Mazie E. Clemens (born 1890s, died March 4, 1952) was an American journalist who served as Special Representative of the

National Catholic War Council The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) was the annual meeting of the American Catholic hierarchy and its standing secretariat; it was established in 1919 as the successor to the emergency organization, the National Catholic War Council. It co ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...

counted her among the "Daredevil Angels of the Press" in his 1950 list of outstanding women journalists.

Early life

Mazie E. Clemens was the daughter of Richard Clemens and Ellen Clemens of New York. She was sometimes described as a relative of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's.

Career

Clemens worked as a librarian and reporter at the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...

'' newspaper before World War I, and a war correspondent for the ''

Philadelphia Public Ledger The ''Public Ledger'' was a daily newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, published from March 25, 1836, to January 1942. Its motto was "Virtue Liberty and Independence". For a time, it was Philadelphia's most popular newspaper, but circulation de ...

''. She was Special Representative of the

, working in Europe, during and after

. She interviewed Catholic leaders including

Marechal Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...

, Cardinal Amette, and

Elisabeth of Bavaria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

, for the organization's published bulletin. In late 1919 she disguised herself as an Italian peasant to carry supplies into

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, across a blockade. "I wore a blue cotton dress and a gray woolen shawl furnished by the family of an Italian naval officer with connections in New York City," she explained afterwards; "Within a few yards of the city I found myself a woman alone. The entire town, especially around the railroad station, seemed to be one mass of soldiers, but I managed to elude them." After the war, she covered scandals and murder investigations, and testified in criminal trials. Walter Winchell counted her among the "Daredevil Angels of the Press" in his 1950 list of outstanding women journalists. In later years, she worked as a Deputy Commissioner of Corrections for the State of New York, overseeing the prison commissary at Welfare Island. She was also an auditor for the state's Bureau of Internal Revenue. She was also "official biographer" of

Patrick Joseph Hayes Patrick Joseph Hayes (November 20, 1867 – September 4, 1938) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1919 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1924. Early life and ...

, an American cardinal and Archbishop of New York.

Personal life

Mazie E. Clemens married stockbroker Louis Walter Caldwell in 1930. She was widowed when Caldwell died in 1937; she died in 1952, in her fifties, in New York. Her will left a donation to the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund, an oil painting to the

American Irish Historical Society The American Irish Historical Society (AIHS) is a historical society devoted to Irish American history that was founded in Boston in the late 19th century. Non-partisan and non-sectarian since its inception in 1897, it maintains the most complete ...

, and money for the care of her dogs, Brian Boru and Skippy, saying "I would rather they could live their lives out if possible and not be destroyed." There is a folder of correspondence from Mazie Clemens in the National Catholic War Council papers, at the Catholic University of America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemens, Mazie E. 1890s births 1952 deaths American women journalists American women war correspondents American women in World War I