Sara Beaumont Kennedy (1859 – March 12, 1920), born Sara Beaumont Cannon, was an American writer and newspaper editor.

Sara Beaumont Kennedy
A white woman with hair in a bouffant updo, wearing a high-collared white lacy blouse or dress
Sara Beaumont Kennedy, from a 1902 publication
Born
Sara Beaumont Cannon

1859
Somerville, Tennessee
DiedMarch 12, 1920
Memphis, Tennessee
Occupation(s)Writer, editor
RelativesMary Bayard Devereux Clarke (aunt)

Early life edit

Cannon was born in Somerville, Tennessee, the daughter of Robert Hines Cannon and Nora Devereux Cannon. Her parents were both from North Carolina; her father was a doctor, and her mother was a teacher.[1] One of her aunts was writer Mary Bayard Devereux Clarke.[2] She counted among her ancestors Philip Livingston and William Samuel Johnson.[3] She attended St. Mary's Hall in Raleigh, North Carolina.[4]

Career edit

Kennedy wrote in various genres, publishing poems,[5] children's books, and historical fiction.[6][7] She also wrote newspaper articles and short stories.[8][9] She worked as an editor at the Memphis Commercial Appeal, a Tennessee newspaper.[10] She was described as "the only woman paragrapher in the South".[11] She lectured to women's organizations,[12][13] and organized community groups.[4] She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.[14] She favored prohibition and woman's suffrage.[1]

Selected publications by Sara Beaumont Kennedy edit

  • "The Sign of the New Covenant" (1892)[15]
  • "The Master of Brookfield" (1896)[16]
  • The Assembly Ball (1897)[17]
  • Redcoat and Continental (1897)[18]
  • Doris: A Story of the Regulators (1898)[19]
  • A Christmas Message from Ocracoke: A Legend of Colonial Days (1900)[20]
  • "Colonial New Bern" (1901)[21]
  • The Wooing of Judith (1902)[22]
  • Joscelyn Cheshire: A Story of Revolutionary Days in the Carolinas (1902)[23]
  • "How Earl Hargis Went A-shopping" (1904)[24]
  • "When Tarleton Rode his Raid" (1904)[8]
  • "At the Old Horse Sale" (1905)[9]
  • Told in a Little Boy's Pocket (1908)[25]
  • Cicely; a Tale of the Georgia March (1911)[26]
  • One Wish, and other poems of love and life (1915)[27]
  • Poems (1919)[28]

Personal life edit

Cannon married fellow writer Walter Kennedy in 1888. Her husband died in 1909. She died in 1920.[1][10] Nashville's Nineteenth Century Club held a "Friendship Day" in memory of Kennedy in December 1920.[29] There is a collection of her papers in the collection of the Memphis Public Libraries.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "A Woman's Remarkable Career". The News and Observer. 1920-03-21. p. 35. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Clarke, Mary Bayard Devereux". NCPedia. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  3. ^ Daughters of the American Revolution, Lineage Book (1897): 303.
  4. ^ a b c "Sara Beaumont Kennedy Literary Collection with Papers of Walker Kennedy". Dig Memphis: The Digital Archive of Memphis Public Libraries. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  5. ^ "Charming Poems by Sara Beaumont Kennedy". The Courier-Journal. 1920-01-04. p. 61. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ McKinney, Annie B. (1902-12-20). "Mrs. Sara Beaumont Kennedy's Book 'The Wooing of Judith'". Knoxville Sentinel. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Knight, Lucian L. (1901-06-09). "Literature". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 40. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1904-04-09). "When Tarleton Rode his Raid". The Buffalo Times. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1905-09-11). "At The Old Horse Sale". Portage Daily Democrat. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b "Gifted Woman Writer Dead in Memphis Home". The Paris Morning News. 1920-03-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Owen, Marie Bankhead (1911-10-22). "Author of 'Cicely', a Newspaper Woman". The Montgomery Advertiser. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Program for Convention of Federation is Announced". The Daily Commonwealth. 1916-11-03. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "All in Readiness for the Woman's Congress". Nashville Banner. 1902-08-02. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "The Rambler". The Book Buyer. 25: 106. September 1902.
  15. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1892). The Sign of the New Covenant. Wills and Crumpton Printers.
  16. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1896). The Master of Brookfield. Outing Publishing Company.
  17. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1897). The Assembly Ball. Harper & Brothers.
  18. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1897). Redcoat and Continental. Outing Publishing Company.
  19. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1898). Doris: A Story of the Regulators. Outing Publishing Company.
  20. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1900). A Christmas Message from Ocracoke: A Legend of Colonial Days. Outing Publishing Company.
  21. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1901). Colonial New Bern. Capital Printing Company.
  22. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1902). The wooing of Judith. New York: Doubleday, Page.
  23. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1902). Joscelyn Cheshire; a story of revolutionary days in the Carolinas. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.
  24. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1904-11-01). "How Earl Hargis Went A-Shopping". The Platteville Journal and Grant County News. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1908). Told in a Little Boy's Pocket. Moffat, Yard & Company.
  26. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1911). Cicely; a Tale of the Georgia March. Doubleday, Page & Company.
  27. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1915). One wish, and other poems of love and life. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
  28. ^ Kennedy, Sara Beaumont (1919). Poems. New York: The Cameo press and publishing company.
  29. ^ "Club Memorial to Sara Beaumont Kennedy". Nashville Banner. 1920-12-05. p. 33. Retrieved 2021-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.