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Kathleen Moore Mallory

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For the fictional detective with a similar name, see Kathleen Mallory.
Kathleen Moore Mallory
Mallory, from the 1903 yearbook of Goucher College
Born(1879-01-24)January 24, 1879
Summerfield, Alabama, U.S.
DiedJuly 17, 1954(1954-07-17) (aged 75)
Selma, Alabama, U.S.
OccupationsChurch worker, writer, clubwoman
Known forDirector of the Woman's Missionary Union (1912–1948)

Kathleen Moore Mallory (January 24, 1879 – July 17, 1954) was an American writer, churchworker, and clubwoman. From 1912 to 1948, she was head of the Woman's Missionary Union (WMU), a Southern Baptist women's ministry.

Early life and education

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Mallory was born in Summerfield, Alabama,[1] the daughter of Hugh Shepard Darby Mallory and Jacqueline Louisa (Lula) Moore Mallory.[2] H.S.D. Mallory was a lawyer, bank president, railroad executive[3] and the mayor of Selma, a candidate for governor of Alabama in 1910, and a vocal suffragist and prohibitionist.[4][5] She graduated from Goucher College (then known as the Women's College of Baltimore) in 1902.[6][7]

Career

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Mallory was a teacher and church worker in Alabama after college.[8] She was executive secretary and executive director of the Woman's Missionary Union from 1912 to 1948.[9][10] She moved WMU's headquarters from Baltimore to Birmingham in 1921.[4] she traveled to Japan and China in 1923 and 1924,[11] and to South America in 1930,[1] to visit Baptist missionaries and witness the local conditions of their work first-hand. She edited WMU's magazine, Royal Service,[12] the handbook for local chapters, and the union's annual yearbook.[13] She retired from the executive director position in 1948, and was succeeded by Alma Hunt.[14][15]

Mallory was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution[16] and Pi Beta Phi sorority.[17]

Personal life and legacy

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Mallory was engaged to a medical student, but he died from tuberculosis in 1907, before they wed.[18] She died in 1954, at the age of 75, in Selma. A hospital in China,[19] a chapel in Japan, and a building in Alabama were named for her.[20] There is a denominational offering program named for Mallory.[13] In 1980 she was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Benowitz, June Melby (2017-08-18). Encyclopedia of American Women and Religion: [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 341–342. ISBN 978-1-4408-3987-0.
  2. ^ Who's who in America. A.N. Marquis. 1930. p. 1442.
  3. ^ "Hugh S. D. Mallory, PGM 1907-1909". GL of AL. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  4. ^ a b Fitts, Alston (2016). Selma: A Bicentennial History. University of Alabama Press. pp. 131–133. ISBN 978-0-8173-1932-8.
  5. ^ Holcomb, Carol Crawford (2020-04-07). Home without Walls: Southern Baptist Women and Social Reform in the Progressive Era. University of Alabama Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8173-2054-6.
  6. ^ Annual Program of the Women's College of Baltimore (1903): 28, via HathiTrust.
  7. ^ Goucher College, Donnybrook Fair (1903 yearbook): 21.
  8. ^ Whitlow, June (1992-10-25). "Kathleen Mallory made mark on Selma, missions". The Selma Times-Journal. p. 64. Retrieved 2026-04-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Kathleen Mallory". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  10. ^ Hunt, Rosalie (2006). The Story of the WMU. Internet Archive. Birmingham, Alabama : Woman's Missionary Union. ISBN 978-1-56309-860-4.
  11. ^ "Women's Activities". The Houston Chronicle. 1926-02-10. p. 19. Retrieved 2026-04-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Owen, Thomas McAdory (1921). History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. S. J. Clarke publishing Company. p. 1149.
  13. ^ a b Lowry, Camilla. "Kathleen Mallory Brief Biography" Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering (2016).
  14. ^ "First Baptist W. M. U. Honors Miss Mallory". The Selma Times-Journal. 1948-09-19. p. 14. Retrieved 2026-04-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Forlini, Noel; Walters, Julie (2008-06-16). "Alma Hunt, longtime WMU leader, dies". Baptist Press. Retrieved 2026-04-29.
  16. ^ Revolution, Daughters of the American (1928). Lineage Book of the Charter Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 144.
  17. ^ The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi. Pi Beta Phi Fraternity. 1898. p. 181.
  18. ^ Mobley, Kendall P. (2008-01-01). Lindley, Susan Hill; Stebner, Eleanor J. (eds.). The Westminster Handbook to Women in American Religious History. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-664-22454-7.
  19. ^ "W. M. U. Executive Board Plans Silver Teas for Kathleen Mallory Hospital". The Birmingham News. 1934-07-21. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-04-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Kathleen Moore Mallory, 1879-1954". Alabama Authors. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  21. ^ Walburn, Jackie (1980-10-24). "Women honored". The Selma Times-Journal. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-04-29 – via Newspapers.com.
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