Historic Women in Journalism by Laurie Alice Eakes
Elizabeth Timothée,
wife of a French Huguenot, is acknowledged to be the first female editor and
journalist in North America. In the 1730s, her husband entered into a contract
with Benjamin Franklin to begin the South Carolina Gazette. Louis Timothée
anglicized his name to Timothy and set about creating the soon-to-be successful
Gazette in Charleston, South
Carolina. Unfortunately for him, he died with a year to run on his contract and
the business passed to his son.
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| Elizabeth Timothee as depicted from KnowItAll |
His son, Peter, was
only thirteen at the time. His mother Elizabeth took over the
business, providing the explanation to readers that, in Europe, women often
helped with the family business, especially If the son was young. For eight
years, until her son turned twenty-one, Elizabeth wrote for and edited the
publication. She reported on the colonial assembly, as well as producing books
and pamphlets.
Other women followed,
though most have been lost in obscurity, but not all the writers of articles in
such famous publications as La Belle
Assemblée and The Lady’s Monthly
Museum, were men. Women wrote on fashion and manners and reported on events
of the day.
Eliza Nicholson was another woman who inherited editing a newspaper from her husband.
 |
| Eliza Nicholson aka Pearl Rivers |
For
Nicholson, she received full control of the New Orleans Daily Picayune and created several innovations such as pages
dedicated to women and children, literature, and a gossip column. For the
latter, she hired Dorothy Dix, who became a legendary journalist in her own
right growing into a female syndicated columnist for decades read by millions
around the world.
And in this brief discussion
of women journalists, we must not forget Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book from 1837-1877. Most
issues included articles and writings by men and women; however, three special publications
contained works by women only.
With these examples
of some women who made their mark on the world of the written media, when I
went hunting for a career for my career-minded heroine, who was also one of the
first women to receive a four-year college degree from a liberal arts college
along side men, journalist was a natural choice. After all, I needed a reason
for her to return to her home town on that fateful train featured in
The Professor’s Heart.
Laurie Alice Eakes is
the author of over a dozen books. She writes full-time from her home in Texas,
where she lives with her husband and
sundry dogs and cats. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter under
@LaurieAEakes.
Enjoyed this slice of women in journalism, Laurie Alice. As a Mississippian, the name Pearl Rivers caught my eye, and I wondered if Eliza took the pen name from the Pearl River.
ReplyDeleteYep!
From wiki, "Eliza Jane Poitevent Holbrook Nicholson (1843–1896), who wrote under the nom de plume Pearl Rivers, was a United States journalist and poet. She took the name from the Pearl River near her home in Mississippi.[1]"
:)
Thank you I enjoyed the post very much. I was surprised to learn men also wrote for Goodey's.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting never knew of this in such an early age. Glad to see it though. women are smarter then most give us credit for.. thanks for the post
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas
Paula O
Very interesting to read about the lady journalists. Daring ladies who paved the way for all the lady journalists we have today. Love to read The Professor's Heart. sharon, CA wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by. I was out of town, so just getting to the nblog now.
ReplyDeleteI like finding examples of women who had jobs in various professions long before historians give us credit. I expect women were journalists long before the eighteenth century; they just published as men to get recognition. Women were not quite as suppressed and mistreated as many would have us believe. I will blog more about this in the future.