author
1868–1943
Known for children’s stories and practical books about American citizenship, this early 20th-century writer moved comfortably between imaginative storytelling and civic education. Her work reached young readers as well as immigrants and new citizens learning about the United States.
by Elizabeth C. Barney (Elizabeth Cynthia Barney) Buel
Elizabeth Cynthia Barney Buel was an American author born on February 16, 1868, and she died on November 2, 1943. Surviving catalog records and library references identify her as a writer of children’s books, while LibriVox also notes her broader work as an author.
She is especially associated with the D.A.R. manual for citizenship, a guide prepared for the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Library records show that she also compiled Manual of the United States, for the Information of Immigrants and Foreigners, an earlier version of that project, and that the work appeared in multiple revised editions over the years.
Her bibliography suggests a writer with wide interests. In addition to children’s literature and citizenship manuals, catalog records connect her with editorial work on American Lace & Lace-Makers, showing a career that touched history, culture, and public education as well as storytelling.