Maud (Gage) Baum (1861 - 1953)

Born 27 Mar 1861 in Fayetteville, NY

Ancestors

Wife of Lyman Frank Baum — married 9 Nov 1882 in Fayetteville, New York

Descendants

Died 6 Mar 1953 at age 91 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Maud Gage Baum (March 27, 1861 – March 6, 1953) was the wife of L. Frank Baum. Her mother was the suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage. In her early life, she attended a boys' high school and was raised to be headstrong.

Maud lived in Fayetteville, New York, with her aging parents until she married Frank in 1882, sacrificing her college education at Cornell University. At the onset of their marriage, she accompanied her husband's acting troupe throughout the United States. After she became pregnant, Maud and Frank settled down in a rented house, where she gave birth to Frank Joslyn in 1883. Complications arising from giving birth to her second son Robert Stanton in 1886 caused Maud to become afflicted with peritonitis. Ill for two years, she found solace in visiting her mother and siblings. In 1889 and 1891, she gave birth to Harry Neal and Kenneth Gage, respectively.

In the invitation for their 25th anniversary, Frank wrote:

“Quarrels: just a few. Wife in tears: three times (cat died; bonnet spoiled; sore toe). Husband swore: one thousand one hundred and eighty-seven times; at wife, 0. Broke, occasionally; bent, often.”

They were married for 37 years, until Frank passed away in 1919.

Described by her children as a no-nonsense mother, Maud took charge of the family finances and the disciplining of her children. She was their primary caretaker because her husband's business obligations frequently led to his being away for weeks at a time. The family moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1888 because Maud wished to be near her brother and two sisters. After her husband was unable to sustain a living there, they moved to Chicago. Because of their dire financial situation, Maud also worked, teaching embroidery and lace-making.

Beginning in 1900, her husband's best-selling picture book, Father Goose: His Book (first published in 1899), brought the family financial security that it had theretofore lacked. They began spending their summers at a cottage in Macatawa Park, Michigan. In November of that year, Frank transferred to Maud the literary rights of his most recent books, including Father Goose and From Kansas to Fairyland (later published as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz). By dint of Frank's literary successes, Maud and Frank were financially secure enough to tour Egypt and Europe for six months. Since Frank was frequently occupied with penning stories for his publishers, Maud was the one who wrote numerous letters home. These letters were later published in 1907 as In Other Lands Than Ours for friends and family. After Frank died, she authorized Ruth Plumly Thompson to write more Oz sequels and helped promote MGM's film The Wizard of Oz (1939). In 1953, she died at 91 years of age, surviving her husband by 34 years.

Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_Gage_Baum
• https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7001576