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.
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. [1] She graduated from Oberlin College in 1882 [1] [2]
Gue's poems and stories appeared in the Los Angeles Times, [3] The Cosmopolitan, [4] Outdoor Life [5] [6] The Kindergarten Primary Magazine, [7] and Overland Monthly. [8] [9] [10] [11] She also published about a dozen books, including historical fiction, [12] [13] dramas, [14] 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." [15]
In 1901, Gue was founding president of the Winside Woman's Club in Nebraska. [16] In 1918, she wrote the lyrics for "Our Golden State", an entry in a patriotic song contest during World War I. [17] She also wrote the lyrics of "The Elm Trees of Oberlin", which was sung at an alumni association event in San Diego in 1924. [18] She was a member of the San Diego Writers' Club, [19] California Writers Club, and the Oberlin Alumni Association. [1]
She moved to California in 1913 and lived in San Diego. She married her cousin Willey Merrill Gue in 1885; [1] They divorced in 1910, and he died in 1922. She died on October 23, 1944, and her grave is in San Diego.
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.
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. [1] She graduated from Oberlin College in 1882 [1] [2]
Gue's poems and stories appeared in the Los Angeles Times, [3] The Cosmopolitan, [4] Outdoor Life [5] [6] The Kindergarten Primary Magazine, [7] and Overland Monthly. [8] [9] [10] [11] She also published about a dozen books, including historical fiction, [12] [13] dramas, [14] 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." [15]
In 1901, Gue was founding president of the Winside Woman's Club in Nebraska. [16] In 1918, she wrote the lyrics for "Our Golden State", an entry in a patriotic song contest during World War I. [17] She also wrote the lyrics of "The Elm Trees of Oberlin", which was sung at an alumni association event in San Diego in 1924. [18] She was a member of the San Diego Writers' Club, [19] California Writers Club, and the Oberlin Alumni Association. [1]
She moved to California in 1913 and lived in San Diego. She married her cousin Willey Merrill Gue in 1885; [1] They divorced in 1910, and he died in 1922. She died on October 23, 1944, and her grave is in San Diego.