Belle Willey Gue Explained

Ruth Belle Willey Gue (April 8, 1860 – October 23, 1944) was an American writer and clubwoman, based in San Diego in later life. She wrote poetry, stories, and articles for magazines and newspapers, and published about a dozen books.

Early life and education

Ruth Belle Willey was born on April 8, 1860, in Inland, Cedar County, Iowa, the daughter of Ward Willis Willey and Sarah Jennie Russel Willey. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1882^[1]

Career

Gue's poems and stories appeared in the Los Angeles Times,^[2] The Cosmopolitan,^[3] Outdoor Life^{[4] [5]} The Kindergarten Primary Magazine,^[6] and Overland Monthly.^{[7] [8] [9] [10]} She also published about a dozen books, including historical fiction,^{[11] [12]} dramas, and collections of verse. "Mrs. Gue undoubtedly has the poetic instinct and understands the art of versification," noted a 1905 reviewer in Nebraska, "but no one but a martyr or most intimate friend would want to read more than two of her eighty-four short poems at one sitting. There isn't a gleam of joy in the whole book – it is simply saturated sombreness."^[13]

In 1901, Gue was founding president of the Winside Woman's Club in Nebraska.^[14] In 1918, she wrote the lyrics for "Our Golden State", an entry in a patriotic song contest during World War I.^[15] She also wrote the lyrics of "The Elm Trees of Oberlin", which was sung at an alumni association event in San Diego in 1924.^[16] She was a member of the San Diego Writers' Club,^[17] California Writers Club, and the Oberlin Alumni Association.

Personal life

She moved to California in 1913 and lived in San Diego. She married her cousin Willey Merrill Gue in 1885;^[18] They divorced in 1910, and he died in 1922. She died on October 23, 1944, and her grave is in San Diego.

Publications

• Interludes: verses (1899)^[19]
• An American (1921)^[20]
• Grounded (1922)^[21]
• The Neutral Ground (1922)^[22]
• The Last Ditch (1923)^[23]
• The Fugitives (1923)^[24]
• George Washington (1924, drama)^[25]
• The Greatest Good (1926)
• Some Human Hearts
• Songs and Sonnets of the Sea (1927, verse)^[26]
• Washington, The Statesman (drama) (1928)

Notes and References

1. December 1923 . News of the Alumni . Oberlin Alumni Magazine . 20 . 3 . 27.
2. Book: Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1926, and Year Book of American Poetry . 1926 . W.S. Braithwaite . 40, 178–179 . en.
3. Gue . Belle Willey . February 1892 . Safe . The Cosmopolitan . 12 . 4 . 470.
4. Gue . Belle Willey . January 1918 . Helping Him to Help Himself . Outdoor Life . 41 . 1 . 35.
5. Gue . Belle Willey . July 1918 . Nimrod's Brother . Outdoor Life . 42 . 1 . 19–22.
6. Gue . Belle Willey . December 1918 . The Flag of our Republic . The Kindergarten-Primary Magazine . 31 . 4 . 108.
7. Gue . Belle Willey . October 1918 . At Her Door . Overland Monthly . 71 . 4 . 445–448.
8. Gue . Belle Willey . January 1919 . A Native of the Western Sea . The Overland Monthly . 73 . 1 . 51–53.
9. Gue . Belle Willey . July 1920 . The Ivy Clings . Overland Monthly . 76 . 1 . 93.
10. Gue . Belle Willey . October 1924 . Nine Points in the Law . Overland Monthly . 82 . 10 . 464–465, 479.
11. News: Russell . Fred H. . 1924-04-24 . Literary Saunterings . 4 . Rutland Daily Herald . 2022-12-23 . Newspapers.com.
12. News: 1926-10-31 . American Family Pictured in Book . 6 . Sunday Times Democrat . 2022-12-23 . Newspapers.com.
13. News: Whose Who . 1905-05-19 . Embryonic Wayne . 1 . Wayne News . 2022-12-23 . Newspapers.com.
14. News: 1931-06-18 . Club Birthday is Noted by Women . 11 . The Wayne Herald . 2022-12-23 . Newspapers.com.
15. News: November 10, 1918 . New Song is Work of Local Writers . 1 . San Diego Union and Daily Bee . December 23, 2022 . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
16. April 1924 . San Diego Chapter . Oberlin Alumni Magazine . 20 . 7 . 26 . Internet Archive.
17. News: October 9, 1920 . Ballad, Playwright, Short Story Read by Writers . 8 . San Diego Union and Daily Bee . December 23, 2022 . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
18. Book: Binheim. Max. Elvin. Charles A. Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. 1928. 50. 8 August 2017.
19. Book: Gue, Belle Willey . Interludes; verses . 1899 . The Household realm press . Chicago.
20. Web site: Gue . Belle Willey . 1921 . An American . 2022-12-23 . Project Gutenberg . Gorham Press . Boston.
21. Book: Gue . Belle Willey . Grounded . Dorrance & Company . 1922 . Dorrance . Philadelphia.
22. Book: Gue . Belle Willey . The neutral ground . Felter . John D. . Stratford Company . 1922 . The Stratford Company . Boston, Massachusetts.
23. Book: Gue, Belle Willey . The last ditch . 1923 . Stratford Company . Boston, Mass..
24. Book: Gue . Belle Willey . The fugitives . Dorrance & Company . 1923 . Dorrance . Philadelphia.
25. Book: Gue, Belle Willey . George Washington: A drama . 1924 . Boston, The Four seas company . The Library of Congress.
26. News: 1928-01-28 . Review of New Books . 5 . The News Journal . 2022-12-23 . Newspapers.com.