Gravely Speaking : Anne Royall

Have you ever dealt with a person that was always in everyones business? Someone that was always causing trouble?   Today, we begin a series where we "dig" up the stories on some interesting figures in our history.

Most people today would have no idea who Anne Royall was, but when she was alive she was both revered and despised.  She is most widely known as being America's first professional newswoman and her life was characterized by blowing the door open on government policies and corruption.  I guess she could also be referred to as the nations earliest gossip queen.

Royall was a very small lady with extremely blue and piercing eyes.  People often recalled shielding themselves from her when passing by to escape her soul piercing gave.  In 1829, she was arrested for being a "common scold" meaning that she was deemed a public nuisance.  One practice of the day was referred to as "ducking" in which the deviant was put into a chair like contraption and dunked into a river or pond.  Royall was spared this punishment, most likely because of her advanced age, and was fined 10 bucks.

One of the most interesting legends about Anne Royall involves her forced interview of John Quincy Adams.  According to the story, Adams was bathing in the Potomac River and Royall sat on his clothes until he answered her questions.

In 1831 she began publishing her own newspaper known as "Paul Pry" in which she handed out blistering attacks on those in authority and anyone else she felt generally annoyed with.  The newspaper continued in various forms until her death in 1854.


Anne Royall is buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington D.C.