American author of children's books Margaret O'Bannon Womack Vandercook was born on January 12, 1877, and passed away on February 7, 1958. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of Joel Mayo Womack and Nannie Gibson (O'Bannon) Womack. She went to both public and private schools there. She wed John Filkin Vandercook in 1900; he went on to become the United Press Association's first president. He passed away in 1908. John Womack Vandercook was the couple's only child. Margaret lived in Leonardo, New Jersey, during the summers, and in Gramercy Park, New York, during the winters. She also traveled extensively in Europe for a number of years while her husband was alive. Although Margaret Vandercook didn't start writing professionally until after her husband passed away, she has since earned the title of "queen of Camp Fire writers" for her 21 Camp Fire novels, which she wrote both under her real name and the pen name "Margaret Love Sanderson." Author of the Miss Minerva books Emma Keats Speed Sampson also wrote under the alias Margaret Love Sanderson. Margaret is well-known for her books in the Girl Scouts, Red Cross Girls, Ranch Girls, and Camp Fire Girls series for girls in addition to the latter three.
