Joseph Bushnell Ames (August 9, 1878 – June 20, 1928) was an American novelist during the early 20th century.[1]
Joseph Bushnell Ames | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 9, 1878 Titusville, Pennsylvania |
| Died | June 20, 1928 (aged 49) Morristown, New Jersey |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | Stevens Institute of Technology |
| Relatives | Peter Ashmun Ames (brother) Daniel Bushnell (great-grandfather) |
Early life edit
Joseph Bushnell Ames was born on August 9, 1878, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the son of Elias Hurlbut Ames (1851-1891) and Eleanor Gray Bushnell (1855-1946).[2] Both Ames' father and maternal grandfather, Joseph Bushnell (1831–1918), came from old New England families and became wealthy during the Pennsylvania Oil Rush. Ames' great-grandfather was the Pittsburgh industrialist Daniel Bushnell.[3] After Elias Ames' death of pneumonia in 1891 at age 39, Joseph's mother moved the family to Morristown, New Jersey, where her children had a privileged upbringing in the town that was then known as an "inland Newport.".[4] Ames attended St. Mark's School and the Stevens Institute of Technology, graduating from the latter in 1901.[5] Ames then worked as a mechanical engineer in Morristown, New Jersey for a time, until he quit that profession and began writing.[6]
Career edit
Ames wrote over a dozen novels, primarily Westerns, during the 1910s and 1920s.[7] Some of his works, including the posthumously published The Bladed Barrier, included fantasy themes. While Ames' books were set in the Western United States (the famous Pete, cow-puncher - A Story of the Texas Plains, is one example), it is unclear whether he ever travelled there extensively.[8] His novel Shoe-Bar Stratton was made into the 1922 Western film Catch My Smoke, directed by William Beaudine and featuring actors Tom Mix and Lillian Rich.[9]
Personal life edit
For most of his writing career Ames lived in "Willow Hall," a mansion on his estate, "Speedwell," in Morristown, New Jersey. The estate was the former residence of industrialist George Vail. Today the home is preserved as a historic site.[10] Ames' brother Peter Ashmun Ames, to whom Joseph dedicated his 1921 novel The Emerald Buddha, was an American who served in the British Army in the Grenadier Guards during World War I and then as a British military intelligence spymaster and a member of the Cairo Gang, until Bloody Sunday, when Lt. Ames was assassinated in Dublin by order of Michael Collins during the Irish War of Independence.[11] The philanthropist Mary Warden Harkness, wife of Charles W. Harkness, was a first cousin of Ames' mother Eleanor.[12]
Books edit
- The Valley of Missing Men. London: A.C. McClurg & Company, 1925.
- The Man from Painted Post. New York: Century Company, 1923.
- The Stranger from Cheyenne. New York: Century Company, 1927.
- The Mystery of Ram Island. New York: Century Company, 1918.
- Chaps and Chukkers. New York: Century Company, 1928.
- The Bladed Barrier. New York, London: The Century Co., 1929.[13]
- The Secret of Spirit Lake. New York: Century Company, 1927.
- The Emerald Buddha. Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1921.
- Flame of the Desert. New York: Duffield, 1928.
- Curly and the Aztec Gold. New York: Century Company, 1920.
- Shoe-Bar Stratton. New York: Century Company, 1922.
- Pete, Cow-puncher: A Story of the Texas Plains. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1908.[14]
- Under Boy Scout Colors. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1917.
- The Lone Hand. New York: A. L. Burt Company, 1926.[15]
References edit
- ^ "Joseph Bushnell Ames". The New York Times. June 21, 1928. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ "Obituary 5". The New York Times. February 8, 1946. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ London), John Matthews (of (1903). Matthews' American Armoury and Blue Book. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Morristown". The New York Times. September 5, 1982. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Member of Beta Theta Pi Residing in New York City and Vicinity. 1909. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Pi, Beta Theta (1905). Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ Joseph Bushnell Ames. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ Frantz, Joe B.; Julian Ernest, Jr. Choate (February 2016). The American Cowboy: The Myth and the Reality. ISBN 9780806155999. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ Catch My Smoke. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ Willow Hall. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ Ames, Joseph Bushnell (1921). The Emerald Buddha. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ London), John Matthews (of (1903). Matthews' American Armoury and Blue Book. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "The Bladed Barrier". Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ Google Books: Joseph Bushnell Ames. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ University of Pennsylvania Library. Retrieved 5 March 2018.