Wikipedia

Lessie Stringfellow Read

Lessie Stringfellow Read (January 3, 1891 – May 28, 1971), born Mabel Staples, was an American suffragist, writer, clubwoman, and editor based in Arkansas. She was national press chair of the General Federation of Women's Clubs. She was the managing editor of the Fayetteville Democrat from 1924 to 1945.

Lessie Stringfellow Read
A white woman with dark hair, photographed in profile, back to camera
Lessie Stringfellow Read, from a 1924 newspaper
Born
Mabel Staples

January 3, 1891
Temple, Texas, U.S.
DiedMay 28, 1971
Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.
Occupation(s)Writer, editor, publicist, suffragist

Early life and education

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Mabel Staples was born in Temple, Texas, the daughter of William Staples and Lillian Staples. Both her parents died when she was very young, and she was adopted by family friends, horticulturist Henry Martyn Stringfellow and Alice Johnston Stringfellow. The Stringfellows' only son, Leslie, died from malaria in his teens; she was renamed in his memory. She was educated in the Stringfellow home, sometimes by tutors.[1][2][3]

Career

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Suffrage and clubwork

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Read founded the Washington County Woman Suffrage Association, and was president of the Fayetteville Equal Suffrage Association.[1] She was publicity chair of the Arkansas Federation of Women's Clubs.[4] In the 1920s, Read was named national press chair of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC).[5][3] She was founder and editor of the General Federation News for its first five years.[6][7][8] She coordinated the GFWC's convention in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1918.[1]

Journalism and local history

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Read started writing for the Houston Chronicle when she was still in her teens.[3] She was the city editor of the Fayetteville Democrat during World War I,[9] and managing editor from 1924 until 1945, working closely with the paper's owner, Roberta Fulbright.[10][11] "She does the feature work, she does the society work, she has even been known to help set type," according to a 1922 description of Read.[12] Fulbright and Read helped establish the Good Government League in Washington County, an anti-corruption alliance of churches and civic organizations.[13]

Read was a founding member of the Washington County Historical Society (WCHS) in 1951.[14] The WCHS presents an annual Lessie Stringfellow Read Prize, for the best article about Fayetteville or Washington County history.[15]

Publications

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  • "Fairy Weavers" (1922, Good Housekeeping)[16]
  • "'Christmas Tree Lady' Asks Women's Aid in Conservation of Evergreens" (1924)[17]
  • "The Club Woman -- Here There and Everywhere" (1926)[18]
  • "The Gift" (1940, poem)[19]

Personal life

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Stringfellow married a pharmacist, James J. Read, in 1910. Her husband disappeared in 1912. She lived with her adoptive mother, Alice Stringfellow, into the 1940s.[20] She died in 1971, at the age of 80, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.[1] The Arkansas State Archives holds some of Read's papers;[21] there is also a small collection of manuscripts by Read at the University of Arkansas.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Chism, Stephen. "Lessie Stringfellow Read (1891–1971)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  2. ^ Chism, Stephen J. (2005). The Afterlife of Leslie Stringfellow: A Nineteenth-century Southern Family's Experiences with Spiritualism. Fullcourte Press. ISBN 978-0-9635152-5-4.
  3. ^ a b c Sorensen, Eve (1926-10-03). "Teaches Women to Tell What They are Doing". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 114. Retrieved 2024-09-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Publicity Work of State Federation Gaining Ground". Daily Arkansas Gazette. 1917-12-23. p. 33. Retrieved 2024-09-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Press Programs Feature at Meet". Chattanooga Daily Times. 1924-06-09. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-09-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Clarke, Mrs Ida Clyde Gallagher (1924). Women of Today. Women of Today Press. p. 327.
  7. ^ "Mrs. Lessie Stringfellow Read, a Prominent Club Woman, Advocates Journalism as a Career for Women". The Courier-Journal. 1924-10-05. p. 28. Retrieved 2024-09-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Clubwoman GFWC Anniversary". The Star Press. 1937-11-28. p. 18. Retrieved 2024-09-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Rothrock, John (1967-09-25). "First Press Destroyed; Editor Joins Confederates". Northwest Arkansas Times. p. 30. Retrieved 2024-09-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Stuck, Dorothy D.; Snow, Nan (1997-01-01). Roberta: A Most Remarkable Fulbright. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-1-55728-500-3.
  11. ^ Christ, Mark K. (2020-04-10). The War at Home: Perspectives on the Arkansas Experience During World War I. University of Arkansas Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-68226-126-2.
  12. ^ Reynolds, Margaret (December 1922). "Who's Who in Arkansas". The Step Ladder. 6 (1): 12.
  13. ^ Whayne, Jeannie M. (2000-01-01). Arkansas Biography: A Collection of Notable Lives. University of Arkansas Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-55728-587-4.
  14. ^ "History". Washington County Historical Society. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  15. ^ "Publications". Washington County Historical Society. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  16. ^ Read, Lessie Stringfellow (1922). "Fairy Weavers". Good Housekeeping. 75: 14–15.
  17. ^ "'Christmas Tree Lady' Asks Women's Aid in Conservation of Evergreens". The Arizona Republic. 1924-12-21. p. 29. Retrieved 2024-09-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "The Club Woman -- Here There and Everywhere". Winston-Salem Journal. 1926-03-14. p. 26. Retrieved 2024-09-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "The Gift". The Opp Weekly News. 1940-11-14. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-09-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Mrs. Lessie Read Honoree at Surprise Party". Northwest Arkansas Times. 1943-01-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-09-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Lessie Stringfellow Read papers, 1922-1944". Arkansas State Archives. 31 December 1944.
  22. ^ "Collection: Lessie Stringfellow Read Literary Manuscripts". ArchivesSpace at the University of Arkansas. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
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