Mrs. Findley Braden Explained

Anna Braden
Nickname:	"Madge"
Birth Name:	Anna Margaretta Rile
Birth Date:	January 11, 1858
Birth Place:	Montgomery, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Date:	1939
Alma Mater:	National School of Elocution and Oratory
Notable Works:	Something new to recite
Relatives:	Joseph Reed

Mrs. Findley Braden was the pen name of Anna Braden (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.

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

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.

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. She published several volumes of poems.

Braden served as the editor of the monthly newspaper, Presbyterian Visitor, established in 1888, and published by Graves & Banks, Philadelphia.^[4]

Personal life

In 1880, she married William Findley Braden (1852–1933), of Ohio, and they resided in Philadelphia. There were no children.^[5]

Braden was a member of the Presbyterian Church.

Anna Rile Braden died in 1939.

Selected works

Books

• Something new to recite (1908) (Text)

Poems

• "Heart-Murder" (1894)^[6]
• "Pills at Poughkeepsie" (1894)
• "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)
• "What the Lord Had Done For Him" (1918)
• "Fence o' Scripture Faith" (1918)

Plays

• Convention of Realistic Readers (1918)^[10]

Recitations

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

Musical compositions

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

Notes and References

1. Book: Willard . Frances Elizabeth . Frances Willard . Livermore . Mary Ashton Rice . Mary Livermore . A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life . 1893 . 112–13 . . BRADEN, Mrs. Anna Madge.
2. Web site: Anna Margaretta Rile 11 January 1858 – 1939 • KHRV-WKL . ident.familysearch.org . 27 September 2022.
3. Book: Colvin . Rachel M. . The Francis Family in America . 1990 . R.M. Colvin . 336 . 27 September 2022 . en.
4. Book: American Newspaper Directory . 1889 . G.P. Rowell & Company . New York . 607–08 . 27 September 2022 . en.
5. Book: Reed . Willoughby Henry . History and Genealogy of the Reed Family: Johann Philib Ried, Rieth, Riedt, Ritt, Rit, Rudt, Etc. in Europe and America ... . 1929 . Norristown Press . 978-0-598-99399-1 . 221 . 27 September 2022 . en.
6. Werner . Edgar S. . Table of Contents . Werner's Magazine . 1894 . 16 . 60, 221, 234 . 27 September 2022 . E.S. Werner . en.
7. Nathan . George Jean . Mencken . Henry Louis . She's In the Smart Set Now . The Smart Set: A Magazine of Cleverness . 1900 . 2 . 74 . 27 September 2022 . Ess Ess Publishing Company . en.
8. Book: Lieut: Col . 1905 . 77 . 27 September 2022 . en.
9. Song . The Caledonian . 1905 . 5 . 17 . 27 September 2022 . Caledonian Publishing Company . en.
10. Book: AN INDEX TO POETRY AND RECITATIONS . 1918 . 18, 60, 320, 360, 398 . 27 September 2022 . en.
11. The Fence O' Scripture Faith, by Mrs. Findley Braden . Garrett . Phineas . One Hundred Choice Selections . 1887 . 27 . 147–51 . 27 September 2022 . Penn . en.
12. Werner . Edgar S. . Choice Special Selections Suggested . Werner's Voice Magazine . 1899 . 23 . 88, 198 . 27 September 2022 . E.S. Werner . en.
13. Book: Library of Congress Copyright Office . 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 . 1912 . U.S. Government Printing Office . 22370 . 7, Part 3, Issue 2, Number 11 . 27 September 2022 . en.