Ruth Belle Willey Gue (April 8, 1860 – October 23, 1944) was an American writer and clubwoman, based inSan Diego in later life. She wrote poetry, stories, and articles for magazines and newspapers, and published about a dozen books.
Ruth Belle Willey was born on April 8, 1860, in Inland,Cedar County, Iowa, the daughter of Ward Willis Willey and Sarah Jennie Russel Willey.[1] She graduated fromOberlin College in 1882[1][2]
Gue's poems and stories appeared in theLos Angeles Times,[3]The Cosmopolitan,[4]Outdoor Life[5][6]The Kindergarten Primary Magazine,[7] andOverland Monthly.[8][9][10][11] She also published about a dozen books, including historical fiction,[12][13] dramas,[14] and collections of verse. "Mrs. Gue undoubtedly has the poetic instinct and understands the art of versification," noted a 1905 reviewer in Nebraska, "but no one but a martyr or most intimate friend would want to read more than two of her eighty-four short poems at one sitting. There isn't a gleam of joy in the whole book – it is simply saturated sombreness."[15]
In 1901, Gue was founding president of the Winside Woman's Club in Nebraska.[16] In 1918, she wrote the lyrics for "Our Golden State", an entry in a patriotic song contest duringWorld War I.[17] She also wrote the lyrics of "The Elm Trees of Oberlin", which was sung at an alumni association event in San Diego in 1924.[18] She was a member of the San Diego Writers' Club,[19]California Writers Club, and the Oberlin Alumni Association.[1]
She moved to California in 1913 and lived in San Diego. She married her cousin Willey Merrill Gue in 1885;[1] They divorced in 1910, and he died in 1922. She died on October 23, 1944, and her grave is in San Diego.
^"New Song is Work of Local Writers".San Diego Union and Daily Bee. November 10, 1918. p. 1. RetrievedDecember 23, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
^"San Diego Chapter".Oberlin Alumni Magazine.20 (7): 26. April 1924 – via Internet Archive.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.