Orphan Annie's Author

"Little Orphan Annie: Her Story"

Tokyo Rose was Orphan Ann(ie)?

Hello Again!! Long Time No See!

Lost Film and Little Orphant Annie

Orphan Annie's Step Mother

Little Orphant Annie's Little Sister Update

The Orphant Annie Ooops

National Archives Files were a Bombshell!

National Archives

An Interesting Conversation

Raggedy Ann and Little Orphan Annie

Little Orphant Annie's Siblings

Little Orphant Annie 1918

Massacre Connection

The Gray Family Connection?

The Ex-Brother-in-law and the Comic Mentor

Riley's Annie to Gray's Annie

FOUND - Another Branch on Orphan Annie's Tree

Filling in the Family Tree

The Civil War and Orphan Annie

The Rittenhouse Connection

The Little Town of Tailholt

Little Orphant Annie's Children

Whatever Happend to Little Orphan Annie's Mother???

Be Sure to Drink Your Ovaltine

The Indianapolis News

Annie movie 2014

Union County October 2014

Who was the Real "Little Orphant Annie?"

Who is Orphan Annie's Author?

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Welcome to my website! If you are interested in anything about Orphan Annie - this is the place to look! I have been researching Mary Alice Smith - the real Orphan Annie and the Little Orphant Annie character in all her permutations since 2005. My goal is to eventually write a book about this research. However, I thought that people might be interested in finding out what I find out as my research progresses. So I try to post to this site on a weekly basis - usually at the beginning of the week. You can also follow me on Facebook!

If you have some information that you feel can help me on my research - be sure to send me a message on my Tip Line in the About section. Thanks for visiting!

Raggedy Ann and Little Orphan Annie

Indianapolis artist and illustrator, Johnny Gruelle, would be sitting at his desk at home working. His young daughter Marcella came into...

Little Orphant Annie's Siblings

Mary Alice Smith was the little girl who came to live at the Riley Home and inspired the Hoosier Poet, James Whitcomb Riley, to write the...

Little Orphant Annie 1918

In 1918, a silent film would premier with the title, "Little Orphant Annie." This would be the very FIRST of many Annie renditions;...

Massacre Connection

In Pendleton, Madison County, Indiana - there is a stone that sits in Falls Park that marks the spot of an important event in American...

The Gray Family Connection?

Let's start with Mary Alice's husbands' family: John Wesley Gray was the fourth child and youngest son of Joseph Hill Gray and Miriam...

The Ex-Brother-in-law and the Comic Mentor

This post is about two men who were definitely connected to each other, but the question is: Did they have anything to do with Little...

Riley's Annie to Gray's Annie

The Hooiser Poet, James Whitcomb Riley, created the character Little Orphant Annie while visiting his father and step-mother in their...

FOUND - Another Branch on Orphan Annie's Tree

An email from this website helped to fill in another - very interesting branch on Mary Alice Smith aka Little Orphan Annie's Tree. Thanks...

Filling in the Family Tree

I hope you can follow me on this one - because I am trying to fill in some holes in Little Orphan Annie aka Mary Alice Smith's family...

The Civil War and Orphan Annie

The Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865. This epic war effected many people - and Mary Alice Smith, the real Orphan Annie, was...

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