Marcia Macdonald Livingston

Marcia Macdonald Livingston was Grace Livingston Hill’s mother. She was also an author, writing as Mrs. C.M. Livingston. She published several children’s books and even a short play to be used at Christmastime. In addition to her own books, Marcia wrote regular columns for “The Pansy”, a weekly children’s magazine edited by her sister, Isabella Macdonald Alden (Pansy) and her short stories were published in many Christian newspapers and magazines. She and her sister collaborated on five books. Two other books were family efforts, where everyone in the two sisters’ familes (along with a few friends) contributed a chapter or more.

You may have seen vintage hardbacks by Marcia Macdonald, but they were written by Grace Livingston Hill. She used her mother’s maiden name as a pseudonymn for the “Novels for Girls” series from 1927-1930.

Marcia was born in 1832, the daughter of Isaac Macdonald and Myra Spafford of Johnstown, New York. It’s interesting that Myra Spafford’s name appears among the authors in The Pansy and The Kaleidoscope, but her name was used as a pseudonym “tribute” by the sisters. Marcia’s sister, Julia, is the Aunt Jewel of Grace’s book, Cloudy Jewel and it’s from this side of the family that Grace took the Spafford name for Marcia Schuyler, even though the story itself is from Livingston history.

Marcia Macdonald joined the Livingston family in 1855 when she married Rev. Charles Montgomery Livingston. The story of their wedding is lovingly retold in Isabella’s autobiography, Memories of Yesterdays. She was just a girl when Marcia and Charles married, and she lived with them for a time when she was a student. It was Charles who introduced Isabella to her future husband, Rev. G.R. Alden.

The Livingstons enjoyed a long, happy marriage and together they ministered to the congregations of many Presbyterian and Congregational churches over the years, as Rev. Livingston’s health permitted. When her husband passed away in 1900, Marcia went to live with Grace in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania and she remained there until her own Home-going in 1924.