Graham, Margaret Collier, 1850-1910

Margaret Collier Graham (1850-1910) was a California writer. She, her husband, Donald McIntyre Graham, and her sister, Jane E. Collier, moved to California after her husband fell ill with tuberculosis in 1876. After living a few months in Anaheim, they moved to Pasadena. Margaret wrote stories which were published in the Argonaut and the Californian, and in later years she published in the Atlantic monthly, Century magazine, and Land of sunshine. Her books include Stories of the foot-hills and The wizard's daughter and other stories.

Graham was born on Sept. 29, 1850 in Van Buren County, IA; graduated from Monmouth College (IL) in 1869; publications include Stories of the Foot-hills (1895), The wizard's daughter (1905), and Gifts and givers (1906); she died in 1910.

Biography

Margaret Collier Graham (1850-1910) was born in Iowa. Collier Graham is considered a California writer and a City of Pasadena pioneer. She attended Monmouth College in Illinois, and married former classmate Donald McIntyre Graham in 1873. Due to Donald Graham's poor health, the couple made their way to California in 1876. In l883, Graham and his associates bought the l3,000-acre Laguna Ranch which later became Lake Elsinore. Margaret chose the name Elsinore, and is considered one of the city's cofounders. In 1887 the Grahams built the home of their dreams in South Pasadena. They called this mansion-now a historic site in South Pasadena- by the Welsh name "Wynyate," which means vineyard. Wynyate became a meeting place for writers and lecturers. In 1888 Donald McIntyre Graham was elected first mayor of the new city of South Pasadena. California's climate helped McIntyre Graham deal with his respiratory disease, but eventually he passed away prematurely in 1890. After his passing, Margaret Collier focused more on her writing. During the so-called "Gay Nineties," she began making a name for herself by publishing stories about California life. She published essays in the Argonaut and the Californian . Her stories appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Century Magazine, and other periodicals as well as in her books, Stories of the Foot-Hills and The Wizard's Daughter And Other Stories published by Houghton, Mifflin Co. Margaret (Collier) Graham was active in the suffrage movement, and several social clubs. She wrote passionately about women's rights, society, and literature. Margaret Collier Graham passed away on January 17, 1910.

Biography

Margaret (Collier) Graham (1850-1910) was a California writer and Pasadena area pioneer. She grew up in Iowa, attended Monmouth College in Illinois, became a teacher, then in 1873 married the budding young lawyer, Donald McIntyre Graham. When Don fell ill with tuberculosis in 1876, the two came to California accompanied by Margaret's sister Jane. After living a few months near Anaheim, they moved to Pasadena. Don obtained the contract to bring the mail from Los Angeles to Pasadena, becoming Pasadena's first official mail carrier (and providing him life in the open air to help arrest his tuberculosis). In 1877 he opened a real estate office in Los Angeles. Margaret accepted a teaching job and wrote stories, many of which were published in the Argonaut and the Californian. As the real estate "boom" began in the 1880s, she and her husband, along with her brother William C. Collier and Franklin H. Heald, developed the town of Elsinore from the old California land grant of Rancho la Laguna. Then, without Franklin Heald, the Grahams and William Collier subdivided the neighboring town of Wildomar from part of the Laguna Rancho and part of the Santa Rosa Rancho. In 1887 the Grahams began building the home of their dreams in South Pasadena, which they called by the Welsh name "Wynyate". It soon became a center of culture in the area. In 1888 Don was elected first mayor of the new city of South Pasadena. After many years of struggle with illness, Don passed away in 1890. Margaret helped administer the real estate affairs and seriously began writing once more. Her stories appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Century Magazine, and other periodicals as well as in her books, Stories of the Foot-Hills and The Wizard's Daughter And Other Stories published by Houghton, Mifflin Co. Margaret (Collier) Graham was active in the woman suffrage movement, Los Angeles Woman's Club, Friday Morning Club, and the Landmarks Club. She wrote a literary column in the Los Angeles Evening Express and a monthly feature in Charles Lummis' Land of Sunshine. After an extended illness Margaret (Collier) Graham passed away on January 17, 1910.