Helen Corinne Bergen

Helen ("Nellie") Corinne Bergen was born in Delanco, New Jersey, October 14, 1868. She belonged to the Bergen family that came from Norway and settled in New Jersey in 1618, in the place they called Bergen. Her mother, Ella (Winner) Bergen, was the daughter of the Rev. Isaac Winner, D.D., a preacher in the New Jersey Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her father was Colonel George B. Bergen, one of the prominent politicians of Michigan, When a child, Bergen lived in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, and at four years of age, came to East Saginaw, Michigan. Graduating in 1887 from high school, she continued her studies for one year at St. Clair, Michigan. ==Michigan ==

In Michigan, she began writing for the newspapers. She later lived in Washington, D.C., Louisiana, and Texas, working for The Washington Post and various periodicals like The American Magazine and southern newspapers. She was the Posts children's department editor and also wrote music and drama criticism, poetry, sketches, and stories. ==Louisiana==

In 1890, being in delicate health after her first social season at Saginaw, Michigan, Bergen's mother sent her daughter to Louisiana to regain her strength. Bergen was engaged at the time to E. Stanton Bliss, her first and childhood's love, and a nephew of Col. Aaron T. Bliss, formerly Congressman from Michigan. Bergen was introduced to George Carter Brush in a hotel while she was recuperating at a sanitarium at Ruston, Louisiana. On May 1, 1890, after an acquaintance of thirty-six hours, they married at Ruston. Mr. Brush admitted that the marriage was the result of impulse, and a divorce was obtained in 1892, contrary to the wishes of Bergen, but with the approval of Bergen's father. ==New York==

There followed four years of literary output while Bergen work in New York from 1892 to 1896. in New York City, she married the viscount. This marriage was without the knowledge of the families of the bride and bridegroom, as it was agreed to keep the matter quiet until a special dispensation could be obtained from the pope, when it was intended to recelebrate the marriage in Washington, D.C., at the home of Bergen's family. The dispensation was necessary because of Bergen's 1892 divorce, and as the Viscomte Langlois de Brunner was a Catholic, his marriage would not have been possible other than by such dispensation. On April 14, she was sent by her husband, on account of her ill-health and upon the advice of her mother, to stay with relatives at Bayonne, New Jersey. Two weeks later, she returned to New York City, but again becoming ill, went to the residence of Dr. Goodman for treatment. ==Washington, D.C.==

Having recovered, on May 25, 1896, she came to Washington, D.C. She was later informed that on the same day, her husband left New York for parts unknown. In November 1898, Bergen filed for divorce, alleging desertion and abandonment on the part of her husband, beginning May 25, 1896, and that she was unable to ascertain his whereabouts. The dramatic poem, The Princess Adelaide, was published in book form in 1900. She married Sumner M. Curtis in 1901. Curtis was the Washington correspondent for the Milwaukee Sentinel and the New York Herald. ==References==