Isabel C. (Isabel Coston) Byrum

Born in Chicago on May 4, 1870, Isabel Coston Byrum became an American author whose work was widely associated with the Gospel Trumpet publishing circle in Anderson, Indiana. She wrote in a clear, accessible style and focused much of her work on Christian living, child rearing, and moral storytelling.

Her best-known books include The Value of a Praying Mother, Bedtime Stories from the Old Testament, How John Became a Man, and The Poorhouse Waif and His Divine Teacher. Taken together, her writing shows a consistent concern for home, faith, and the spiritual formation of young people.

Byrum died on August 25, 1938, at age 68. Though she is not widely known today, her books have continued to circulate through library catalogs, reprints, and public-domain editions, giving modern readers a window into early twentieth-century Protestant family reading.