Felicia Buttz Clark (1862-1931) was an American writer of novels, short stories, and articles. She lived in Europe for much of her life and was affiliated with the

Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (acronym WFMS of the MEC) was one of three Methodist organizations in the United States focused on women's foreign missionary services; the two others were the WFMS of the Free M ...

Early life and education

Felicia Buttz was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, July 8, 1862. Her parents were Henry Anson Buttz and Emily (Hoagland) Buttz. Her father served as president of the

Drew Theological Seminary Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

. Clark was educated in private schools in

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 United ...

and

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Career

In 1883, she married Nathaniel Walling Clark (1859-1918), of

Plattsburg, New York Plattsburgh is a town in Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 11,886 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Zephaniah Platt, an early land owner, and it surrounds the separate and more populous city of the same name ...

. Traveling widely, they left the U.S. for Germany on April 23, 1889, with Rev. Clark serving as professor at the Martin Mission Theological Institute in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

until 1893, when he was transferred to Italy. There, he served as President of the Methodist Episcopal Theological School in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. They lived in

for 20 years, and another three years elsewhere in Europe. In 1903, Dr. and Mrs. Clark traveled in Greece and

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, Dr. Clark serving as traveling secretary of the World's Christian Student Federation. With her long residence abroad, her knowledge of modern languages, and her broad culture in art and literature, Clark was selected as the national organizer and hostess for the 1926 Methodist Fellowship Tour in Europe. Affiliated with the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

(MEC), Clark served as editor of its ''Junior Missionary'' magazine. She was the author of ''The Cripple of Nuremberg'', 1900; ''The Sword of Garibaldi'', 1905; ''The Jesuit'', 1908; ''The Treasure of Reifenstein'', 1913; ''The City of Mystery'', 1914; ''Laughing Water'', 1915; and ''Virgilia'', 1917. She wrote serials and her short stories were published in secular and religious periodicals in the U.S. and England. Many of her works were translated into foreign languages such as Danish, German, Italian, and Swedish. Clark served as chair, International

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

in Rome.

Personal life

In religion, she was a member of the MEC. Returning to the U.S. in 1915, Clark lived in

. She made her winter home in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, where she died February 23, 1931.

Selected works

Books

* ''Beppino'', 1901 * ''The City of Mystery'', 1914 * ''The Cripple of Nuremberg'', 1900 * ''Gigi, the hero of Sicily'', 1907 * ''The Jesuit, a Story'', 1908 * ''Laughing Water'', 1915 * ''The Sword of Garibaldi'', 1905 * ''The Treasure of Reifenstein'', 1913 * ''Schwester Anna'', 1898 * ''Virgilia'', 1917

Articles

* "A bit of Paris", ''The Epworth Herald'', 1897 * "An Interesting Race", ''The Indian Leader'', 1924
text
* "Bernini: The modern Michael Angelo", ''Chautauquan'', 1902 * "Carnival in Rome", ''Western

Christian Advocate The ''Christian Advocate'' was a weekly newspaper published in New York City by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It began publication in 1826 and by the mid-1830s had become the largest circulating weekly in the United States, with more than 30 ...

'', 1897
text
* "The Heights", North-western Christian Advocate, 1921 * "The Immortal Soul", ''North-western Christian Advocate'', 1921 * "Keats and His Philosophy of Life", ''Methodist Review'', 1915 * "The Love of Life", ''North-western Christian Advocate'', 1921 * "Music in Italy", ''The Epworth Herald'', 1898 * "News of Rome", 1910
text
* "The Printing Press in Rome", ''Philadelphia Methodist'', 1906 * "The Royal Family of Italy", ''St. Nicholas'', 1905 * "The wisdom of a Humorist", North-western Christian Advocate, 1921

Short stories

* "Aunt Sally Primmer", ''The Epworth Era'', 1920
text
* "The Christmas Lily", ''World Outlook'', 1915 * "In Memory of St. Valentine", ''The Epworth Herald'', 1898 * "Lisette of Alsace", ''Everyland'', 1918 * "Streams and Stars", North-western Christian Advocate, 1921 * "Under the Flag", ''Everyland'', 1916 * "The Way of the Cross", ''North-western Christian Advocate'', 1921 * "Zaira, ''Home Journal'', 1896
text

Leaflets

* "White Strings and Angels"

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Felicia Buttz 1862 births 1931 deaths 19th-century American writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers American women novelists American women short story writers