Frances Elizabeth Barrow

Not to be confused with Frances Dana Barker Gage.

Frances Elizabeth Barrow (née Mease; pen name, Aunt Fanny; February 22, 1822 – May 7, 1894)^[1] was a 19th-century American children's writer.^[2]

Frances Elizabeth Barrow
Born	Frances Elizabeth Mease February 22, 1822 Charleston, South Carolina
Died	May 7, 1894(1894-05-07) (aged 72) New York City
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
Pen name	Aunt Fanny
Nickname	"Frankie Blue"
Occupation	Author
Language	English
Nationality	American
Genre	Children's literature
Spouse	James Barrow, Jr. ​ ​ (m. 1841; died 1868)​

Biography

Frances ("Frankie Blue"^[3]) Elizabeth Mease was born in Charleston, South Carolina, February 22, 1822.^[4][2][5] Her parents were Charles Benton Mease,^[6] of Charleston, and Sarah Matilda Graham of Boston.^[7] Barrow's sister, Alexina Black Mease married Richard Grant White in 1850.^[8]

Barrow's nom de plume of "Aunt Fanny",^[5] first appeared in 1855, when she began to write books for children. There were twenty-five in all, and some were translated in Europe. They included Six Night Caps, Aunt Fanny's Story Book, Four Little Hearts, and Take Heed. Barrow also wrote The Wife's Stratagem, a novel, and The Letter G.^[6]

On December 7, 1841, she married James Barrow, Jr.^[7] He died at the age of 53 at Maison Labeyrie, rue Bernadotte, Pau, France,^[9] November 18, 1868 and was interred in Pau. She died at 30 East Thirty-fifth street, in New York City^[6] on May 7, 1894.^[2] The interment was in Woodlawn Cemetery.^[6] Two daughters, Mrs. S. L. Holly and Mrs. Theodore Connoly, survived her.^[6]

Selected works

• Stories told in the wood, 1864
• Little nightcaps., 1861
• Fairy nightcaps, 1861
• Big nightcap Letters
• The birdnests' stories
• Daisy & Dot