Elia W. Peattie
Encyclopedia
Elia Wilkinson Peattie was an American
author, journalist and critic.
, Michigan
, but moved with her family to Chicago
when she was young. She stopped attending school when she was fourteen, but kept up a reading habit. In 1883 she married Robert Burns Peattie, a Chicago journalist. She began writing short stories for newspapers, and became a reporter with the Chicago Tribune
and subsequently the Chicago Daily News
. In 1889 she moved to Omaha
, becoming chief editorial writer on the Omaha World-Herald
. She wrote for magazines including Century, Lippincott's Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, St. Nicholas, Wide Awake, The American
, America
, Harper's Weekly
, and San Francisco Argonaut.
In 1888 she was commissioned by Chicago publishers to write a young people's history of the United States, and wrote the seven-hundred page The Story of America in four months. Her novel The Judge won a $900 prize from the Detroit Free Press
in 1889, and was subsequently published in book form. Later in 1889 the Northern Pacific Railroad employed her to visit and report on Alaska
: A Trip through Wonderland became a popular guide-book. With Scrip and Staff (1891) was a story of the children's crusade.
Peattie was a member of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony
in Ogle County, Illinois.
Peattie subsequently returned to Chicago and became literary editor of the Chicago Tribune. One of her sons was the famed botanist, naturalist and author Donald Culross Peattie (21 June 1898 - 16 November 1964).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, journalist and critic.
Biography
Elia Wilkinson was the daughter of Frederick and Amanda (Cahill) Wilkinson. She was born in KalamazooKalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, but moved with her family to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
when she was young. She stopped attending school when she was fourteen, but kept up a reading habit. In 1883 she married Robert Burns Peattie, a Chicago journalist. She began writing short stories for newspapers, and became a reporter with the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and subsequently the Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
. In 1889 she moved to Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, becoming chief editorial writer on the Omaha World-Herald
Omaha World-Herald
The Omaha World-Herald, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska, as well as portions of southwest Iowa. For decades it circulated daily throughout Nebraska, and in parts of Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. In 2008, distribution was reduced to the...
. She wrote for magazines including Century, Lippincott's Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, St. Nicholas, Wide Awake, The American
The American
The American is a 217 ft bronze statue of a Native American to be built at Holmes Peak near Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, by sculptor Shan Gray....
, America
America (magazine)
America is a national weekly magazine published by the American Jesuits that contains news and opinion about Catholicism and how it relates to American politics and cultural life....
, Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
, and San Francisco Argonaut.
In 1888 she was commissioned by Chicago publishers to write a young people's history of the United States, and wrote the seven-hundred page The Story of America in four months. Her novel The Judge won a $900 prize from the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
in 1889, and was subsequently published in book form. Later in 1889 the Northern Pacific Railroad employed her to visit and report on Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
: A Trip through Wonderland became a popular guide-book. With Scrip and Staff (1891) was a story of the children's crusade.
Peattie was a member of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony
Eagle's Nest Art Colony
The Eagle's Nest Art Colony, the site known in more modern times as the Lorado Taft Field Campus, was founded in 1898 by American sculptor Lorado Taft on the bluffs flanking the east bank of the Rock River, overlooking Oregon, Illinois...
in Ogle County, Illinois.
Peattie subsequently returned to Chicago and became literary editor of the Chicago Tribune. One of her sons was the famed botanist, naturalist and author Donald Culross Peattie (21 June 1898 - 16 November 1964).