Joseph Bushnell Ames

Joseph Bushnell Ames (August 9, 1878 – June 20, 1928) was an American novelist during the early 20th century.[1]

Joseph Bushnell Ames
Born(1878-08-09)August 9, 1878
Titusville, Pennsylvania
DiedJune 20, 1928(1928-06-20) (aged 49)
Morristown, New Jersey
OccupationNovelist
EducationStevens Institute of Technology
RelativesPeter Ashmun Ames (brother)
Daniel Bushnell (great-grandfather)

Early life

Joseph Bushnell Ames was born on August 9, 1878, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the son of Elias Hurlbut Ames (1851-1891) and Eleanor Gray Bushnell (1855-1946).[2] Both Ames' father and maternal grandfather, Joseph Bushnell (1831–1918), came from old New England families and became wealthy during the Pennsylvania Oil Rush. Ames' great-grandfather was the Pittsburgh industrialist Daniel Bushnell.[3] After Elias Ames' death of pneumonia in 1891 at age 39, Joseph's mother moved the family to Morristown, New Jersey, where her children had a privileged upbringing in the town that was then known as an "inland Newport.".[4] Ames attended St. Mark's School and the Stevens Institute of Technology, graduating from the latter in 1901.[5] Ames then worked as a mechanical engineer in Morristown, New Jersey for a time, until he quit that profession and began writing.[6]

Career

Ames wrote over a dozen novels, primarily Westerns, during the 1910s and 1920s.[7] Some of his works, including the posthumously published The Bladed Barrier, included fantasy themes. While Ames' books were set in the Western United States (the famous Pete, cow-puncher - A Story of the Texas Plains, is one example), it is unclear whether he ever travelled there extensively.[8] His novel Shoe-Bar Stratton was made into the 1922 Western film Catch My Smoke, directed by William Beaudine and featuring actors Tom Mix and Lillian Rich.[9]

Poster for the 1922 film Catch My Smoke, based on Ames' novel "Shoe-bar Stratton"

Personal life

For most of his writing career Ames lived in "Willow Hall," a mansion on his estate, "Speedwell," in Morristown, New Jersey. The estate was the former residence of industrialist George Vail. Today the home is preserved as a historic site.[10] Ames' brother Peter Ashmun Ames, to whom Joseph dedicated his 1921 novel The Emerald Buddha, was an American intelligence officer and a member of the Cairo Gang.[11] The philanthropist Mary Warden Harkness, wife of Charles W. Harkness, was a first cousin of Ames' mother Eleanor.[12]

Ames' home in Morristown, New Jersey, as it appears today.

Books
  • The Valley of Missing Men. London: A.C. McClurg & Company, 1925.
  • The Man from Painted Post. New York: Century Company, 1923.
  • The Stranger from Cheyenne. New York: Century Company, 1927.
  • The Mystery of Ram Island. New York: Century Company, 1918.
  • Chaps and Chukkers. New York: Century Company, 1928.
  • The Bladed Barrier. New York, London: The Century Co., 1929.[13]
  • The Secret of Spirit Lake. New York: Century Company, 1927.
  • The Emerald Buddha. Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1921.
  • Flame of the Desert. New York: Duffield, 1928.
  • Curly and the Aztec Gold. New York: Century Company, 1920.
  • Shoe-Bar Stratton. New York: Century Company, 1922.
  • Pete, Cow-puncher: A Story of the Texas Plains. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1908.[14]
  • Under Boy Scout Colors. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1917.
  • The Lone Hand. New York: A. L. Burt Company, 1926.[15]

References
  1. "Joseph Bushnell Ames". The New York Times. June 21, 1928. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  2. "Obituary 5". The New York Times. February 8, 1946. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  3. London), John Matthews (of (1903). Matthews' American Armoury and Blue Book. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  4. "Morristown". The New York Times. September 5, 1982. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  5. Member of Beta Theta Pi Residing in New York City and Vicinity. 1909. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  6. Pi, Beta Theta (1905). Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  7. Joseph Bushnell Ames. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  8. Frantz, Joe B.; Julian Ernest, Jr. Choate (February 2016). The American Cowboy: The Myth and the Reality. ISBN 9780806155999. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  9. Catch My Smoke. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  10. Willow Hall. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  11. Ames, Joseph Bushnell (1921). The Emerald Buddha. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  12. London), John Matthews (of (1903). Matthews' American Armoury and Blue Book. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  13. "The Bladed Barrier". Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  14. Google Books: Joseph Bushnell Ames. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  15. University of Pennsylvania Library. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
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