Martha Foley
Martha Foley is the second cousin of Florence (LeBlanc) Sullivan; the second cousin, once removed, of Wilfred and Bob Sullivan, and Anita Hucksam, and Barbara Galvin; the second cousin, twice removed, of Tom, John, and Steven Sullivan, and William, Rita, Clint, and Jon Galvin, and Barbara Mione and Anita Cichocki; and the second cousin, three times removed, of Emily and Stacy Sullivan, and Ann, Clare, Lynn, and Christine Mione, and Rob, Bunny, and David Cichocki; and the second cousin, four times removed, of Ryan Weber.
Martha Foley was born in Boston in March 1897. Her parents were Walter J. Foley, born in Boston, and Margaret McCarthy, born in Zanesville, Ohio. Margaret McCarthy is the niece of Ann McCarthy, wife of William Wanders.
Not much is known about Martha's early life. She grew up in Boston and graduated from Girls Latin School. Her brothers Francis ("Frankie") and Roger were raised by their cousins Adelia, Annie, and Flossie Wanders at 47 Prentiss Street. It is not known if Martha also spent part of her childhood there. The fate of her parents is also unkown. Martha attended Boston University from 1916-17.
Martha married fellow editor Whit Burnett on June 6, 1930. She divorced him in 1942. They had one son named David Burnett.
Martha began her career as a journalist for the Journal in San Francisco, California, in 1922. She was a feature editor for the Illustrated Daily News in Los Angeles from 1923-5. Martha next moved to New York where she was a caption writer for the New York Daily News and the New York Mirror from 1925 to 1926. She subsequently became a reporter for the New York Herald in 1926; a Paris correspondent for the New York Herald in 1927; and the European correspondent for the New York Sun in 1929.
Martha was a contributor and editor for numerous magazines and short story volumes. She was co-editor and founder, with her husband Whit Burnett, of Story Magazine from 1931 to 1942. She was editor of Fifty Best American Short Stories, 1915-1965 and 200 Years of Great American Short Stories, published in 1975. She was editor of the annual The Best American Short Stories from 1942 until 1976. Her son David Burnett served as co-editor of this latter publication from 1958 until 1976.
Martha taught a popular course on the short story at Columbia University from 1945 until 1966. She was known for the encouragement she gave young writers and her refusal to assign grades.
Martha died of congestive heart failure in Northampton, Mass., on September 5, 1977, at the age of 80 years, 5 months and 14 days. She was buried at the Springfield Crematory. Martha's obituary appeared in the New York Times on September 7.
