Bethann Beall Faris Van Ness

Bethann Beall Faris Van Ness (May 26, 1902 – December 23, 1993) was an American writer. She wrote religious books for children, and was executive director of the YWCA in Nashville. She was also manager of the Nashville Symphony.

Bethann Beall Faris Van Ness
Bethann Beall Faris, from her 1924 application for a US passport
BornMay 26, 1902
Mount Carmel, Illinois
DiedDecember 23, 1993
Rockland, Maine
OccupationWriter
ParentJohn Thomson Faris

Early life and education

Bethann Faris was born in Mount Carmel, Illinois, and raised in Philadelphia, the daughter of John Thomson Faris and Clara Carter Faris.[1][2] Her father, a clergyman, wrote several books about the American West.[3][4][5] She graduated from Wellesley College in 1924, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[6] She pursued further studies at the Tennessee School of Social Work.[7]

Career

Faris worked for the Presbyterian Sunday School Board in Philadelphia from 1924 to 1928. She moved to Nashville after she married, and worked at a publishing house there. During World War II, she wrote articles about the YWCA's war work for the Tennessee Banner.[8][9][10]

Despite having no musical training, Van Ness was manager of the Nashville Symphony from 1953 to 1961.[11][12] She was executive director of the Nashville YWCA from 1961.[7][13] She was deputy commissioner of the Girl Scout Council, a charter member of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities,[14] active in the Red Cross, and taught Sunday School at Immanuel Baptist Church in Nashville.[1][7]

Publications

Van Ness wrote books for children,[13][15] many of them published by the Southern Baptist Convention's Sunday School Board. Eagle Boy (1971) is about "a Tsimshian Indian boy growing up in Alaska in the 1940s".[16]

  • This is My Bible (1944)[17]
  • My Family and I (1948)[18]
  • The Talking Penny (1953)[19]
  • The Bible Story Book (1963, illustrated by Harold Minton)[20][21]
  • Eagle Boy (1971)[16]
  • Bible Stories for Children (audio recordings, 1976)[22]

Personal life

Bethann Faris married Noble Van Ness in 1928; he was an editor and manager at the Baptist Sunday School Board.[6] They had three children. The Van Nesses retired to Vinalhaven, Maine in 1965. Her husband died in 1976,[12] and she died in 1993, in Rockland, Maine, aged 91 years.[1]

References
  1. "Obituary for Bethann B. Van Ness, 1902-1993 (Aged 91)". The Tennessean. 1994-01-20. p. 17. Retrieved 2022-07-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Mrs. Noble Van Ness' Mother Succumbs". Nashville Banner. 1935-01-01. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Faris, John Thomson (1920). Seeing the Far West. J.B. Lippincott.
  4. Faris, John Thomson (1920). On the Trail of the Pioneers: Romance, Tragedy and Triumph of the Path of Empire. George H. Doran Company. ISBN 978-0-7222-7150-6.
  5. Faris, John Thomson (1931). Roaming American Highways. Farrar & Rinehart, incorporated.
  6. Crawford, Jean (1963-10-01). "Nashvillian Writes Bible Story Book". Nashville Banner. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "YWCA Director Chosen". The Tennessean. 1961-07-30. p. 49. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Ness, Bethann Van (1942-11-18). "YWCA Groups Will Celebrate Thanksgiving". Nashville Banner. p. 19. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Ness, Bethann Van (1942-04-01). "Women Real Reserve Guard; Many Here Doing Their Part". Nashville Banner. p. 15. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Ness, Bethann Van (1943-02-10). "Many Familiar Names Among 'Y' Workers". Nashville Banner. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Sharborough, Jackie (1960-10-09). "Meet Mrs. Noble Van Ness; Mrs. Symphony Plays a Cool Typewriter". The Tennessean. p. 52. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Maine Rites Set Tomorrow for Van Ness". The Tennessean. 1976-09-14. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Dellinger, Ione (1963-11-14). "She Shows Children a Magic New World". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 31. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Group to Observe Lee Day". Nashville Banner. 1936-01-12. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Autograph Party Set for Nashville Author". Nashville Banner. 1963-10-09. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. Van Ness, Bethann Beall (Faris) (1971). Eagle boy. Nashville, Tenn.: Aurora Publishers. ISBN 978-0-87695-131-6. OCLC 262165.
  17. Van Ness, Bethann Beall Faris (1944). This is my Bible. Nashville: The Sunday school board of the Southern Baptist convention. OCLC 5234324.
  18. Van Ness, Bethann Beall Faris; Southern Baptist Convention; Sunday School Board (1948). My family and I. Nashville: Broadman Press. OCLC 13026205.
  19. Ness, Bethann Beall Faris Van (1953). The Talking Penny. Broadman Press.
  20. Van Ness, Bethann Beall Faris (1963). The Bible story book. Nashville: Broadman Press. ISBN 978-0-8054-4402-5. OCLC 1878672.
  21. Beatty, Floy W. (1963-11-10). "Fall Book Round-up in Full Fling". The Tennessean. p. 155. Retrieved 2022-07-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. Bible stories for children III., Nashville: Broadman Records, 1976, OCLC 3359453, retrieved 2022-07-19
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