Voting Station

Anne Royall

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Commentator

The Resume

    (June 11, 1769-October 29, 1854)
    Born in Baltimore, Maryland
    Birth name was Anne Newport
    Travel writer and news journal editor
    One of the first major female journalists in American history
    Best known for her nine-volume 'Letters from Alabama on Various Subjects' (1830) and three-volume 'Mrs. Royall's Southern Tour, or Second Series of the Black Book' (1830-1831)

Why she might be annoying:

    At the age of eighteen, she married a plantation owner twenty years her senior.
    Popular legend claims that she once came across then-President John Quincy Adams while he was skinny-dipping in the Potomac, and sat on his clothes until he agreed to an interview.
    Her writings were harshly critical of the Presbyterian community.
    She was arrested, in 1829, after a vocal dispute with the leaders of a nearby Presbyterian church and was fined ten dollars for disturbing the peace and being 'a common scold' (two newspaper reporters paid the penalty on her behalf).

Why she might not be annoying:

    She embarked on a writing career to support herself after a jury nullified her husband's will, leaving her penniless.
    She was known for her incisive descriptions of Americans from all walks of life, from public figures to ordinary citizens.
    She earned the first presidential interview ever granted to a woman.
    Her commentary touched on the issues of political corruption, government waste, and the separation of church and state.
    The publicity from her legal dispute boosted the sales of her writings, leading to a highly-publicized tour across the American south.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying