John R. Coryell  John Russell Coryell (December 15, 1851, New York City – July 15, 1924, Readfield, Maine, age 72) was a prolific dime novel author. He wrote under the Nicholas Carter and Bertha M. Clay house pseudonyms, and, like many of his fellow dime novelists under many other pseudonyms, including Tyman Currio, Lillian R. Drayton, Julia Edwards, Geraldine Fleming, Margaret Grant, Barbara Howard, Harry Dubois Milman, Milton Quarterly, and Lucy May Russell. Other pseudonyms, like John C. Russell who the "Spike Malone" stories for Munsey's "Railroad Man's Magazine" from 1909–17, are probable Coryell masks but have not been verified. According to Coryell's son Russell, "The Coryell family was descended from French Huguenots driven out of France. They settled early in America. One ancestor, a Coryell, was a pall-bearer to Washington." John R. Coryell was educated in NYC public schools and city college. In 1869, he abandoned the study of law (presumably at Harvard) to join his father, who was building battleships for the Chinese government. John R. Coryell underwent an arduous sea voyage to China. At age twenty, he became a magistrate in the Shanghai civil courts. After returning from China, Coryell set up a ship-brokerage business in San Francisco and lost his fortune. He was recruited to Santa Barbara by publisher Harrison Gray Otis to write for the "Santa Barbara Press", though Coryell admitted, “I was a mighty poor newspaper man.” In 1875, after returning from China, Coryell met his future wife, Abby Lydia Hedge (1858-1957). Following a seven-year engagement, the couple married on December 7, 1882. They had four sons: Harold Hedge Coryell (1884-1948), Roland Smith Coryell (1886-????), Hubert Vansant Coryell (1889-1979), and Russell Miers Coryell (1891-1941). All four attended Harvard University. Following in their father's footsteps, Hubert V. Coryell and Russell M. Coryell both became successful writers. John R. Coryell's freelance writing career coincided with his marriage. His early works break into two main categories: popular science articles for "Scientific American"; and juvenile fiction for "St. Nicholas". His first known published work was “The Great Tumble Weed of the Prairies” in the December 2, 1882 issue of "Scientific American".