Anna Braden
Portrait from "A Woman of the Century"
Portrait from "A Woman of the Century"
BornAnna Margaretta Rile
January 11, 1858
Montgomery, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died1939
Pen name
  • Mrs. Findley Braden
  • Madge Rile
Nickname"Madge"
Occupation
Alma materNational School of Elocution and Oratory
Notable worksSomething new to recite
Spouse
William Findley Braden
​
​
(m. 1880; died 1933)​
RelativesJoseph Reed

Mrs. Findley Braden was the pen name of Anna Braden (née, Rile; January 11, 1858 – 1939) an American writer, newspaper editor, and elocutionist. Prior to marriage, she used Madge Rile and other pen names.[1]

Early life and education

Anna Margaretta (nickname, "Madge") Rile was born in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, January 11, 1858.[2] Her parents were John Conver and Sarah (Frantz) Rile.[3] She was of English and German descent, and her ancestors lived in or near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for over a century and a half. Her father was John Conver Rile. Her mother's maiden name was Frantz. She is fifth in direct line of descent from Joseph Reed, a Founding Father of the United States, his daughter being her great-grandmother.[1]

She graduated from the National School of Elocution and Oratory, Philadelphia.[1]

Career

At the age of 15, Braden began writing for the newspapers and magazines. Beginning in 1874, she wrote under her maiden name, "Madge Rile", and several pen names.[1]

Since her marriage, she adopted her husband's name, signing her articles "Mrs. Findley Braden". She wrote over 700 humorous and pathetic sketches, poems and serials, many of which appeared in the secular journals of New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. She also wrote a number of songs that found their way into public favor. She was equally at home in the five dialects, Scotch, Irish, Negro, Dutch, and Quaker.[1] She published several volumes of poems.[4]

Braden served as the editor of the monthly newspaper, Presbyterian Visitor, established in 1888, and published by Graves & Banks, Philadelphia.[5]

Personal life

In 1880, she married William Findley Braden (1852–1933),[2] of Ohio, and they resided in Philadelphia.[1] There were no children.[4]

Braden was a member of the Presbyterian Church.[1]

Anna Rile Braden died in 1939.[2]

Selected works

Books

Mrs. Findley Braden (Something new to recite, 1908)
  • Something new to recite (1908) (Text)

Poems

  • "Heart-Murder" (1894)[6]
  • "Pills at Poughkeepsie" (1894)[6]
  • "She's In the Smart Set Now"[7]
  • "He Fought with Washington"[8]
  • "You Hae But Ae Mither To Lose" (1905)[9]
  • "Thae Auld Laird's Secret" (1918)[10]
  • "What the Lord Had Done For Him" (1918)[10]
  • "Fence o' Scripture Faith" (1918)[10]

Plays

  • Convention of Realistic Readers (1918)[10]

Recitations

  • "The Fence O' Scripture Faith" (1887)[11]
  • "Rejoicin' at De Co'ners" (Negro dialect) (1894)[6]
  • "Con Cannon's Christmas Gift" (Irish dialect) (1899)[12]
  • "Mickey's Proposal" (Irish dialect) (1899)[12]
  • "A Bridal Soliloguy" (1899)[12]
  • "The Skeleton Soldier" (1899)[12]

Musical compositions

  • "Dreaming of Sweetheart Prue", words by Mrs. Findley Braden, music by W. A. Webb (1912)[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). "BRADEN, Mrs. Anna Madge". A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. Charles Wells Moulton. pp. 112–13. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 1 2 3 "Anna Margaretta Rile 11 January 1858 – 1939 • KHRV-WKL". ident.familysearch.org. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ↑ Colvin, Rachel M. (1990). The Francis Family in America. R.M. Colvin. p. 336. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 Reed, Willoughby Henry (1929). History and Genealogy of the Reed Family: Johann Philib Ried, Rieth, Riedt, Ritt, Rit, Rudt, Etc. in Europe and America ... Norristown Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-598-99399-1. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  5. ↑ American Newspaper Directory. New York: G.P. Rowell & Company. 1889. pp. 607–08. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. 1 2 3 Werner, Edgar S. (1894). "Table of Contents". Werner's Magazine. E.S. Werner. 16: 60, 221, 234. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ↑ Nathan, George Jean; Mencken, Henry Louis (1900). "She's In the Smart Set Now". The Smart Set: A Magazine of Cleverness. Vol. 2. Ess Ess Publishing Company. p. 74. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ↑ Lieut: Col. 1905. p. 77. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ↑ "Song". The Caledonian. Vol. 5. Caledonian Publishing Company. 1905. p. 17. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. 1 2 3 4 AN INDEX TO POETRY AND RECITATIONS. 1918. pp. 18, 60, 320, 360, 398. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ↑ Garrett, Phineas (1887). "The Fence O' Scripture Faith, by Mrs. Findley Braden". One Hundred Choice Selections. Penn. 27: 147–51. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Werner, Edgar S. (1899). "Choice Special Selections Suggested". Werner's Voice Magazine. E.S. Werner. 23: 88, 198. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  13. ↑ Library of Congress Copyright Office (1912). Catalogue of Title-entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, Under the Copyright Law ... Wherein the Copyright Has Been Completed by the Deposit of Two Copies in the Office. Vol. 7, Part 3, Issue 2, Number 11. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 22370. Retrieved 27 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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