'' (1923) *''Narratives in Verse'' (1923) *''The Wishing Carpet'' (1926) *''Water'' (1931) *''The Legend of Susan Dane'' (1933) *''Old San Francisco Fire! (The Fifties)'' (1933) *''Strait Gate'' (1935) *''His wife could eat no lean (Contemporary California short stories)'' (1937) *''Of Human Kindness'' (1940) *''Dust of Mexico'' (1941)

References

External links

* * * * Short radio episod
"Ed's Daughter"
from ''Of Human Kindness'',

California Legacy Project California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Ruth Comfort Mitchell 1882 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American novelists American women novelists American women poets American women short story writers Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area 20th-century American poets American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American short story writers American women screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters