James Gardner Sisson Collection

James Gardner Sisson was born Maryfrank Gardner in Warrenton, Virginia on July 20, 1892. She was raised in Prescott, Arizona.

She went to Manor School in Larchmont Manor, New York before attending Wellesley College from 1910 to 1914, where she was active in writing and theatre. She was known then as James Maryfrank Gardner. She attended Stanford University from 1921 to 1922 and graduated with an M.A. in English Literature, Economics and Education.

She was married to Richard Hoge Hellmann from January 1, 1918 to July 17, 1931. She then wed William Frederick Sisson on December 11, 1935; he died on October 1, 1963.

After graduating she taught English in junior and senior high schools in the California Bay Area. Other jobs included Director of Public Relations and magazine Editor, California Chapter of Pro America, Incorporated (1938-1941) and Director of Public Relations, American Principles, Incorporated Publishers (1941). She also served on the Board of Directors of the Children's Hospital in San Francisco; the San Francisco Y.W.C.A.; the Town and Country Club; and the Community Chest. She moved to Pasadena, California, when her second husband retired, circa 1956.

Sisson wrote stories and verse, sometimes using a non de plume that she never revealed. In 1925 her poem A Song was published in Wellesley Verse, 1875-1925. She wrote plays and stories for children, some of which were published by Samuel French and Aladdin Books. She also wrote radio and television scripts and articles on childrens' theatre.

She was very involved with the Junior League and its national childrens theatre program. From 1925 to 1935, she was an officer and board member of the Junior League of San Francisco. She also served as the Director of Children's Theater and the Editor of the San Francisco Junior League's Spectator. In May of 1933, she represented San Francisco at the National Convention of Junior Leagues in Philadelphia and contributed to the national Junior League magazine.

She wrote, directed, and produced childrens' plays for the Junior League as follows: Cinderella, a Fairy Play for Children (1933 and 1935); Six Silver Pennies, a Play for Children (1933); and Siege at Christmas, a Play for Children (1934). In 1935 Sisson won the Samuel French Class One Award for best children's play of the year. That same year Samuel French published her The Black Knight, a Play for Children in Three Acts and The Stranger Princess, A Fairy Play for Children in Three Acts. Her name then was James Gardner Hellmann. From 1935 to 1937, she was president and manager of the Children's Theater Association of San Francisco. She died in Pasadena on March 16, 1973.