American writer, born in Avoyelles parish, LA, in 1856. She was educated in private schools in New Orleans and in 1879 married Alfred C. Stuart, a planter. Her first story, Uncle Mingo’s Speculations, appeared in 1888 in the Princeton Review. She moved to New York City in 1891 and soon became known for her stories of negro life in the South. She also wrote much verse for magazines. She often appeared as a public reader of her own works, which are characterized by humour and pathos. Tulane University, New Orleans, conferred upon her in 1915 the degree of Litt.D. She died in New York City on the 6th of May 1917.
Her numerous books include Carlotta’s Intended (1894); Sonny (1896); In Simpkinsville (1897); Moriah’s Mourning (1898); Napoleon Jackson, the Gentleman of the Plush Rocker (1902); The Second Wooing of Salina Sue (1905); Sonny’s Father (1910); The Unlived Life of Little Mary Ellen (1910); Daddy Do-Funny’s Wisdom Jingles (1913) and Plantation Songs and Other Verse (1916). See also “The Widder Johnsing.”
