Olive Woolley Burt (1894–1981) was an American teacher and journalist, known as a folklorist for her collection of murder ballads.
[1] She was born in Ann Arbor on 26 May 1894, the daughter of Jed F. Wooley and his wife Agnes Forsyth: she had eight brothers.
[1] There she took it badly that the News would not print her favorable review of Juanita Brooks's edition of the diaries of John D.
She did extensive research on murder ballads and their associated narratives, with fieldwork collecting of unpublished material and a letter to each state historical society.
Her 1958 book American Murder Ballads and Their Stories received in 1959 a special Edgar Award.
[3] Minrose Gwin comments that her coverage of African-American material is sparse, though it does mention "Stagolee"; and notes her proposal that "John Brown's Body" should qualify.
Some of the children's titles written by Olive Burt include: "Jedediah Smith: Fur Trapper of the Old West" (1951).
"American Murder Ballads and Their Stories," collected and edited by Olive Woolley Burt (1958).
"The National Road:How America's Vision of a Transcontinental Highway Grew Through Three Centuries to Become a Reality" (1968).