Marie Irwin (Mattingly) Meloney (1879 - 1943)

Born 7 Feb 1879 in Bardstown, Nelson, Kentucky

Ancestors

Died 23 Jun 1943 at age 64 in Pawling, Dutchess, New York

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Marie (Mattingly) Meloney is Notable.

Biography

Marie was born on February 7, 1879, in Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky. She is the daughter of Cyprian Mattingly and Sarah Irwin.

She was christened on March 7, 1879 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bardstown.^[1]

Marie's father died when she was about seven years old and her mother moved Marie and her brother to Washington, D.C. As a youngster, Marie trained to become a concert pianist, but a horse riding accident which left her with a lifelong limp, ended that, and she turned to journalism. Her first job was as a reporter for the Washington Post when she was 16. By the time she was 18 she was the head of the Washington bureau of the Denver Post.

In 1900 she joined the New York World as a reporter jumping to the New York Herald later that year. She was there for about a year when she joined the New York Sun until her marriage.

She was married on June 6, 1904, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City to William Brown Meloney. The wedding received some attention in the newspapers:

Miss Marie Mattingly, formerly of Washington and Mr. William B. Meloney were married June 6th in St. Patrick's Cathedral. The ceremony was performed by Mgr. Laveile, rector of the Cathedral, and the nuptial Mass was offered by Rev. J.J. Wynne, S. J. of New York. Archbishop Farley, at the conclusion of the Mass, blessed the newly-married couple. Both the bride and groom have been engaged in newspaper work. The bride was given away by Dr, Virgil P. Gibney, of New York, a life-long friend of her father, the late Dr. C. P. Mattingly, of Kentucky. Miss Cora Rigby, of New York, was maid of honor, and Mr. Meloney was attended by the bride's brother, Mr. Francis Carroll Mattingly. Immediately after the service, the bridal couple proceeded to their new home, which was Mr. Meloney's wedding present to his wife, at New Rochelle.^[2]

Marie dropped out of journalism for several years following her marriage until 1914 when she was appointed the editor of Woman's Magazine. She served in that capacity until 1917 when she was named associate editor of Everybody's In 1921 she was named editor of The Delineator where she stayed until 1926.

In 1926, she was named editor of The Herald Tribune Magazine, later renamed,This Week, The Herald Tribune's Sunday supplement, which at her death was distributed through the Herald Tribune and other newspapers to almost 6 million readers.

She was noted during her career for her active interest in current affairs. During World War I she organized relief efforts for several affected communities in Belgium and France as well as other reconstruction efforts in Poland.

In 1930 she began the annual Forum on Current Problems in New York. The forum attracted nationally and internationally prominent speakers.

During her years, she became known for interviews with international leaders. She interviewed Benito Mussolini four times and once turned down an interview with Adolf Hitler. The German dictator had broken an interview appointment and when an aide tried to arrange another, she sent word to the Fuehrer she was no longer interested.

Her Polish reconstruction efforts led to an interview Mme. Marie Curie, co-discoverer of radium. During the interview, Meloney discovered Curie had no more radium to continue her studies and no way to raise the funds to buy any. Meloney began a fund in the United States to raise more than $100,000 to buy a gram of the precious substance for Curie, who came to the United States to accept the gram from the president.

She received numerous awards for her various projects. Belgium awarded her the Medaille de Charleroi for service in behalf of Belgian children; the Ordre de la Reine Elisabeth for distinguished service to the Belgian cause in America, and the Order of the Crown of Belgium. She was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor by France and also received the Medaille d'Honneur des Assurance Sociales and a Gold Medal for State Service.

Meloney also received the Order of Polonia Restituta of Poland for her share in raising funds for radium for the cancer hospital in Warsaw.

Marie died on June 23, 1943 at her home in Pawling, Dutchess County, New York where she had gone to recuperate from influenza. She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York. A memorial has been established on Find A Grave.

After her death, a Liberty ship was launched in her honor. The Marie I Meloney was launched on September 4, 1943, from Baltimore.^[3]

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Time Line

February 7, 1879 - Birth - Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky.

1880 - United States Census - C.P. Mattingly, 67, is a physician in Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky, when the 1880 census is enumerated. Living with him is his wife, Sallie I., 29, daughter Marie I, 1, and son, Carroll F., 4. Also with the family are Sallie's two sisters, Mary J. Irwin, 31, and Emma Irwin, 28.^[4]

July 1, 1893 - Residence - Washington, D.C. "Mrs. Sarah J. Mattingly, son and daughter and Miss Mary Irwin of this city have taken apartments at The Woodmont, 13th street and Iowa circle.^[5]"

1900 - United States Federal Census - In the 1900 federal census, Francis Mattingly, 24, is the head of household in Washington, D.C. Living with him are his mother, Sarah I. Mattingly, 48, and his sister, Marie Mattingly, 21. Also in the household is Ida M. Daly, 35, a lodger. There is no occupation shown for any of the Mattinglys. Daly is a school teacher.^[6]

June 6, 1904 - Marriage - Married to William Brown Meloney at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City.

1920 - United States Federal Census - In the 1920 federal census, William B. Brown, 41, is living with his wife, Marie M., 37, and their son William B. Meloney 4th, 14, in Manhattan Assembly District 10, Manhattan, New York, New York. Living with them is a servant, Florence Watson, 24. William is described as an article writer while Marie is listed as an editor.^[7]

June 23, 1943 - Death - Pawling, Dutchess, New York.

Sources

• Biography @ Wikipedia

1. ↑ Daniel Bohn and Dolores Bohn, Nelson County - White Baptisms, CD-ROM/Electronic (Louisville, Kentucky: self-published, 2009), p. 420.
2. ↑ "News From All Parts of the World," Irish World, 18 June 1904, p. 10, col. 1; digital images, GenealogyBank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 14 Dec 2014), newspaper articles.
3. ↑ "Ship Gets Editors Name," New York Times, 5 Sep 1943, online archives, p. 19.
4. ↑ 1880 U.S. census, Nelson, Kentucky, population schedule, Bardstown, enumeration district (ED) 205, p. 188C, C P. Mattingly; digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 0435.
5. ↑ "No title," Evening Star, 1 July 1893, p. 5, col. 3; digital images, GenealogyBank (http://www.genealogybank.com), historic newspapers.
6. ↑ 1900 U.S. census, Washington, District of Columbia, population schedule, Washington City, enumeration district (ED) 12, sheet 32B, dwelling 550, family 637, Francis Mattingly; digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623.
7. ↑ 1920 U.S. census, Manhattan, New York, population schedule, New York, sheet 11B, p. 3751 written, dwelling 80, family 324, William B Meloney; digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625.

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