Clarissa, or Cal, was born in Shanghai China - her father being a merchant in the American Concession. She then lived in Oakland, California for a while about 1876, making their way East to Bridgeport, Connecticut. She and her sister, Kate, lived in New York City.
Their niece Marion Mackie (born 1908) recalled visiting them. "Aunt Kate was in charge of meals for one of the student houses of Columbia University. Aunt Cal was in the office for the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as a secretary. I don't know if either one of them was Presbyterian or not."
Cal worked as a stenographer and bookkeeper. She was also the secretary to the author, Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey, who was famous for the Nick Carter detective series. It was said that Dey wrote over a thousand Nick Carter stories, so that would certainly necessitate the need for a secretary.
No doubt encouraged by Dey's prolific writing ability, Cal turned her own talent for writing into a modest money-making venture. Under her own name or the pen-name, Clarissa Cleves, Cal wrote for many New York magazines in the early 1900s.
Cal and Kate returned to Bridgeport, living together. Then living with their widower brother, John H. Mackie II, and his daughter Marion.
Their niece Marion Mackie (born 1908) recalled visiting them. "Aunt Kate was in charge of meals for one of the student houses of Columbia University. Aunt Cal was in the office for the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as a secretary. I don't know if either one of them was Presbyterian or not."
Cal worked as a stenographer and bookkeeper. She was also the secretary to the author, Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey, who was famous for the Nick Carter detective series. It was said that Dey wrote over a thousand Nick Carter stories, so that would certainly necessitate the need for a secretary.
No doubt encouraged by Dey's prolific writing ability, Cal turned her own talent for writing into a modest money-making venture. Under her own name or the pen-name, Clarissa Cleves, Cal wrote for many New York magazines in the early 1900s.
Cal and Kate returned to Bridgeport, living together. Then living with their widower brother, John H. Mackie II, and his daughter Marion.
Clarissa, or Cal, was born in Shanghai China - her father being a merchant in the American Concession. She then lived in Oakland, California for a while about 1876, making their way East to Bridgeport, Connecticut. She and her sister, Kate, lived in New York City.
Their niece Marion Mackie (born 1908) recalled visiting them. "Aunt Kate was in charge of meals for one of the student houses of Columbia University. Aunt Cal was in the office for the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as a secretary. I don't know if either one of them was Presbyterian or not."
Cal worked as a stenographer and bookkeeper. She was also the secretary to the author, Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey, who was famous for the Nick Carter detective series. It was said that Dey wrote over a thousand Nick Carter stories, so that would certainly necessitate the need for a secretary.
No doubt encouraged by Dey's prolific writing ability, Cal turned her own talent for writing into a modest money-making venture. Under her own name or the pen-name, Clarissa Cleves, Cal wrote for many New York magazines in the early 1900s.
Cal and Kate returned to Bridgeport, living together. Then living with their widower brother, John H. Mackie II, and his daughter Marion.
Their niece Marion Mackie (born 1908) recalled visiting them. "Aunt Kate was in charge of meals for one of the student houses of Columbia University. Aunt Cal was in the office for the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as a secretary. I don't know if either one of them was Presbyterian or not."
Cal worked as a stenographer and bookkeeper. She was also the secretary to the author, Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey, who was famous for the Nick Carter detective series. It was said that Dey wrote over a thousand Nick Carter stories, so that would certainly necessitate the need for a secretary.
No doubt encouraged by Dey's prolific writing ability, Cal turned her own talent for writing into a modest money-making venture. Under her own name or the pen-name, Clarissa Cleves, Cal wrote for many New York magazines in the early 1900s.
Cal and Kate returned to Bridgeport, living together. Then living with their widower brother, John H. Mackie II, and his daughter Marion.
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