Ella N. McLean, Countess Norraikow (, Dougherty; after adoption, Walton, after first marriage, Seely; after second marriage, Norraikow; after third marriage, McLean; 1849-1913) was a Canadian author and
metaphysician
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...
. She wrote for several journals and was a literary authority on Russian affairs. She was regarded as one of the "noted women of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
metropolis" and traveled internationally for several years.
Early life and education
Ella Dougherty was born in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Canada, 9 November 1853/58. Orphaned at a young age, William Walton of
Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...
adopted Ella. Walton’s household provided Ella with stability and a supportive environment, which fostered her growth during a critical period of her life.
She was educated in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Career
Norraikow began publishing literary works while in her teens.
On January 2, 1872, in Saint John, New Brunswick, she married Capt. Alexander Miles Seely (1846-1882), a son of Hon. Alexander McLaughlin Seely, a prominent statesman of the
Dominion
A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
of Canada. Their three daughters were born in 1874, 1877, and 1881. Soon after this marriage, the couple went abroad and spent many years traveling, having crossed the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
18 times. She visited various cities in India and other parts of the Orient, returning to the West and spending some months traveling through South America. She returned to North America as a widow and relocated to
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 ...
.
On July 28, 1885, in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, she married Count Adolphus Norraikow (
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, 1844 - 1892), a Russian nobleman. She subsequently conducted a deep study of the methods of government that prevailed in her husband's native land, where the
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
was a lawyer. Because of his political opinions, he had been in exile for many years.
To ''
Lippincott's Monthly Magazine
''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' was a 19th-century literary magazine published in Philadelphia from 1868 to 1915, when it relocated to New York to become ''Robert M. McBride, McBride's Magazine''. It merged with ''Scribner's Magazine'' in 1916. ...
'', the ''Cosmopolitan Magazine'', the New York ''Ledger'', the ''Independent''," the Harper publications, the ''Youth's Companion''. and various other leading periodicals of the U.S., Norraikow contributed many articles on the political and social conditions of the Russian Empire. In collaboration with her husband, she translated several volumes of
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
's short stories, which were issued by a New York publishing house. She also revised translations that her husband made of some of Tolstoy's works and that of other Russian authors. During this marriage, she signed some of her works as "Ella Norraikow" and others, later, as "Countess Norraikow". She worked on a book on "Nihilism and the Secret Police".
Her third marriage, on October 10, 1898, in Manhattan, was to John Emery McLean (1865-1935) of New York, formerly of
Orangeville, Ontario
Orangeville (Canada 2021 Census population of 30,167) is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.
History
The first patent of land was issued to Ezekiel Benson, a land surveyor, on August 7, 1820. That was fol ...
, Canada. He was an old member of the Manhattan Single Tax Club and a former President and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Club of that city. He also served as editor of ''Mind'', '' The Arena'', and '' The Metaphysical Magazine'', all published in New York. The couple may have met through ''The Metaphysical Magazine'' or the journal's publisher, as Norraikow was by then a metaphysician. After this marriage, she signed her works as "Mrs. Ella N. McLean, the Countess Norraikow".
Death
Following an accident, McLean died at the home of her daughter in
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Selected works
* "Woman's Share in Russian Nihilism", by Ella Norraikow, ''The Cosmopolitan'', August 1891, vol. 11, pp. 619-20 text
* "New-Year's in Russia", by The Countess Norraikow, ''Harper's Young People'', December 29, 1891, vol. 13, no. 635, pp. 186-87 text
* "In the Don Cossacks' Lane; the homes of the fierce Russian warriors", by The Countess Norraikow, ''Youth's Companion'', 1892, vol. 64 text
* ''Aristocracy; in 5 acts, dramatized by Countess Norraikow'', by permission of D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1892 text
* "Nihilism and the Famine", by Countess Norraikow, ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'', April 1892, vol. 49, pp. 463-71 text
* "Abolish Capital Punishment", by Countess Ella Norraikow, ''American Phrenological Journal and Life Illustrated'', March 1895, pp. 150-52 text
* "The Folly of Suicide", by Countess Norraikow, ''Philosophical Journal'', November 1895, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 407-09 text
* "The 'Rutschbergs" of Russia', by Countess Norraikow, ''The Wide World'', Ginn & Co., Boston, 1902, pp. 96-100 text