The History of Ladies' Literary Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan by Mrs Hogue Stinchcomb (1910)

The original book was very small, about 4.5" x 6.5" so we made it a little bigger for better readability.

Here is some information that we were able to gather about the author of the book thanks to the History and Special Collections department of the Grand Rapids Public Library:

Hogue is listed in the Grand Rapids City Directories as the widow of William A. Stinchcomb early on -- at least by 1907.

One of the first records to show up in ancestry.com was a divorce decree for Hogue and William (! not dead!), granted to Hogue, in 1904. The official record for the Kent County divorce stated the two had wed in San Antonio, TX on 16 May 1901, that the couple had two minor children, and that Hogue had filed for divorce by 29 August 1902, with granting on 21 April 1904 in her favor. This record did not indicate where the two were born or their ages. The record does list her name as "Mayme Hogue Stinchcomb."

On census records (for Grand Rapids), she's listed variously as Mayme, M.H., Mary, or Hogue Stinchman. The 1900 census indicates that 37-year-old Mayme was married with two daughters, but living with her parents, Elton Hogue (a physician, born in KY) and Ellen, and younger brother, James. Hogue is her maiden name. Curiously, this census record also indicates that Mayme had been married for nine years, so it is difficult what to think about the divorce record. (The daughters were both 3 and 1 here, though, so she very well could have been married to William prior to 1901.)

Likewise, for the 1910 and 1920 censuses, Mayme is still living with her parents and her daughters. In 1910, she's going by Mayme H. Stinchcomb and lists her occupation as "literary work" for "magazines;" in 1920, she is going by Hogue Stinchcomb.

She and her eldest daughter, Eleanor, both registered for the WWI Woman's Committee on National Defense. Eleanor, 21, listed herself as a student. Hogue is listed as Mrs. Mayme Hogue Stichcomb, 50, and states she's employed in the education department of the GR Anti-Tuberculosis Society. She wished to get training in "investigating."

The 1918 City Directory also lists Houge as a nurse at the Anti-Tuberculosis Society.

On page 525 of his history of Grand Rapids and Kent County, Ernest B. Fisher mentions "Mrs. Hogue Stinchcomb, in 1910, published a very creditable "History of the Ladies' Literary Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan."