Agnes W. Bartlett author page

Agnes W. Bartlett, a fundraiser for healthcare in Appalachia, was one of the first female constructors in the Times. She was likely the third woman and 16th overall constructor to appear in the Times. (Uncertainties due to pseudonyms require caveating these types of rankings.)

Ms. Bartlett's debut in the Times was published in September 1942. It is her only known Times crossword. Among female constructors, only Mabel Daggett and Alma Tally appear to have preceded her. The byline "Marie C. French" also came before Ms. Bartlett, but that is likely a pseudonym of Ms. Daggett.

In 1888, a puzzle by Ms. Bartlett appeared in Harper's Young People magazine. It was a so-called "enigma" puzzle, a type of puzzle that described a mystery word, often in verse. Young Ms. Bartlett's enigma is the earliest-known puzzle of any kind to be published by a Times crossword constructor.

Born in 1875, she ranks among the earliest-born Times constructors, a group that also includes Alexis Boodberg (1869), J.C. Doesburg (1869), Harriot Cook (1871), Ms. Daggett (1873), Lester Keene (1874), Thomas Meekin (1878), Louis Shields (1881), and Charles Erlenkotter (1881).

This generation was already in their 30s and 40s when crosswords were invented in 1913 (Ms. Bartlett was 37). When the Times launched its crossword in 1942, they were in their 60s and 70s, with Ms. Bartlett being 66.

When Ms. Bartlett made her Times debut, she was already an established crossword constructor. Her puzzles appeared in the New York Herald Tribune in the early 1930s and in a 1933 book called "The Crossword Tracer," which celebrated her as "well known to all puzzle fans."

Agnes Willard Bartlett was born in 1875 in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Willard Bartlett, was a prominent lawyer who served as the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. He had once been a literary and drama critic for the New York Sun. Agnes's mother, Mary (Buffum) Bartlett, was a homemaker. The family was part of New York's elite upper class. Mr. Bartlett was a one-time law partner and lifelong friend of Elihu Root, a U.S. Senator and Secretary of State.

Agnes showed an early interest in creating puzzles. Her 1888 enigma puzzle in Harper's Young People was published around her 13th birthday:

My first is in fly, but not in bug.
My second is in pitcher, but not in mug.

My third is in sink, but not in float.
My fourth is in canoe, but not in boat.

My fifth is in green, but not in pink.
My sixth is in pen, but not in ink.
My seventh is in dream, but not in think.

My eighth is in guess, but not in know.
My ninth is in wren, but not in crow.

My tenth is in spend, but not in save.
My eleventh is in timid, but not in brave.

My twelfth is in spin, but not in weave.
My thirteenth is in take, and also in leave.

My fourteenth is in rain, but not in shower.
My whole is a beautiful wild flower.

The solution to her puzzle is FRINGED GENTIAN, a 14-letter wild flower.

Ms. Bartlett was an active fundraiser for healthcare services in Appalachia. In about 1913, she learned of the work of Lydia Holman, a nurse who served communities in the mountains of North Carolina. Nurse Holman focused on bringing medical and social services into the homes of poor and isolated families, often traveling by horse to do so. Inspired, Ms. Bartlett launched an effort to raise funds annually to support Ms. Holman's work. The program was credited with reducing maternity mortality rates in the area. As one publication explained in 1922:

The financial support … originated chiefly through the activities of Miss Agnes W. Bartlett, a Brooklyn woman. Through her enterprise two groups were organized, one in Brooklyn … and one in Boston; and the two groups combined raise about $5,000 per year, which includes the salary of a physician.

Ms. Bartlett traveled to North Carolina to see first-hand Ms. Holman's work and the communities it served. She also raised money to provide holiday gifts to children in Appalachia.

She had a role in preserving an element of medical history. Her great-uncle was Dr. Elisha Bartlett, a leading medical authority in the 19th century who was credited with helping shift American medicine to a more scientific approach. Ms. Bartlett possessed papers related to Dr. Bartlett and was active in having them archived.

She passed away in 1953 at age 78.