Paul Stillman:

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Paul Edwin Stillman was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 4, 1868.  In 1871, the Stillman family moved to Jefferson, Iowa, where Paul’s father purchased the Jefferson Bee, a local newspaper. 

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Paul was well educated.  He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan (then called the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor) in 1891.  Having grown up in the newspaper world, it is not surprising that Paul chose journalism as his career.  Upon graduation from college, he went into partnership with his father in the ownership and publication of the Jefferson Bee, serving as the editor and manager of the newspaper.

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In 1906, Paul was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives as the representative of Greene County.  He served three terms (1907 – 1911) in the House of Representatives and sat as Speaker of the House in his third term.  

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Paul married his first wife, Edith Anderson, in 1894.  Paul met his second wife through the Anderson family; in 1906, Anna Snoke married Edith Anderson’s brother and became Paul’s sister-in-law.  Subsequently, both Paul and Anna lost their first spouses.

 

Paul was captivated by Anna’s beauty, her sense of humor and keen intelligence.  In 1923, Paul married Anna and the couple moved to Glendale, California with Anna’s two children whom Paul later officially adopted.  In Glendale, Paul established the Stillman Printing Company, a commercial printing business.  Paul also became involved in public affairs, sitting on the California Board of Education and joining the Rotary Club.  His Rotarian membership would be a great asset to Paul and Anna during their 1939 world journey.

 

Anne Stillman:

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Anna R. Snoke was born in Muscatine, Iowa on September 4, 1884.  Her father was a minister.

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Anna graduated from Grand Junction High School in Iowa in 1902.  She became a primary school teacher and taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Grand Junction.  Her first husband, Blaine Anderson, Jr., was also a teacher.  They married in 1906 and had two children.

Blaine developed tuberculosis and died in 1920.  Anna had come to know Paul Stillman through Anderson family gatherings, as Paul had married Blaine’s sister. 

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Anna and Paul married in 1923.  It was at this time that Anna started calling herself Anne, which she felt was a more up-to-date version of the name.

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Anne and Paul shared a passion for world travel.  They honeymooned in Bermuda.  In 1936, the couple took a cruise to China.  Three years later, Anne and Paul set out on their dream trip around the world.  Anne was 54, and Paul was 71.

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Next time, the journey begins!