Ella Farman facts for kids

Eliza Anna Farman Pratt (also known as Ella Farman) was an American writer who created stories for children. She is most famous for being the editor of Wide Awake magazine for 16 years, starting in 1875.

Early Life

Eliza Anna Farman was born on November 1, 1837. Her birthplace was Augusta, New York. Her parents were Rev. Tural Tufts Farman and Hanna Burleson Farman.

She went to a girls' school in New York. There, she met Emma L. Shaw, who became a very good friend. For a while, Eliza and Emma worked as teachers. Later, they decided to move to Michigan. They wanted to try farming to earn a living.

Literary Career

Around 1870, Eliza Farman started writing seriously. She used the name Ella Farman for her work. In 1875, she used another name, D. A. Shepherd. This was when she sold a story called Two Girls that Tried Farming. It was published in The Atlantic Monthly. When the story was made into a longer book, she used the name D. A. Shepherd again.

Eliza wrote many stories for children. For the first few years, her friend Emma Shaw helped her with editing. Several of her children's books were published by D. Lothrop Company.

When the publisher, Daniel Lothrop, decided to create a children's magazine, he chose Eliza as the editor. The magazine was called Wide Awake. She edited Wide Awake from 1875 until 1891. Her co-editor was Charles Stuart Pratt. Eliza and Charles got married in 1877.

Eliza and Charles also worked on other children's magazines. These were also published by D. Lothrop Company. They edited Babyland from 1877 to 1892. They also edited it again from 1894 to 1897. They also edited Little Men and Women for some time.

From 1897 until just before her death in 1907, Eliza and Charles edited Little Folks. This children's magazine was published by S. E. Cassion Company. It was located in Salem, Massachusetts. Charles continued as editor until 1909. Even in 1912, the magazine's contents page mentioned them. It said "Edited from foundation to May, 1909, by Charles S. and Ella Farman Pratt."

While working as an editor, Eliza Farman published about 20 books. Most of these books were written for children.

Personal Life

Eliza Anna Farman married Charles Stuart Pratt on November 11, 1877. For most of their married life, they lived in Warner, New Hampshire. Eliza and Charles had one son. His name was Ralph Farman Pratt. He was born on July 7, 1878. Ralph later became a landscape painter.

Eliza Farman Pratt was in poor health for several years. She passed away at her home on May 22, 1907. She was buried in South Weymouth, Massachusetts.

Selected Works

• Anna Maylie (1873)
• A Little Woman : A Story for Other Little Women (1873)
• Anna Maylie : A Story of Work. (1873)
• A Girl’s Money (1874)
• A White Hand (1875)
• Mrs. Hurd's Niece : Six Months of a Girl's lLfe (1876)
• The Doll Doctor, and Other Stories, (1877)
• Sugar Plums (1877)
• Good-for-Nothing Polly (1877)
• Little Miss Mischief and Her Happy Thoughts (1878)
• How Two Girls Tried Farming (as Dorothea Alice Shepherd) (1879)
• The Home Primer (1882)
• Nursery Primer (1882)
• Rosabell's Adventure (1883)
• Christmas Snowflakes (1883)
• Yule Tide (1884)
• Polly Himself (1886)
• The Cooking Club of Tu-Whit Hollow (1886)
• All the World Over : Interesting Stories of Travel, Thrilling Adventure and Home Life (1892)
• Mrs. White's Party : and Other Stories (1894)
• A Dozen Darlings and Their Doings (1898)
• The Play Lady : a Story for Other Girls (1900)
• The Little Cave-Dwellers (1901)
• "Chicken Little" : Picture Guessing Story for Little Children (1903)
• The Little Owls at Red Gates (1903)
• Dear Little Sheila : a Picture Guessing Story for Children (1905)
• Grandma Crosby's Household. a Story for Girls (1907)