Edwin Legrand Sabin (December 23, 1870 – November 24, 1952) was an American author, primarily of boys' adventure stories, mostly set in the American West.

Biography

Sabin was born in Rockford, Illinois to

Henry Sabin Henry Sabin (October 23, 1829 – March 22, 1918) was an Iowa educator. Biography Henry Sabin was born in Pomfret, Connecticut on October 23, 1829. He entered Amherst College and graduated in 1852. He was a superintendent of public schools ...

and Esther Frances Hotchkiss Sabin, but grew up in

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,469 as of 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt C ...

, where his father became superintendent of schools when Sabin was less than a year old. Sabin's brother was the author Elbridge Hosmer Sabin. Sabin graduated from Clinton High School in 1888. He attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

until his senior year in 1892, when he left to begin his career as a newspaper reporter. He returned to graduate with

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

honors in 1900. At the University of Iowa he was a member of Beta Theta Pi and the school's first

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team. Sabin worked for a number of newspapers in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

: the '' Daily Herald'' in Clinton, the ''

Des Moines Daily News ''Des Moines Daily News'' was a daily newspaper published in Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends int ...

'', the '' Daily State Register'', and the '' Daily Capital'' in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, the '' Morning Democrat'' in Davenport, Iowa, the '' Peoria Herald'', the '' Peoria Transcript'', and the '' Peoria Journal'' in Peoria, Illinois, and '' Campbell's Weekly'' in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. In May 1893, as a correspondent he accompanied a scientific expedition led by University of Iowa zoology professor Charles Cleveland Nutting on the schooner ''Emily E. Johnson''. The 83-day expedition to the

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stopped at Egg Island,

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Bird Key Bird Key is a barrier island in Sarasota Bay, south of the John Ringling Causeway, between mainland Sarasota and St. Armands Key. Originally a small barrier island connected to the Ringling Causeway by a tree lined causeway of its own, it was ...

, the

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, and

Spanish Wells Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. It gathered 15,000 specimens, providing material for decades of exhibitions and research. In October 1896, he married Mary Caroline Nash of Iowa, nine years younger than him, whom he met working in Chicago. Sabin began writing poetry and short stories for popular publications, including ''

The Chautauquan Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua bro ...

'', ''

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

'', '' Country Life'', ''

Everybody's Magazine ''Everybody's Magazine'' was an American magazine published from 1899 to 1929. The magazine was headquartered in New York City. History and profile The magazine was founded by Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker in 1899, though he had little role ...

'', '' McBride's Magazine'',''

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 ...

'', '' Outing Magazine'', ''

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'', ''

The Sewanee Review ''The Sewanee Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1892. It is the oldest continuously published quarterly in the United States. It publishes original fiction and poetry, essays, reviews, and literary criticism. History ''T ...

'', ''

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'', ''

The Cavalier ''Woodstock, or The Cavalier. A Tale of the Year Sixteen Hundred and Fifty-one'' (1826) is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. Set just after the English Civil War, it was inspired by the legend of the Good Devil ...

'', '' All-Story Cavalier Weekly'', and ''

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''. His first book, ''The Magic Mashie and Other Goldfish Stories'' (1902), was a collection of stories about

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, a game that was new to the United States. It included "The Supersensitive Golf-Ball", a story about a

golf ball A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like g ...

which reacts to the emotions of players. His second book was ''The Beaufort Chums'' (1905). Both books were unsuccessful, but the second began a long, fruitful relationship with the publisher Thomas Y. Crowell Co. From 1913 to 1931 he published dozens of critically acclaimed adventure books about the American West, many of them for Crowell's "Great West" and "Range and Trail" series or for the "Trail Blazers" series from J. B. Lippincott & Co. Though aimed at an audience of boys, Sabin conducted copious research, even visiting institutions like the Bancroft Library and state historical societies and conducting interviews with people who had interacted with historical figures like

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Lat ...

and

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

. He moved west to be closer to the geography of his works, first to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, then

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, finally settling in La Jolla, California. Sabin's most notable book is ''Kit Carson Days'', the first seriously researched biography of the frontiersman

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

. It was published as one volume in 1914 and a two-volume, revised edition was published in 1935. Though widely praised by critics and considered a standard work on the subject, given the amount of time he devoted to the project it was a net financial loss for Sabin. The Great Depression spelled the end of Sabin's success as an author. He continued to be published sporadically, but royalties dwindled and his manuscripts began to be brusquely rejected by publishers. An attempt at establishing a

correspondence school Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

for novice writers failed. Financial circumstances forced the Sabins to move inland to

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundi ...

. In 1952, he died a few months after his wife, a ward of Riverside County, California.

References

External links

* * * * *
Edwin L. Sabin papers, MSS SC 1072b
at L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. Materials are digitized and available online; click subfolders on the right-hand side to see items. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabin, Edwin Legrand 1870 births 1952 deaths Writers from Rockford, Illinois Writers from Clinton, Iowa Beta Theta Pi University of Iowa alumni American male writers