Miriam Anna Franklin was born on October 3, 1894 at a farm near Rossville in Shawnee County, Kansas to Joseph “Joe” Manning Franklin and Lucy Virginia Franklin (nee Kunkel). She had three siblings: Charles Benjamin “Ben” Franklin (October 15, 1891 – July 4, 1983), Myrnah Rachel McIntyre (June 22 1893 – May 19, 1986), and Monita “Nita” Cox (November 19, 1897 – February 8, 1984). She and her siblings attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse near Rossville.

Throughout her life Miriam was an actor, author, and teacher. After graduating high school, Miriam attended Baker University in Baldwin City, KS for three years. In her sophomore year, she dropped out of school due to a crop failure at home and taught elementary school for one year in South Dakota. She finally graduated in 1919 with her Bachelor of Arts from Washburn College in Topeka. Also in her sophomore year, Miriam began participating in Chautauqua and Lyceum circuits (adult education and entertainment traveling shows) by acting in plays and performing in concerts. She took a break after graduating from Washburn to solely participate in the acting circuits. In 1926, after a few years in entertainment, Miriam studied speech and theater at Columbia University in New York City for one year before going to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she earned her master’s in oral communication.

After receiving her graduate degree, Miriam taught as the head of the Speech Department for 16 years at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. She published the college textbook Rehearsal; the principles and practice of acting for the stage with Prentice-Hall in 1938, as well as the children’s novel Trilby’s Fate and the booklet series How to Make Money by Using Good Speech. In the 1950s she was director of dramatics at Washburn College for 6 years, and from 1957 to 1959 she taught at the College of Guam on the Island of Guam. She then embarked a five-month international trip with a friend where she visited 15 countries in Asia and Europe. After returning home, Miriam retired from teaching and worked as an antique dealer in Topeka.

In the late 1920s Miriam began traveling extensively, first with a 6-week summer tour of Europe, and later visiting Ireland, Norway, Egypt, the Middle East, South America, and Hong Kong among other locations throughout her life. She continued to travel into her 80s, with her last international trip to Switzerland and Austria taking place in 1979. Miriam passed away in Topeka on July 21, 1992, survived by three nephews and five nieces. She is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Topeka with her parents and two siblings, Myrnah and Ben.

[Information retrieved from census records, findagrave.com, and collection accession files.]