Fox, Frances Margaret, 1870-

Frances Margaret "Madge" Fox was born in South Framingham (Mass.) on June 23, 1870. She was the only child of James and Frances S. M. (Francks) Fox. Mrs. Fox died twelve days after Madge was born. Madge was abused by her father physically and psychologically. As a result of her fear of men, Madge never married. Between 1880 and 1883 her family moved to Mackinaw City (Mich.) where James worked as a railroad agent. Eventually, her family gave her to the neighbors, the Joslyns. Madge and several generations of Joslyns remained close throughout their lives. Madge attended primary school in Mackinaw City and, later, the Michigan Seminary in Kalamazoo (Mich.). Returning to Mackinaw City she formed a "kindergarten," becoming in effect the area's first primary teacher. Madge also taught in other local schools, including Levering (Mich.), and worked as a secretary in Bay City (Mich.). Madge formed a Sunshine Club for young children where she told her stories. Author William Thomson (1824-1898) was so impressed by her stories that he "commanded" Madge to write and not waste her talent. She then began writing. Her stories vary greatly in topic but were based on either her first hand experience or interviews of others, including the Joslyn children, or from her research. The vast majority of her stories are non-fiction. As an adult, Madge spent most of her winters in Washington, D. C. While there, she researched at the National Archives, Library of Congress, and Smithsonian Institute. She also talked with retired diplomats, politicians, and military men about their lives and interesting experiences they had seen and witnessed. She visited national monuments, for example, with specialists to understand the monuments and sculptures, American patent models to understand flypaper and sewing machines, the military to document American army mules, the National Zoo to write about the animals and keepers there, and the main D. C. Post Office to research Owney, the well traveled postal dog. She ws granted regular access to national archival collections. Many of her stories were initially published in religious (sabbath school) and secular magazines for children. Her Little Bear stories were particularly popular and were eventually published as separate books by Rand McNally & Company. She was a nationally recognized authors from at least the 1920s through the early 1950s. Her non-fiction books about birds and the migration of flowers to the U.S. were very popular with adults. The Clarke has 63 and the Library of Congress has 38 of her books in their collections. Madge was also responsible for selecting the historically significant downtown street names in Mackinaw City, at the request of the City Commissioners. By 1955 Madge moved to Detroit due to ill health where she was near the Joslyns. She died on March 1, 1959. Her ashes were deposited in the Straits by Alan Joslyn who presented a collection of her signed books and photographs to the Mackianw Women's Club library, now the public library in Mackinaw City (Mich.). (This information is from the collection.) Her home, Happy Landings, still stands in Mackinaw City (in 2008).