Stella Wynne Herron Explained

Stella Wynne Herron (April 5, 1885 – March 1, 1966)^{[1] [2]} was an American writer and suffragist whose work appeared in a variety of magazines, including Collier's, Sunset, and Weird Tales. She is most known for her 1916 short story "Shoes", which pioneering film director Lois Weber adapted into a film of the same name. The film is now considered a feminist classic in early cinema history.

Early life and education

Estella "Stella" Frances Wynne was born on April 5, 1885,^[3] though some sources report the year as 1886. She grew up in San Francisco as the daughter of Irish immigrants. For college, she attended Stanford University and graduated in 1906. It was in school that she began her writing career. She worked as an associate editor for the university's journal 'The Stanford Sequoia',^[4] and her play, The Original Miss Tewksberry, was selected to be the senior farce for the 1906 school year.^{[5] [6]} She also was an early member of the senior women's society "Cap and Gown", foreshadowing her later activism.^[7]

Writing career

As detailed in The Writer, Herron's first piece to be accepted for publication was her short story "The Still of Ballywan." She had written it originally as a sophomore for a school assignment, and she had "written [it] hastily one night at the close of the term[.]" McClure's magazine went on to publish it in 1906.^[8] Over the following sixty years, Herron would go on to write many short stories, several plays, a serialized novel, and an illustrated book of protest poetry. Her work was sometimes republished in collected short story volumes. For example, 'The Americanizing of André François', was republished in 'Among the Humorists and After Dinner Speakers, Part Two'.

Two of her short stories, "Shoes" and "The Double Room Mystery",^[9] were also made into silent films, and filmmaker Thomas H. Ince bought the rights to her short story "An Adventurous Day" in 1920,^{[10] [11]} though it never went into production. Ince paid Herron $500, a substantial figure at the time.^[12] She was known for her prize-winning stories in various magazines, including "An Adventurous Day", and one trade journal even reported that, "Her work received the personal compliments of the late Theodore Roosevelt."^[13]

Personal life

She married William F. Herron, a newspaper writer (later attorney), on September 18, 1907 in Salinas.^{[14] [15]} Eight years later, they had their only child, John Wynne Herron.^[16] Herron and her husband were divorced by 1920.^[17] From the mid-30s to the early forties, she lived in New York City as a poet, though she eventually returned to San Francisco.^[18]

Her activism included campaigning for women's suffrage in California in the 1910s, and one point she even worked as the Chairman for the College Equal Suffrage League.^{[19] [20]} Her writing and activism connected her to many influential figures including journalist Alma Reed, who considered Herron a "lifelong friend", and painter José Clemente Orozco.^[21]

Herron died on March 1, 1966, and she was buried in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park.^[22]

Bibliography*

• The Still of Ballywan (short story) (1906)^[23]
• An Idyll of the Circle L. (short story) (1907)
• Cane and Coffee (short story) (1907)^[24]
• The Record Breaker (short story) (1907)
• The Americanizing of André François (short story) (1908)
• A Belated Boom (short story) (1910)^{[25] [26]}
• Suffrage During N.E.A. Week (article) (1911)
• Palace Hotel (article) (1911/1913)
• The Ghost of the Almaden (short story) (1912)
• Minds Versus Millions (short story (1913)^{[27] [28]}
• Shoes (short story) (1916)
• The Advent of the Majority (short story) (1916)
• Ashes of Youth (1917)^{[29] [30]}
• The Ascidian (a drama in three acts) (1920)^[31]
• Mink Cape (short story) (1920)^{[32] [33]}
• The Exiles of Corinto (short story) (1923)
• To a Parrakeet (poem) (1923)
• First Comes Commerce (short story) (1924)^[34]
• The Nob Hill Mystery (serialized novel) (1925)^[35]
• Ebony Magic (short story) (1928)
• The Strange Interlude (review) (1929)
• A Romance of Insurance (review) (1929)
• Manly P. Hall's Lectures on Ancient Philosophy (review) (1929)
• Bowery Parade and Other Poems of Protest (poetry collection) (1936)^[36]
• Entertainment at evening (dramatic composition) (1940)^[37]
• Hearndon House (a drama in three acts) (1946)^[38]
• My Faith (interview/article) (1948)^[39]
• Ten Blocks Away (a drama in three acts) (1958)^[40]
• An Adventurous Day (short story)**
• The Chinese Calendar (poem)**^[41]

*list incomplete*

**publication date unknown

See also

• Cora Baggerly Older
• Eva Palmer-Sikelianos

Further reading

• Addams, Jane. A new conscience and an ancient evil. University of Illinois Press, 2002.
• “College Women at Suffrage Lunch.” The San Francisco Call, 23 July 1911, p. 23.
• Herron, Stella Wynne. “Suffrage During N.E.A. Week.” Western Journal of Education, vol. 16, no. 7, July 1911, p. 13.
• Johnson, Audrey Mackey. "A historical study of the woman suffrage movement in California, 1910-1911." 1962. University of the Pacific, Thesis.
• Lyons, Louis S., and Josephine Wilson, editors. “San Francisco.” Who's Who among the Women of California; an Annual Devoted to the Representative Women of California, 1922, p. 485. Google Books.
• “Past Fame Now Fails W. F. Herron.” Oakland Tribune, p. 11. Newspaperarchive.com.
• “Personal and Otherwise.” Harper's Magazine, vol. 147, 1923, p. 869. Google Books.
• Stamp, Shelley. “National Film Registry Essay.” Library of Congress.
• “Stanford Bard In Legal Clash For Over-Fed Lounge.” Oakland Tribune, 22 Dec. 1920, p. 20. Newspaperarchive.com.
• “Ten Thousand Petitions in California.” The Suffragist, vol. 7, no. 26, 5 July 1919, p. 6. Internet Archive.
• Whitten, Woodrow C. “Criminal Syndicalism and the Law in California: 1919-1927.” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 59, no. 2, 1969, p. 48. JSTOR.

External links

• • Stella Wynne Herron's picture
• The Original Miss Tewksberry cast
• The Original Miss Tewksberry production photo
• California Writers Club

Notes and References

1. Web site: Stella Wynne - United States Census, 1900. Family Search.
2. Web site: Stella W Herron - California Death Index, 1940-1997. Family Search.
3. Web site: The Milestone Cinematheque. The Films of Lois Weber. 30.
4. 1907. The Stanford Sequoia. The Stanford Quad. 13. 153.
5. 1908. Calendar - 1906. The Stanford Quad. 14. 364. Google Books.
6. News: Plans Are Complete: 1906 Class Prepares for Graduation Festivities. 31 August 1906. The Stanford Daily. 23 July 2019.
7. News: New Society Formed. 12 September 1906. The Stanford Daily. 23 July 2019.
8. Hills. William H.. October 1908. Writers of the Day. The Writer: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers . 20. 150. Google Books.
9. 1917. The Double Room Mystery. The Moving Picture Weekly. 4. 262–263. Internet Archive.
10. 1920. Ince Leaves Tuesday. The Film Daily. 11-12. Internet Archive.
11. 1920. Works of Prominent Authors to be Used by Ince for Stars. Exhibitors Herald. 10. Internet Archive.
12. Lewis. Tom. 1920. Dollars From The Movie Hopper. The Editor: The Journal of Information for Literary Workers. 54. 171. Google Books.
13. 21 February 1920. Ince Buys Three Stories for Early Production. The Moving Picture World. 43. 1258. Internet Archive.
14. Web site: Stella Frances Wynne - California, County Marriages, 1850-1952. Family Search.
15. News: W. F. Herron and Miss Stella Wynne Wedded. 21 September 1907. The San Francisco call. Library of Congress.
16. Book: Our Herron family of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Herron. William Alfred. Hezlep. W. H.. 1960. 32.
17. Web site: United States Census, 1920. 1920. Family Search.
18. Web site: Stella W Herron - United States Census, 1940. Family Search.
19. Herron. Stella Wynne. July 1911. Suffrage During N.E.A. Week. Western Journal of Education. 16. 13.
20. Book: Johnson, Audrey Mackey. A historical study of the woman suffrage movement in California, 1910-1911. University of the Pacific. 1962. 123.
21. Book: Reed, Alma M.. Orozco. registration. Oxford University Press. 1956. New York. 277.
22. Web site: Stella Herron. Find a Grave.
23. Wynne. Stella F.. May–October 1906. The Still of Ballywan. McClure's Magazine. 27. 266–274. Google Books.
24. 1907. Complete Stories. What's in the Magazines. 2. 33.
25. Herron. Stella Wynne. 1909–1910. A Belated Boom. McClure's Magazine. 34. 316. HathiTrust.
26. News: Literary Notes. 28 December 1901. The Morning News. 30 July 2019.
27. Web site: The Blue Book Magazine. The General Fiction Magazine Index. 3 November 2019.
28. Web site: Blue Book – The Slick in Pulp Clothing. Ashley. Mike. 3 November 2019.
29. Herron. Stella W.. 1917. Ashes of Youth. Theatre Arts Magazine. 1. 60. Google Books.
30. Herron. Stella W.. 1918. Ashes of Youth. Quarterly Journal of Speech. 4. 373. Google Books.
31. Herron. S. W.. 1920. The Ascidian. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. Books, Group 2. 17. 645. Google Books.
32. Herron. Stella Wynne. 1920. Mink Cape. Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. 5. 716. Google Books.
33. Web site: Stories, Listed by Author. 28 July 2019. The FictionMags Index.
34. Wynne. Stella. January 1924. First Comes Commerce. Sunset. 24. 28. Google Books.
35. News: The Nob Hill Mystery. Wynne. Stella. 31 May 1925. The San Francisco Examiner. 25 July 2019. 65.
36. Herron. Stella Wynne. September 1936. Bowery Parade and Other Poems of Protest. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1, Books, Group 1. 68. 6615. Google Books.
37. Herron. Estella Wynne. 1940. Entertainment at evening. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. 13. 120. Google Books.
38. Herron. Estella Wynne. 13 May 1946. Hearndon House. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. 19. 85. Google Books.
39. Web site: Bailey Willis Papers: Finding Aid. Online Archive of California. 24 July 2019.
40. Herron. Stella W.. Ten Blocks Away. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 2. Periodicals. 1959. 12. 33. Google Books.
41. News: Mrs. Stella Herron. 6 March 1966. Oakland Tribune. 25 July 2019. 30.