MacKenzie, Jean Kenyon (1874–1936)

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MacKenzie, Jean Kenyon (1874–1936)

American missionary and writer. Born Jan 6, 1874, in Elgin, IL; died Sept 2, 1936, in New York, NY; dau. of Robert Mackenzie (pastor, president of San Francisco Theological Seminary [1909–11]) and Lydia Ann (McLeod) Mackenzie.

Volunteered as Presbyterian missionary to German colony of Kamerun (1904–14); published 1st article in long association with Atlantic Monthly (1914); published 1st book, Black Sheep: Adventures in West Africa (1916); returned for 18-month stint in Kamerun (1916); short story "Exile and Postman" (1917) became minor classic. Books include An African Trail (1917), The Story of a Fortunate Youth (1920), African Clearings (1924), The Trader's Wife (1930), and poetry collection The Venture (1925).

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