(1906-1987)

   One of the truly famous fiction writers of Knox County was Delano Ames. He was born at Lakeholm Farm at the southeast edge of Mount Vernon, Ohio, in 1906. He was the son of Benjamin and Isabel (Kirk) Ames and the grandson of Columbus Delano, who was Secretary of Interior in President Grant's cabinet. As a young man, Ames attended schools in the east, including Yale and Columbia Universities. Much biographical detail is lacking, but it appears that Ames left the United States about 1935 and spent most of the rest of his life in Europe. He was married twice. He considered England his home, though he also spent much time in a fishing village in Spain. He died in Madrid, Spain, in 1987.

(1881-1952)

   John Taintor Foote spent his adult life writing stories about the things he loved, especially horses, dogs, hunting, and fishing. He was born in Leadville, Colorado, in 1881, the son of George and Margaret (Moore) Foote.
   In 1887 the family moved to Gambier, Ohio. Here John attended Kenyon Military Academy and in 1905, married Ada Curtis, daughter of Henry and Lucia Curtis. The couple lived in Knox County until about 1920, when they moved to New York and later to California. John died in Los Angeles in 1950.