Shared love of Browning poetry connects four generations of one Baylor family

In the spring of 1946, Jo Alice McDonald Cranford, BA ’46, registered for a course at Baylor on the poetry of Robert Browning, taught by the renowned Dr. A.J. Armstrong. She purchased her textbook, The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning, published in 1895, for $26 at the university bookstore, gluing notes on onion skin paper throughout the book.

Twenty-seven years later, Cranford’s daughter, Jan Alice Cranford Herrstrom, BA ’73, added more notes to the textbook while studying Browning’s poetry at Baylor under Dr. Jack Herring in the spring of 1973. A third generation used the same textbook in 2002 when Herrstrom’s daughter, Sue Alice Herrstrom Sauthoff, BA ’02, studied Browning’s work in a class with Dr. Mairi Rennie in the basement of the Armstrong Browning Library (named for her grandmother’s professor and the poets he loved).

The Baylor legacy of this family dates back to 1913, including some 25 relatives who have attended Baylor. Now yet another generation will carry on the family’s love of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s work, which has captivated this line of women for more than half a century. Browning Jane Sauthoff (pictured, with the shared textbook) was born on February 29, 2012, to Sauthoff and her husband, Matt, BA ’02. Her name is a tribute not only to the poets but also to the generations of women in her family who have loved and studied the Brownings’ poetry before her.

Sic ’em, Sauthoff/Herrstrom/Cranford/McDonald family!

[We learned of this story from a Bear who shared her Baylor pride. Do you know of an inspiring story, news item, or just a fun link that makes you proud of Baylor and the Baylor family? Let us know! Click here to submit your point of pride!]