Date Original
1922-1944
Description
This collection contains papers belonging to Lessie Stringfellow Read from between 1922 and 1944. They are primarily of a political nature with the exception of a bank shareholder assessment.
Biographical/Historical Note
Lessie Stringfellow Read (1891-1971) was born Mabel Staples on January 3, 1891, in Temple, Texas, to William and Lillian Staples. Her biological parents died from fever when she was two years old. Henry Martyn Stringfellow and his wife, Alice, who were friends of the Staples family, adopted her. The Stringfellows had lost their only child, a son named Leslie to malaria. A follower of spiritualism, Mr. Stringfellow received “messages” from his son requesting they rename Mabel “Lessie.” Lessie worked as a correspondent for the “Houston Chronicle” while she was a teenager. She married James Read in September 1910. A year later the Reads moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas. In 1912, James Read disappeared under mysterious circumstances and rumors of embezzlement from his place of employment. Lessie Read became involved with the women’s suffrage movement and was a founder of the Washington County, Arkansas chapter, Women’s Suffrage Association and president of the Fayetteville Equal Suffrage Association. She was named national press chairwoman in 1916 for the largest international women’s organization of that time, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. During World War I she served as editor for the Fayetteville Democrat after its editor resigned to serve in the war, and she held the position for the next twenty seven years. She died May 28, 1971 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Fayetteville, Washington County (Ark.); Texas
Language
English
Identifier
SMC.029.020
Resource Type
Text
Collection
Lessie Stringfellow Read papers, SMC.029.020
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
Lessie Stringfellow Read papers, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History
