Woman of the Century/Theodora Winton Youmans

YOUMANS, Mrs. Theodora Winton, journalist, born in Dodge county, Wis., 1st February, 1863. Her predilection for newspaper work began to be evident before she had reached womanhood, THEODORA WINTON YOUMANS. and showed itself in the form of original essays, poems and translations from German authors, which appeared over her maiden name, Theodora Winton, during her course of study in Carroll Col- lege. Waukesha, Wis. She was graduated as valedictorian of her class at the age of seventeen. Her family resided near Waukesha and Milwaukee, so that it was not difficult for her to keep in touch with the serial publications of both towns, though it was not until 1887 that she was regularly enrolled as a local reporter on the staff of the Waukesha "Freeman," a daily edition of which was issued during the resortseason in Waukesha. The small chronicling of local news from day to day was not very attractive to a young lady educated as Miss Winton has been, but she devoted herself to the duties of her position with intelligent fidelity and industry and achieved a marked success in the business from the beginning. A few months later she was permitted by the editor, now her husband, Mr. H. M. Youmans, to establish a department in the newspaper particularly for women, of which she took the sole management, and which proved to be successful. After remaining associated in editorial work for nearly two years, Miss Winton and Mr. Youmans were married in January, 1889, and immediately went on a tour of the Pacific States, the story of which was related in a series of highly interesting newspaper letters from Mrs. Youmans' pen. After that pleasant vacation she returned to her favorite work on the "Freeman." to which she has given continuous attention. Her productions have received warm commendation from all her readers. Her views of the relations between a country newspaper and its constituency were set forth in a paper read before the Wisconsin Press Association, in the meetings of February, 1890, which was pronounced by the "National Journalist" of the following month to be the clearest, most practical and entertaining of any paper presented at the session. She has found time for the accomplishment of much special work for city newspapers, and for the preparation of several papers of interest, read in meetings of various literary, social and agricultural organizations. She is a typical New Englander by ancestry and in the characteristics of enterprise, self-possession and persistency.