Laurel Louisa FLETCHER

1878 - 1957  (78 years)

• Name	Laurel Louisa FLETCHER  [2]
  	Daughter of Stoughton Jesse Fletcher and Lizzie Laurel Locke Fletcher. Usually called by her middle name, Louisa, in adult life. Her family called her "Abbess". She is often confused with her niece and namesake, Laurel Louisa Fletcher (1903-1927), who was the daughter of her brother, Stoughton A. Fletcher. Poet and author, who collaborated with her famous first husband in arranging many of his works as plays for Broadway. His book "The Magnificent Ambersons" is thought to have been based on her colorful and flamboyant family. She attended Smith College. Her most famous poem is "The Land of Beginning Again", which she wrote after her first divorce. This poem is said to have been the origin of the song of the same name sung by Bing Crosby in the movie "The Bells of St. Mary". Married, first, [Newton] Booth Tarkington, 18 Jun 1902 in Indianapolis, IN (divorced 1911). Child: 1. Laurel Louisa, b. 6 Feb 1906, d. 13 Apr 1923 of pneumonia in Indianapolis. Laurel also suffered from what was then called dementia praecox, now known as schizophrenia. Married, second, [James] Willard Connely, a newspaperman, biographer, and professor of English at Brown University, 16 May 1915 in Washington, DC (divorced 1925) Child: 2. Nancy Willard, b. 9 Dec 1922, d. 12 Nov 2008; m. Albert Van Nostrand, 3 Sep 1943; five children. Married, third, Dr. Peter K. Knoefel, October 19, 1931 in Carson City, NV (divorced 1932). No children. Louisa resumed the surname of her previous husband, and was called by it in her obituary in 1957. [1]
  Birth	12 Dec 1878	Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana   [1, 3, 4]
  Gender	Female
  Census	1910	Living with husband in Indianapolis, Marion Co., indiana   [4]
  Death	7 Feb 1957	Providence, Providence Co., Rhode Island   [1]
  Burial	Forest Chapel Cemetery, Barrington, Bristol C., Rhode Island   [1]
  Person ID	I66375	Main Tree
  Last Modified	24 Aug 2022

  
  

  Family 1	Newton Booth TARKINGTON,   b. 29 Jul 1869, Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana d. 19 May 1946, Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana (Age 76 years)
  Marriage	18 Jun 1902  [1, 4]
  Divorce	1911  [1]
  Children	1. Laurel Louisa TARKINGTON,   b. 6 Feb 1906, Indiana d. 13 Apr 1923, Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana (Age 17 years)  [Birth]
  Family ID	F26690	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Aug 2022

  
  

  Family 2	James Willard CONNELY,   b. 1 Jul 1888, Atlantic City, New jersey
  Marriage	16 May 1915	Washington D.C.   [1, 5]
  Divorce	1925  [1]
  Family ID	F43891	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Aug 2022

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 12 Dec 1878 - Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S02329] Find A Grave Website. [S4495] Ancestry.com: Who's Who in the World, 1910-1911. [S01789] Ancestry.com: Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941. [S7045] 1910 Census Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. [S10315] Ancestry.com: Washington, D.C., U.S., Marriage Index 1830-1921.