Marah Ellis Ryan (née Martin; February 27, 1860 or 1866 – July 11, 1934), also known as Ellis Martin, was an author, actress, and activist from the United States. She was considered an authority on Native Americans after living with the Hopi.
Biography
Ryan was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania, to Graham and Sidney Mechling Martin. She started her career under the pen name of Ellis Martin, writing a few poems and stories. She married Samuel Erwin Ryan (b. 1834), an Irish actor and comedian, in 1883. She became a popular author, writing numerous novels during the period 1889–1925.
Around 1909, she went to live among the Hopi in Arizona. According to the New York Times, Ryan "claimed to be the only white woman ever admitted to the secret religious rites. She was noted as an authority on the tribal life of the Indians in the United States and Mexico."
She died in Los Angeles of encephalitis at the age of 68.
Bibliography
Merze: the story of an actress; Chicago, New York: Rand, McNally, 1888 and 1894, according to abebooks, 1889 according to the Melvyl catalog
In loves' domains: a trilogy; Chicago: Rand, McNally, c1889
Told in the hills; Chicago; New York: Rand, McNally, [1891], Rand, McNally, [1905] ("a romance and melodrama, set in New Orleans and the Pacific Northwest"—ABEBooks)
A Pagan of the Alleghanies; Chicago and New York, Rand, McNally, [1891]
Squaw Elouise; Chicago; New York: Rand, McNally, [1892]
A flower of France: a story of old Louisiana; Chicago: Rand, McNally & Company [1894], Freeport, N. Y., Books for Libraries Press, [1972]
