Clarissa von Ranke was born Clarissa Helena Graves in
Dublin in 1808. She was the elder daughter of chief police magistrate of
Dublin, John Crosbie Graves (1776–1835), and Helena, daughter of the Rev. Charles Perceval. The family live at 12
Fitzwilliam Square. Her brothers were
John Thomas Graves a lecturer in mathematics at
University College, London, Robert Perceval Graves a founder of
Alexandra College, Dublin, and the Rt Rev.
Charles Graves bishop of
Limerick. Ranke was educated in England and Europe, having a talent for languages, literature, and music, but poetry in particular. Following the death of her father, Ranke travelled across Europe with her mother. She met German historian
Leopold Ranke in Paris in July 1843. They were engaged in London, and married in October 1843 at
Bowness-on-Windermere, England. The couple had three sons, one of whom died in infancy, and one daughter. The son of her brother Charles,
Alfred Perceval Graves, married her great-grand-niece Amelie Elisabeth Sophie von Ranke. Her husband was later
ennobled and the family name became "von Ranke". ==Life in Berlin==