J. Walker McSpadden’s
Romantic Stories for Young People,
a series about the
history of specific US states
Very little information is available online about this
author, J. Walker McSpadden. He was born on May 13, 1874, in Knoxville, TN, the
third child of Wilkie and Margret. He graduated from the University of
Tennessee in 1897. Somehow he met and fell in love with a young lady from
Binghamton, NY, and on December 16, 1902, he and Inez McCrary married in her
home town. They had one son, Chester Ford, and one daughter, Florence, who died
in NYC at age 37 in 1948. At some point he lived at 137 Grove St., Montclair, NJ.
Several of the adult books he wrote center around there. McSpadden evidently also lived in NYC and was
a member of the National Arts Club of NYC; his involvement there prompted his
book for children, Famous Painters of America, in 1916. He is mentioned in the 1917-1918
edition of Who’s Who in New York, a
Biographical Dictionary of Prominent Citizens of New York City and State,
edited by Herman W. Knox. Although he is
mentioned in such a prestigious list, it seems strange that so little is known
of his life. He registered for the draft in 1917, but there is no record of him
going to war or receiving a veteran’s pension. McSpadden traveled a lot; his
name is listed on several ships’ records, from France, England, Hawaii, and
other far-flung places. World Cat lists him as an author, editor, translator,
author of introduction, composer and adaptor. He died on February 9, 1960 and
was buried near my home town in Johnson City, NY.
McSpadden was a prolific writer, authoring several hundred
books, mostly for children. He wrote the series “The Romantic Story of…..”
about various states, twelve in all. They include: Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts,
Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, New York, California,
and Virginia. I believe that is all that he did; I can’t find any more listed
anywhere. Each book is about 120 pages, published by J.H. Sears & Company
in the 1920s, and illustrated by Howard C. Hastings. These books are true “living”
books, a story within a story. I have read three of them so far and stayed up
way past my bedtime to finish them. The Michigan story was about a family
traveling by ship through the Great Lakes from Chicago to New York state. And
if you know your geography, that journey included Lake Michigan, up through the
Straits of Mackinac, Lake Huron, then down the Detroit River past the city of
Detroit, and on to Lake Erie and eventually Lake Ontario. All along this
journey the father in the story tells his children the history of the state of
Michigan. The Pennsylvania title tells of a Boy Scout troop that is camping for
a week in the wilds. Two of the boys take refuge from a storm in the cave of a “mountain
man” who tells them the history of Pennsylvania. Each book is like this – a story
within a story. Each one gives the highlights of the state’s history. McSpadden
deals fairly with the Native Americans’ plight, defending their right to their
land, telling in a balanced way how they were treated by settlers as well as of
their raids and massacres.
I learned so much from these books, especially Michigan,
even after having lived in Michigan for many years. Obviously, states’
histories overlap, so as you read you see the connections in their histories.
The books are well-written in short chapters, excellent vocabulary, but in
story form to make them interesting to young people. I think these books could
be used as spines in your study of a state. The topics covered for each state
are like looking across the mountain tops, seeing the high points of each
period of history. Then further study could be done on each of the events or
people mentioned. I’m surprised these have not been listed on any quality lists
of children’s history books. I picked up one copy at Half Price Books recently
and immediately ordered the rest on Amazon, Abebooks, and Ebay.
If you want to know more about the illustrator of these
books on the states, Howard L. Hastings, he is discussed here: https://www.pulpartists.com/Hastings.html
The introduction to these books on the states was written by
McSpadden,
“This series of ‘Romantic Stories of the States’ is
addressed to everyone, young and old, who is not ‘dead of soul,’ as Scott so
aptly put it a century ago. Most of us would resent being called unpatriotic,
and yet how many of us know the story of our native state? How many of us have
stopped to trace the colorful adventures of the hardy pioneer fathers and
mothers who laid the first hearthstones in the wilderness?
“If we trace the story of each one of our states back to
Colonial times, we find that the well-springs of history bubble over with
adventure and romance. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, as the reader
will find repeatedly in following these tales of bygone days. And in the
writing of them, we have adhered closely to historical fact, oftentimes
gathering the local color from some ancient volume which was published only a
few years after the occurrences – as for example the narratives of the travels
of the explorer himself.
“In each instance the story is followed from earliest
Colonial times to the dawn of statehood. We enter the primeval forest or the
pathless plain, and we witness, step by step, its slow emergence and transformation
into a busy, thriving commonwealth. This book is not intended as a history, as
much as a series of historic incidents, or sidelights which reveal the spirit
of the times.
“It is addressed both to young folks who revel in adventure,
and to their elders - the man and woman who hearken back with pride to their
native heath, although they may have been absent from it for many years, and now
want their children to know something of its rich past. To all such we hope the
book will come with the memory-laden fragrance of a breeze from the mountains
or across the prairies ‘back home’.
To still a third group of readers, this series is offered –
the harassed librarian or teacher who is often asked questions in regard to
local history. They know that while it is easy enough to get material about the
United States as a whole, the occurrence closest home is often most elusive.
“These stories may be called adventures in patriotism. They
are culled from a wealth of material in our heroic past, in the hope and belief
that they will bring back to us all, whether young or old, something of the
rich heritage which clings to our native soil.”
Some have
raised the question about the word “romance” in the titles of these books.
These are definitely not romantic stories like those in cheap novels of today.
A romance is “in traditional literary terms, a narration of the extraordinary
exploits of heroes, often in exotic or mysterious settings. Most of the stories
of King Arthur and his knights are romances. A romance is a novel or other
prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds, pageantry,….usually in a
historical or imaginary setting.” (www.dictionary.com). These were popular in the High Middle Ages and early modern
ages, and again in the late 1800s into the mid-1900s.
McSpadden wrote many other books for children and young people. He authored a book about Robin Hood, holidays, operas and musical comedies, animals of the world, Hawaii, stories from Dickens, stories from Wagner, the quest for gold and many others. He also translated such books as Pinocchio, and wrote introductions for books such as The Three Muskateers. Now that I know what a great writer he was, I am keeping my eyes open for more. They are well-worth owning!
(all rights reserved. Sandy Hall 4/5/2018. Please ask
permission to publish this elsewhere. Thank you.)
