Marion Clyde McCarroll

Marion Clyde McCarroll (1891-1977) was a writer and journalist. McCarroll was the first woman issued a press pass by the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. She attained the press pass during the 1920s while writing for The Commercial, a daily business newspaper. McCarroll also penned the "Advice for the Lovelorn, a nationally syndicated column, after she inherited it from Dorothy Dix.[1]

Early life and education

McCarroll was born in East Orange, New Jersey, on May 8, 1891, to James Renwick Thompson and Helena Fredericka Stoughton (Loomis) McCarroll.[2] She graduated from the Beard School (now Morristown-Beard School) in Orange, New Jersey, in 1910. McCarroll then completed her bachelor's degree at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in 1914.[3] After graduating from college, McCarroll worked as a social worker for a year.[1]

Journalism and writing career

McCarroll began her journalism career as a reporter for The Ridgefield Weekly of Ridgefield, New Jersey. She then joined The Commercial as a columnist for its "Women in Business" column. McCarroll served as the woman's page editor for King Features Syndicate,[4] which distributed her column. She also served as the women's editor at the New York Evening Post (now The New York Post).[1]

During the 1930s, McCarroll wrote for both The New York Evening Post and the Sunday edition of The New York World. Her stories during this period included a feature article about a flight she took with pioneering aviator Ruth Rowland Nichols. McCarroll also worked as a publicity writer for Rockefeller Center.[5] She served as president of the New York Newspaper Women's Club from 1930 to 1931[1] and from 1949 to 1950.[4] During her tenure of service at the club, Franklin Roosevelt (then the Governor of New York) visited.[6]

McCarroll earned notoriety for penning the "Advice to the Lovelorn", a syndicated column. After initial reluctance, she started writing the column for the Hearst newspaper chain at the request of Ward Greene. McCarroll continued writing the column under the pen name of Beatrice Fairfax for the next 21 years.[1] (between 1942 [7] and 1963). In 1952, the New York chapter of Theta Sigma Pi, a journalism honor society, awarded her their Women of Achievement Award.[8]

Marriage

McCarroll married journalist Lynn Booth in 1926. They divorced in 1935.[9]

Death

Previously a resident of Manhattan and Ridgewood, New Jersey, McCarroll died on August 1, 1977, at a nursing home in Allendale, New Jersey, where she had resided for the last seven years of her life.[10]

Works

• Summer Cookbook (1954)
• Suzanne of Belgium; the story of a modern girl, with Suzanne Silvercruys Farnam (1932)

References

1. "Marion C. McCarroll, Ex-Columnist". The New York Times. 5 August 1977.
2. Derby, George; and White, James Terry. The National Cyclopædia of American Biography, p. 55. Accessed November 16, 2017. "McCarroll, Marion Clyde, columnist, was born in East Orange, N. J., May 8, 1891, daughter of James Renwick Thompson and Helen Fredericks Stoughton (Loomis) McCarroll."
3. Derby, George; White, James Terry (1981). The National Cyclopædia of American Biography, Volume 60."Marion C. McCarroll received her preliminary education at the Beard School, East Orange, and was graduated B.A. in 1914 at..."
4. "Heads Newspaper Women; Marion Clyde McCarroll of King Features Syndicate Elected by Club". The New York Times. May 20, 1949.
5. Wellesley College, ed. (1942). The Wellesley College Bulletin. 2. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
6. Newswoman's Club of New York Archived 2014-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Special Science Report". Newsweek. 55 (10–17).
8. "Journalism Society Will Give Six Awards". The New York Times. 9 April 1952.
9. "Lynn Booth". The New York Times. 23 November 1937.
10. "Marion C. McCarroll, Ex‐Columnist", The New York Times, August 5, 1977. Accessed November 16, 2017. "Marion Clyde McCarroll, who for 21 years wrote the nationally syndicated King Features column “Advice to the Lovelorn” under the name Beatrice Fairfax, died Monday in the Allendale Nursing Home, Allendale, N.J., where she had lived since 1970. She was 84 years old, and had formerly resided in Manhattan and in Ridgewood. N.J."