Bell Elliott Palmer (March 27, 1873 – October 2, 1947) was an American writer.
Early life Bell Elliott was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, the daughter of Richard Douglas Elliott (1848-1878) and Lucy H. Twyman Elliott (died 1878). She was raised by her grandparents after becoming an orphan as a small girl. She attended the University of Chicago. "Bell Elliot Palmer: An Author With a Mission For Spreading Optimism" Book News Monthly (February 1916): 249-250.University of Chicago, Annual Register (1910): 578.
Career Bell Elliott Palmer wrote dozens of plays, mostly one-act comedies, "clean and suitable for church, school, or dramatic clubs"."Advertisement" in Edyth M. Wormwood, No Girls Admitted: A Short Play for Eighth Grade Or High School Pupils (Eldridge Entertainment House 1912): 20. Her titles included The Professor's Truant Gloves (1906),Bell Elliott Palmer, The Professor's Truant Gloves: A Comedy Sketch (Dick & Fitzgerald 1906). The Point of View (1906),Bell Elliott Palmer, The Point of View: A Comedy Sketch (Dick & Fitzgerald 1906). Out of Town (1906),Bell Elliott Palmer, Out of Town: A Comedy in Three Acts (Walter H. Baker Company 1906). Mrs. Santa Claus, Militant (1914),Bell Elliott Palmer, "Mrs. Santa Claus, Militant: A Christmas Comedy" (Eldridge Entertainment House 1914). The Love Flower (1921),Bell Elliott Palmer, The Love Flower (Eldridge Entertainment House 1921). What Can We Do with Aunt Sally? (1922),Bell Elliott Palmer, What Can We Do with Aunt Sally? A Comedy in Two Acts (Eldridge Entertainment House 1922). In the Garden of Life (1924),Bell Elliott Palmer, In the Garden of Life: A One-Act Easter Play (Eldridge Entertainment House 1924). Fighting it Out at the Cheer Club (1924),Bell Elliott Palmer, Fighting it Out at the Cheer Club: A Playlet in One Act (Eldridge Entertainment House 1924). Setting the Nation Right (1924),Bell Elliott Palmer, Setting the Nation Right (Eldridge Entertainment House 1924). Not So Turribul (1925),Bell Elliott Palmer, Not So Turribul: A Sketch (Eldridge Entertainment House 1925). It Can't Be Done (1925),Bell Elliott Palmer, It Can't Be Done: A Comedy in One Act (Fitzgerald Publishing 1925). Rest a Bit, Mother (1925),Bell Elliott Palmer, Rest a Bit, Mother: A Three-Act Play (Eldridge Entertainment House 1925). What's the Use! (1926),Bell Elliott Palmer, What's the Use! A Comedy in Three Acts (Eldridge Entertainment House 1926). The Meddlesome Mrs. Mars (1929),Bell Elliott Palmer, The Meddlesome Mrs. Mars (Eldridge Entertainment House 1929). We Never Gossip (1932), The Very Idea (1932), Fidgets (1932). Other titles, advertised in 1912, were His Uncle's Choice, or Dodging an Heiress, The Bluners from Blue Ridge, Aunt Billie From Texas, The Home of Confusion, Tilton, the Uplifter, Bob Upsets the Calendar, and They Do Say. Her Blessed Boy was added to the list by 1919."Advertisement" in Gladys Ruth Bridgham, Polly Lou (Eldridge Entertainment House 1919): 58.
Palmer published an epistolary novel, The Single-Code Girl (1915).Bell Elliott Palmer, The Single-Code Girl: A Novel (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard 1915). She also wrote short stories,Bell Elliott Palmer, "Miss Cynthia's Sideboard" The Kinsley Mercury (April 7, 1909): 8. via Newspapers.com and articles for Out West and other periodicals.Bell Elliott Palmer, "From New York to Lawndale, Calif." Out West (December 1914): 342-344.
Personal life Bell Elliott married James Allerton Palmer, a banker. They had three daughters. In 1916 she planned a long-distance walk with two of her daughters, from Los Angeles to Chicago."Plans Los Angeles – Chicago Hike; Mother and 2 Daughters to Walk" Oakland Tribune (July 24, 1916): 9. via Newspapers.com Palmer died in 1947, in Jacksonville, Illinois, survived by her daughters Anna Capps and Bell Voss."Mrs. Bell Elliott Palmer Dies; Plan Services Monday" Jacksonville Daily Journal (October 4, 1947): 8. via Newspapers.com Her son-in-law was the artist Charles Merrick Capps.Charles Merrick Capps, Smithsonian American Art Museum.Steve Hochstadt, "Jacksonville Characters" Illinois College.
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