Katherine Leckie (1860 – July 22, 1930) was a Canadian-American journalist, editor, and active suffragist. She served as publicist for Rosika Schwimmer, was press agent for the Ford peace expedition of 1915–16, and worked for the United States Food Administration during World War I as a news editor.
Early life and education Katherine Leckie was born in Kingston, Canada West, daughter of William Alexander Leckie and Evalyn McKee Leckie. She was raised in Chicago, Illinois.Woman's Who's Who of America (American Commonwealth Company 1914): 482.
Career
Leckie was a journalist who first came to prominence in Chicago, covering the imprisonment of Emma Goldman.Emma Goldman, Living My Life (Courier Corporation 2012): 302. She was one of the first women reporters with the City News Bureau of Chicago,A. A. Dornfield, Tom Vickerman, and Archibald Leckie, Behind the Front Page: The Story of the City News Bureau of Chicago (Academy Chicago Publications 1983): 49. and wrote about the muckraking work of Ella Reeve Bloor,Katherine Leckie, "Here are Some of the Revolting Facts the Roosevelt Investigators Discovered in Packingtown" Albuquerque Evening Citizen (June 5, 1906): 1. via Newspapers.com the hazards of city life for young women,Evelyn Leckie, "Young Girls Lost in Vortex are Dazzled by Vortex of False Lights" Evening Star (July 9, 1906): 1. via Newspapers.com and the murder of Avis Linnell,"We Will Always Have Girls Like Avis Linnell and Men Like Rev. Richeson" Winnipeg Tribune (January 18, 1912): 13. via Newspapers.com among other news topics of the day. She also regularly covered fashion,Katherine Leckie, "The Very Newest Shape" The Pittsburg Press (March 22, 1905): 13. and the New York stage.Katherine Leckie, "The New York Stage" The Pittsburg Press (December 4, 1904): 35.
Leckie was a reporter for the Chicago Chronicle, the Chicago American, and the New York Evening Journal. She held editorial positions on the magazines The Delineator (1907–1908), Woman's Magazine (1908–1912) and The Housekeeper (1913)."Women of the Fourth Estate: Famous Reporters of the Fair Sex on New York Newspapers" Norwalk Hour (April 3, 1908): 6.
Leckie expanded into the field of publicity and consulting, opening her own public relations agency in New York City. One of her first prominent clients was Rosika Schwimmer, whose 1914 speaking tour she managed. In 1915–16, Leckie served as press agent for the Henry Ford Peace Expedition, working closely with Louis P. Lochner."Eternal Bickerings Are Bringing Ford Peace Expedition Near an End" Harrisburg Telegraph (January 19, 1916): 1. via Newspapers.com The following year, she was recruited as an editor for the United States Food Administration's daily news service."Food Administration Enlists Aid of Women Editors" Xenia Daily Gazette (July 16, 1917): 1. via Newspapers.com "Hoover Calls Prominent Aid: Men and Women of Affairs Volunteer to Serve on Staff" Washington Herald (August 20, 1917): 3. via Newspapers.com
Leckie was a member of Heterodoxy, a feminist debating group based in Greenwich Village;Inez Haynes Gillmore Papers, 1872-1945: A Finding Aid Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute. she was also a member of the Woman's Political Union, the Chicago Political Equality League, and the Woman's Press Association.Woman's Who's Who of America (American Commonwealth Company 1914): 482.
Personal life Leckie had a close relationship with Clarence Darrow when both lived in Chicago.John A. Farrell, Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group 2012): 88. J. Anthony Lukas, Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America (Simon & Schuster 2012): 322.
Leckie died on July 22, 1930. The papers of Katherine Leckie are archived in the New York Public Library.Katherine Leckie Papers New York Public Library, MSS Col 6304.
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