Will Allen Dromgoole
| In 1890, a Nashville writer named Will Allen Dromgoole visited Newman’s Ridge in Hancock County, Tennessee. The result was two articles in the Nashville Sunday American and, later, two articles in the nationally-circulated magazine The Arena. Many have assumed from her name that Will Allen Dromgoole was a man. Early in her career, she used the pen name "Will Allen, " but her choice of names was not simply a means by which a female could get published in newspapers and magazines. William Ann Dromgoole was born on October 25, 1860 to John and Rebecca Dromgoole. She changed her name to William Allen when she was just six years old and was known as Will Allen for most of her life. Educated at home and at private schools, Dromgoole also studied at Clarksville Female Academy and the New England School of Expressionism in Boston. Dromgoole desired a career in law, which was not open to women at that time, so she wrote articles and poetry and became involved in Tennessee politics. She served as an engrossing clerk in the Tennessee Senate. Dromgoole became interested in the Melungeons after reading a newspaper article, and embarked on a search for information, which che describes in her first Arena article. The resulting articles formed the basis of most of the articles written about the Melungeons for the next century. Some of Dromgoole's facts are questionable (particularly some of her notions about biology) and her writings are certainly colored by her attitudes toward race -- attitudes she shared with the vast majority of whites in her day. Nonetheless, Dromgoole provides a unique portrait of the Melungeons at the end of the 19th century. You can select one of her four articles from the menu on the left side of this screen. |
