Bella Zilfa Spencer (March 1, 1840 – August 1, 1867)[1] was an English-born American novelist and early editor of the Saturday Evening Post, She was the first wife of future US Senator George Eliphaz Spencer.
Bella Zilfa Spencer | |
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Born | March 1, 1840 ![]() London ![]() |
Died | August 1, 1867 ![]() Tuscaloosa ![]() |
Occupation | Writer ![]() |
Spouse(s) | George E. Spencer ![]() |
Bella Zilfa Spencer was born on March 1, 1840 in London.[1] According to an account of her life published in 1867 she was the daughter of an English man, the second son of a Sir Edward St. Alban, and an Italian mother. The family settled in West Virginia, where she was orphaned and raised by a foster family. She married at the age of 15, but by 1860 her husband and two children were dead.[2]
She published numerous short stories in magazines like Godey's Lady's Book and Harper's Magazine and several novels and collections of stories.[1] She was an editor of the Saturday Evening Post in Philadelphia and later purchased a share of the ownership.[3]
In 1862, she married George E. Spencer. George Spencer was a Union Army General during the American Civil War. Following the war, he practiced law in Alabama before becoming a politician there.[4] Bella Spencer died in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on 1 August 1867.[1]
Bibliography
- Ora, the Lost Wife (1864)
- Tried and True, A Story of the Rebellion (1866)
- Surface and Depth (1867)