HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG0903.AM: Frances Mary (Wiggins) Ford, 1854-1956
Papers: 1951-1958
Janesville, Wisconsin, and Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska: Reporter; editor
Size: One folder
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Frances Wiggins was born in New York and moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, with her family when she was young. She met and married Frank Ford at Janesville, Wisconsin. Later, they moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where Mrs. Ford worked as a newspaper reporter. She then became the children’s page editor for The Chicago Daily News, a post she held for eighteen years. She retired in 1931 and went to live with her daughter in Drexel Hills, Pennsylvania.
Frances Wiggins Ford died at Drexel Hills, Pennsylvania, on June 15, 1956.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection consists primarily of correspondence of Elizabeth Chmiel seeking confirmation of the authorship of the story, The Little Engine That Could, by Frances M. Ford. Chmiel, Ford’s cousin, pursued this for seven years, 1949-1956. There are several newspaper and magazine articles that document the search for the true author of the story. Also included are two obituaries for Ford, as well as information concerning Chmiel’s family.
INVENTORY
Correspondence, clippings, etc.
Subject headings:
Authors
Children’s literature
Chmiel, Elizabeth (McKinney), 1908-2002
Ford, Frances Mary (Wiggins), 1854-1956
Women authors
Revised TMM 10-03-2016
