Yda Hillis Addis
Encyclopedia
Yda Hillis Addis, was the first American
writer to translate ancient Mexican
oral stories and histories into English. The most widely published of her more than 100 stories are "The Romance of Ramon" and "Roger's Luck".
Addis published her Mexican oral stories in The Argonaut
, a bi-monthly San Francisco journal, founded in 1877 by Frank M. Pixley
. Addis also wrote original fiction. Her literature included ghost tales, visitation from the unseen, to tragic love triangles, and stories that were the precursor to American feminism. In her day she was published alongside authors such as Ambrose Bierce
, Mark Twain
, and Emma Frances Dawson in The Argonaut, The Californian
, The Overland Monthly
, Harper's Monthly
, San Francisco Chronicle
, Examiner, Los Angeles Herald, St. Louis Dispatch
, Chicago Times
, Philadelphia Press
, McClure Syndicate
and many Mexican newspapers and periodicals. While some of Addis' contemporary writers are still known today, she and her work were lost.
, and moved with her family to Chihuahua, Mexico
at the start of the American Civil War
. The daughter of an itinerant photographer, Alfred Shea Addis
, she roamed the Western frontier and Mexican wilderness, into Indian villages, miners' camps, and other exotic locations, mostly in California and Mexico, assisting her father. When she was 15, she and her family moved to Los Angeles, California
where she graduated with the first class of Los Angeles High School
; a graduating class of seven students. She began teaching seven-year-old students, and in 1880 submitted her stories of heroines, such as "Poetic Justice" and "Señorita Santos", to The Argonaut. Publisher Frank M. Pixley introduced her to his good friend and former California governor John G. Downey
, in his late sixties. When Downey's sisters discovered that he and Addis had become engaged, they shanghaied
him to Ireland leaving Addis to sue for breach of promise.
Before the trial date, Addis left San Francisco for Mexico City to write for the bilingual newspaper Two Republics, owned by J. Magtella Clark. When the editor, Theodore Gesterfeld, became distracted with Addis' wit and charm, the editor's wife, Ursula, sued for divorce and named Addis a co-defendant. In Gesterfeld's testimony, he admitted to committing adultery, but not with Addis.
With this unfavorable publicity, Addis left Mexico for Santa Barbara, California
, and began collecting material about prominent citizenry of the area for a book of biographies to be published by Lewis Publishing Company. During one of her interviews she met and shortly afterward married Charles A. Storke
, a local attorney and newspaper owner (Santa Barbara News-Press
). Addis' history of Santa Barbara, her only book, was published in 1891. Addis said she was treated badly by both Storke and his teenage son Tommy, and she accused Storke of some peculiar intimate behaviors and violence toward her. Storke retaliated with a divorce complaint on the grounds that Addis was insane. During the divorce Addis discovered that her attorney, Grant Jackson, esq., was in duplicity with Storke. She shot Jackson, who survived, but she spent eight months in prison. When she was released, the divorce was not final and Addis requested alimony. At this time Clara Shortridge Foltz stepped in briefly to defend Addis. Storke refused to pay the $500 a month that Addis requested and instead had Addis committed to an insane asylum. Addis later escaped the asylum, and disappeared.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer to translate ancient Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
oral stories and histories into English. The most widely published of her more than 100 stories are "The Romance of Ramon" and "Roger's Luck".
Addis published her Mexican oral stories in The Argonaut
The Argonaut
The Argonaut was a literary journal based in San Francisco, California that ran from 1877 to 1893, founded and published by Frank M. Pixley. The magazine was known for containing strong political Americanism combined with art and literature...
, a bi-monthly San Francisco journal, founded in 1877 by Frank M. Pixley
Frank M. Pixley
Frank Morrison Pixley was an American journalist and politician who served briefly as the Attorney General of California....
. Addis also wrote original fiction. Her literature included ghost tales, visitation from the unseen, to tragic love triangles, and stories that were the precursor to American feminism. In her day she was published alongside authors such as Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
, Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, and Emma Frances Dawson in The Argonaut, The Californian
The Californian (1880s magazine)
The Californian was a San Francisco literary periodical issued monthly during 1880–1882, published by Anton Roman who had helped found the earlier Overland Monthly...
, The Overland Monthly
Overland Monthly
Overland Monthly was a monthly magazine based in California, United States, and published in the 19th and 20th century.The magazine's first issue was in July 1868, and continued until the late 1875. The original publishers, in 1880, started The Californian, which became The Californian and Overland...
, Harper's Monthly
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
, San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Examiner, Los Angeles Herald, St. Louis Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
, Chicago Times
Chicago Times
The Chicago Times was a newspaper in Chicago from 1854 to 1895 when it merged with the Chicago Herald.The Times was founded in 1854, by James W. Sheahan, with the backing of Stephen Douglas, and was identified as a pro-slavery newspaper. In 1861, after the paper was purchased by Wilbur F...
, Philadelphia Press
Philadelphia Press
The Philadelphia Press is a defunct newspaper that was published from August 1, 1857 to October 1, 1920.The paper was founded by John W. Forney. Charles Emory Smith was editor and owned a stake in the paper from 1880 until his death in 1908...
, McClure Syndicate
McClure's
McClure's or McClure's Magazine was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with creating muckraking journalism. Ida Tarbell's series in 1902 exposing the monopoly abuses of John D...
and many Mexican newspapers and periodicals. While some of Addis' contemporary writers are still known today, she and her work were lost.
Early career
Addis was born in 1857 in Leavenworth, KansasLeavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, and moved with her family to Chihuahua, Mexico
Chihuahua, Mexico
Chihuahua, Mexico, may refer to:* The State of Chihuahua in Mexico* The City of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, its capital...
at the start of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The daughter of an itinerant photographer, Alfred Shea Addis
Alfred Shea Addis
Alfred Shea Addis , also known as A. S. Addis, was an American Western itinerant photographer, mostly known for photographs of Kansas, Mexico and the American Southwest.- Early life:...
, she roamed the Western frontier and Mexican wilderness, into Indian villages, miners' camps, and other exotic locations, mostly in California and Mexico, assisting her father. When she was 15, she and her family moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
where she graduated with the first class of Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans....
; a graduating class of seven students. She began teaching seven-year-old students, and in 1880 submitted her stories of heroines, such as "Poetic Justice" and "Señorita Santos", to The Argonaut. Publisher Frank M. Pixley introduced her to his good friend and former California governor John G. Downey
John G. Downey
John Gately Downey was an Irish-American politician and the seventh Governor of California from January 14, 1860 to January 10, 1862. Until the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003, Downey was California's only foreign-born governor...
, in his late sixties. When Downey's sisters discovered that he and Addis had become engaged, they shanghaied
Shanghaiing
Shanghaiing refers to the practice of conscripting men as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as crimps. Until 1915, unfree labor was widely used aboard American merchant ships...
him to Ireland leaving Addis to sue for breach of promise.
Before the trial date, Addis left San Francisco for Mexico City to write for the bilingual newspaper Two Republics, owned by J. Magtella Clark. When the editor, Theodore Gesterfeld, became distracted with Addis' wit and charm, the editor's wife, Ursula, sued for divorce and named Addis a co-defendant. In Gesterfeld's testimony, he admitted to committing adultery, but not with Addis.
With this unfavorable publicity, Addis left Mexico for Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, and began collecting material about prominent citizenry of the area for a book of biographies to be published by Lewis Publishing Company. During one of her interviews she met and shortly afterward married Charles A. Storke
Charles A. Storke
-American Civil War:Charles Albert Storke was a veteran of the Union Army. He survived "the terrible slaughter of Cold Harbor, where, out of four companies, sixty-nine percent were killed, and the rest captured. The prisoners were sent to Libby, Andersonville, Savannah, and other prisons .......
, a local attorney and newspaper owner (Santa Barbara News-Press
Santa Barbara News-Press
The Santa Barbara News-Press is a broadsheet newspaper based in Santa Barbara, California.-History:The News-Press asserts it is the oldest daily newspaper in Southern California, publishing since 1855...
). Addis' history of Santa Barbara, her only book, was published in 1891. Addis said she was treated badly by both Storke and his teenage son Tommy, and she accused Storke of some peculiar intimate behaviors and violence toward her. Storke retaliated with a divorce complaint on the grounds that Addis was insane. During the divorce Addis discovered that her attorney, Grant Jackson, esq., was in duplicity with Storke. She shot Jackson, who survived, but she spent eight months in prison. When she was released, the divorce was not final and Addis requested alimony. At this time Clara Shortridge Foltz stepped in briefly to defend Addis. Storke refused to pay the $500 a month that Addis requested and instead had Addis committed to an insane asylum. Addis later escaped the asylum, and disappeared.