Grace Steele Woodward (14 September 1899 – 18 December 1987) was an American writer and historian known for non-fiction books.
Grace Steele Woodward | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 14, 1899 Joplin, Missouri, U.S.A. |
| Died | December 18, 1987 (aged 88) Oklahoma?, U.S.A. |
| Occupation | author and playwright |
| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri University of Oklahoma Teachers College at Columbia University |
| Genre | non-fiction history |
| Spouse | Guy Woodward |
Biography
editEarly life and education
editGrace Steele was born on September 14, 1899, in Joplin, Missouri, U.S.[1] Her family moved to Webb City, Missouri, U.S.A., where she graduated from Webb City High School in 1917.[2][3]
Woodward attended the University of Missouri, the University of Oklahoma, and Teachers College at Columbia University in New York, U.S.A. [2][4]
Career
editGrace worked as a professional storyteller.[5]
Grace Steele married Guy Hendon Woodward, an attorney, in 1920; they started a family before she began her writing career with a course at the University of Tulsa.[5][1] Grace's stories appeared in Parents, Forecast, and Holland's Magazine. Sometimes she wrote under the pseudonym Marian Doane to protect the privacy of her children.[2]
Mrs. Woodward's first book, The Man Who Conquered Pain (1962) was about William T.G. Morton, the dentist who promoted the use of ether.[2] Her second book, The Cherokees (1963) was a history of the Cherokee tribe and it received widespread acclaim.[2][5] Her third book, published in 1969, was a biography of Pocahontas. It won first prize from the Oklahoma State Writers.[1] Her fourth book, The Secrets of Sherwood Forest, was co-authored with her husband, Guy Woodward, and published in 1973; it covered the drilling of oil in Sherwood Forest during World War II.[2]
Personal life, death, and legacy
editMrs. Woodward was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1968.[4] She was a member of .[1]
Grace Steele Woodward was widowed when her husband of 52 years, Guy Woodward, died in 1979.[5] Grace passed 8 years later on December 18, 1987.[2]
Works
edit- The Man Who Conquered Pain: A Biography of William Thomas Green Morton. Beacon Press, 1962.
- The Cherokees. University of Oklahoma Press, 1963.[6]
- Pocahontas. University of Oklahoma Press, 1969.
- The Secrets of Sherwood Forest: Oil Production in England During World War II. With Guy H. Woodward. University of Oklahoma Press, 1973.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Scanlon, Jennifer; Cosner, Shaaron (1996). American Women Historians, 1700s-1990s: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-29664-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g Caldwell, Bill (2023-02-24). "Amateur historian, Grace Woodward, grew up in Webb City". Joplin Globe. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
- ^ "Hall of Fame / 2008". Webb City School District. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
- ^ a b "Woodward, Grace Steele | 1968". Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
- ^ a b c d "Obituary for Grace Steele Woodward". Tulsa World. 1987-12-19. p. 33. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
- ^ "A Remarkable Indian Nation's Story". Daily Press. 1967-04-30. p. 75. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
- ^ "The Best-Kept Secret". Tulsa World. 1974-01-13. p. 107. Retrieved 2023-05-30.