Family tree of Lorena HICKOK

Author, Journalist

American Born Lorena Alice HICKOK

American journalist known for her close relationship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt

Born on March 07, 1893 in East Troy, Wisconsin, USA , United States

Died on May 01, 1968

Born on march 07 60

Deceased on may 01 29

Family tree

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Waite

Montillion

1787 - 1868

Douglas

Lydia

1793 -

Waite

Elias

1825 -

Springer

Matilda Barnhardt

1832 - 1901

Hickok

Addison

Waite

Anna Adelsa

1854 - 1906

Hickok

Lorena Alice

1893 - 1968

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Source : tdowling

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Lorena Hickok, popularly known as "Hick", was born in East Troy in Walworth County, Wisconsin, the daughter of Anna Adelsa (née Waite) and Addison Hickok. Lorena's mother made dresses, while her father was a buttermaker. During childhood, Hickok experienced a troubled family life, characterized by abuse, unemployment, and repeated moves. When Hickok was ten, the family moved to Bowdle, South Dakota. An introverted child, Hickok was embarrassed by her extreme height, and later recalled that she spent most of her time in solitude, daydreaming or playing with the animals of her family's farm. At fourteen, she left home following her mother's death, and worked as a maid until her mother's cousin, Ella Ellis, took her in. While living with Ellis, Hickok finished high school and enrolled at Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Unable to fit in at college, Hickok failed out in her first year. She was hired to cover train arrivals and departures and write personal interest stories at The Battle Creek Evening News for $7 a week. In an attempt to follow in the footsteps of her role model, novelist and former reporter Edna Ferber, she joined the Milwaukee Sentinel as its society editor, but moved on to the city beat where she developed a talent as an interviewer. She interviewed celebrities, including actress Lillian Russell, pianist Ignacy Paderewski, and opera singers Nellie Melba and Geraldine Farrar, gaining a wide audience. She also became close friends with diva Ernestine Schumann-Heink.

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