At the start of their marriage, Rebecca was the primary income provider for the family, as Clarke worked to establish himself in his law career. She accomplished this through her writing and as an editor for the "New York Tribune". However, ten years after their marriage Davis had faded substantially from the literary world. Clarke gave up law and became an editor for "The Philadelphia Inquirer" as well. In 1892, Davis received a small critical and popular success with "Silhouettes of American Life", but it was her last. She died at age 79, on September 29, 1910.