William Hazlett Upson (September 6, 1891 – February 5, 1975) was an American author, best remembered for a series of stories featuring Alexander Botts, a salesman for the Earthworm Tractor Company.

Early life

Born at

Glen Ridge, New Jersey Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough’s population was 7,802, reflecting an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2010 census count of 7,527,

on September 6, 1891, Upson was the son of William Ford Upson (1857–1930) and Grace (Hazlett) Upson (1861–1911); his older brother was the aeronautics engineer Ralph Hazlett Upson. He graduated from

Glen Ridge High School Glen Ridge High School (GRHS) is a comprehensive six-year public middle school / high school serving students in seventh through twelfth grades from Glen Ridge, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary schoo ...

in 1909.William Hazlett Upson
Treasury of Great Children's Books. Accessed October 4, 2018. "William Hazlett Upson (1891-1975) was born at Glen Ridge, New Jersey on September 6, 1891. He graduated from the Glen Ridge High School in 1909." Upson attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, graduating in 1914. He worked for a short time as a farmer and then served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, after which he was employed as a traveling

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

mechanic by the Caterpillar Tractor Company.

Literary career

Initially drawing inspiration from his actual work experiences,"William Hazlett Upson—creator of Alexander Botts", Pulpflakes, http://pulpflakes.blogspot.com/2012/05/william-hazlett-upson-creator-of.html Upson began writing short stories involving "Earthworm tractors," the first of which was published in '' Collier's '' magazine in 1923 but most of which appeared in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

.'' Beginning in 1927, the series focused on the work of Alexander Botts, a salesman for the Earthworm Tractor Company. In 1936, the series was adapted into the film ''

Earthworm Tractors ''Earthworm Tractors'' is a 1936 American film directed by Ray Enright and starring Joe E. Brown and June Travis. The film is also known as ''A Natural Born Salesman'' in the United Kingdom. The film is based on characters created by William ...

'', starring

Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...

. It was also adapted into a short-lived comic strip and several

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

shows. Upson also write two non-fiction books and several plays.

Personal life and civic affairs

Upson married Marjorie Alexander Wright in 1923. They had two children and resided in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

from 1928 until his death. Upson was active in civic affairs, particularly in the Middlebury, Vermont area. He supported bringing access to birth control to Vermont, and was the founder and president of the Middlebury Maternal Health Council, described as "the first community clearing house for birth control information in the state." He attended several Bread Loaf Summer Writer’s Conferences and occasionally taught creative writing at Middlebury College. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1956. Upson died in 1975. His personal and literary papers were donated to the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

and are available for research.

Selected bibliography

Alexander Botts story collections

*''Alexander Botts, Earthworm Tractors'' (1929) *''Earthworms in Europe: Alexander Botts Makes the Old World Tractor-Conscious'' (1931) *''Keep 'em Crawling: Earthworms at War'' (1943) *''Botts in War, Botts in Peace: Earthworms Can Take Anything” (1944) *''Earthworms Through the Ages: The Wisdom of Alexander Botts" (1947) *''Hello, Mr. Henderson'' (1949) *''No Rest for Botts: Earthworms Make the World Go 'Round'' (1951) *''The Best of Botts'' (1961) *''Original Letters of Alexander Botts'' (1963) *''Alexander Botts: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post'' (1977) *''The Fabulous Saga of Alexander Botts and the Earthworm Tractor'' (1981) *''Alexander Botts Rides Again: More Mayhem on the Earthworm Tractor!'' (2005)

Other works

*''The Piano Movers'' (1927) *''Me and Henry and the Artillery'' (1928) *''How To Be Rich, Like Me'' (1947)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upson, William Hazlett 1891 births 1975 deaths Writers from Vermont Cornell University alumni American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Glen Ridge High School alumni People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey Middlebury College faculty Place of death missing United States Army personnel of World War I