Boston Public Library
Rare Books and Manuscripts Department Finding Aids
Mary Boyle O’Reilly Papers
1879-1937 (bulk 1910-1930)
MS 5087
Collection Summary:
Title: The Mary Boyle O’Reilly Papers
Span Dates: 1879 –1937
Bulk: 1910-1930
Ms No: MS Acc 624
Creator: Mary Boyle O’Reilly
Extent: 57 letters.
Language: English.
Abstract: This collection consists of fifty-seven letters documenting the career of
philanthropist and World War I correspondent Mary Boyle O’Reilly (18 May 1873- 21
October 1939), daughter of Irish author and Fenian John Boyle O’Reilly. Mary Boyle
O’Reilly was a foreign correspondent for the Newspaper Enterprise Association and was
at one time a resident of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. The collection’s correspondence,
written by such political figures as Henry Cabot Lodge, Thomas Power O'Connor, Hugh
Gibson, and Theodore Roosevelt, offers perspectives on foreign affairs during and after
World War I. Topics discussed are foreign diplomacy, America’s involvement with the
League of Nations, O’Reilly’s publications and commissions, and her father, John Boyle
O’Reilly.
Personal Names:
O'Reilly, Mary Boyle, 1873-1939.
O'Reilly, John Boyle, 1844-1890.
Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe, 1850-1943.
Lipton, Thomas Johnstone, Sir, 1850-1931.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919.
Rideing, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1918.
Gibson, Hugh, 1883-1954.
Foss, Eugene Noble, 1858-1939.
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924.
O'Connor, Thomas Power, 1848-1929.
Shaw, George Bernard, 1856-1950.
Subjects:
War correspondents -- Female.
Newspaper Enterprise Association.
Philanthropists--Massachusetts--Boston
Women philanthropists--United States.
1
World War, 1914-1918.
Administrative Information:
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the Boston Public Library by Mary Boyle O’Reilly in
1938.
Processing History:
Finding aid prepared by Heather Mumford, April 2010.
Preferred Citation:
Courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library/Rare Books.
Access Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Biographical Note:
Mary Boyle O’Reilly was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts on May 18, 1873. She was
the eldest of four daughters. Her father was the Irish nationalist and poet John Boyle
O’Reilly, and her mother Mary Smiley (Murphy) O’Reilly was a journalist who wrote
under the pseudonym “Agnes Smiley” for the Young Crusader. O’Reilly was educated in
Charlestown public schools and the Sacred Heart Convent in Providence, Rhode Island.
In 1890 her father, John Boyle O’Reilly died, and in 1897 her mother Mary died at their
home in Charlestown.
O’Reilly enrolled at the Gilman School for Girls in 1899 with the intention of entering
Radcliffe, but illness prevented her attendance and she took on private tutors. Upon her
return in 1901 from travels in Europe she, along with Mrs. Warren M. Hill, Miss Maud
M. Rockwell, and Miss Margaret Carey, established the Guild of St Elizabeth. The Guild
was a settlement house for children on East Springfield Street in the South End.
O’Reilly belonged to many philanthropic organizations, among them the Tuberculosis
Society and the State Conference of Charities. In 1903 she became a member of the
examining committee of the Boston Public Library. O’Reilly also served on the board of
directors for the Women’s Educational Union.
In 1907 she became Prison Commissioner of Massachusetts and was appointed by Mayor
Daniel Whelton as a trustee of the Children’s Institutions. During this time O’Reilly was
also frequently lecturing on sociology and writing for a number of journals and
newspapers, including Harper’s Magazine and The Boston Globe. In 1910 she achieved
notoriety when, disguised as a mill worker, she exposed and brought to an end the socalled “baby farms” of New Hampshire.
She resigned from her position as Prison Commissioner in 1911 at the failure of the State
Prison Commission to bring about what she considered necessary reforms. It was around
this time that O’Reilly reported on a food cannery workers’ strike in New York, and in
2
1913 she became a foreign correspondent for The Newspaper Enterprise Association.
Following assignments in Mexico and Russia, O’Reilly was placed in charge of the
Newspaper Enterprise Association’s London office.
At the beginning of World War I, she entered Belgium disguised as a peasant, and in
1914 was the only English-speaking journalist to witness the burning of Louvain. She
was also present in London during the 1915 Zeppelin raids. Eventually, she was
imprisoned by the Germans with fellow correspondents Richard Harding Davis, Will
Irwin, and Gerald Morgan. The four were released in Holland and the three men returned
to London; however O’Reilly chose to return, in disguise, to Belgium.
After the war she maintained contact with royalty, ministers and governments of the
allies. Her previous service as Massachusetts Prison Commissioner had placed her in
high demand; she made daily trips to prison camps and hospitals in France and England
and continued to engage in foreign relief work.
In 1917 O’Reilly returned to New York, and in 1920 she engaged in a number of public
speaking engagements regarding her war experience. In 1921 she actively campaigned on
behalf of her uncle John R. Murphy, who ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Boston, and
bought an estate in Marshfield with the intention of regaining her health. A few years
later she built a stone cottage in Auburndale, intended as a tribute to her father, where she
lived until her death on October 21, 1939 at the age of 66.
O’Reilly’s large collection of books, pamphlets and newspaper clippings on war
propaganda were donated to the Boston Public Library, and are a part of the 20th
Regiment Collection.
Sources:
O’Reilly, Mary Boyle. “Daughters of Herod.” The New England Magazine, NovemberDecember 1910. Volume 43, Number 3. p277-290.
“Mary B. O’Reilly, Writer, 66, Is Dead.” New York Times, October 22, 1939, p40.
“Candidates for School Board.” Boston Daily, November 26, 1905, p6.
“Miss O’Reilly Back from her Daring Tour.” The Herald, February 15, 1917, p9.
Related Collections:
O’Donnell, [James E.], 190?, Ms Am 2222
20th Regiment Collection.
O’Reilly, John Boyle, Correspondence.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection contains correspondence sent to Mary Boyle O’Reilly from national and
international political figures, publishers, fellow journalists and authors, including Laura
Elizabeth Howe, Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, George Bernard Shaw, Frances Parker
and Margaret MacGill. O’Reilly also frequently wrote to forgein relation officials, such
3
as Henry Cabot Lodge, chairman of United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
who explained why American should avoid participating in the League of Nations.
While the letters are mostly in regards to business matters, such as requests for
interviews, they are also personal responses to O’Reilly’s intelligence and character.
President Theodore Roosevelt remarked that O’Reilly was a unique entity in spite of her
father’s notoriety.
Many letters thank O’Reilly for newspaper clippings; however these clippings are not
included in the correspondence.
Organization of the Papers:
The papers are organized chronologically.
Container List
Box 1
Folder
Contets
Date
1
La Follette, Fola to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
n.d.
2
Keppel, Alice to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
n.d.
3
Green, A. S. to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
n.d.
4
Artisimovitz, Vladimir to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
n.d.
5
Scollard, Clinton (Poem by)
n.d.
6
Russell, George to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
n.d.
7
Parker, Frances to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
n.d.
8
Dall, [Charles Henry Appleton] to Mr. Niles
31 Oct 1897
9
Howe, Julia Ward to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
9 Dec 1899
10
Rideing, William H. to Mr. O’Donnell
16 Apr 1900
11
Masyark, Tomas to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
31 Oct 1906
12
Foss, E. M. to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
22 Nov 1911
13
Foss, E. M. to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
27 Jul 1912
14
Guild, Curtis to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
28 Jul 1913
4
15
McDonnell, Anthony Patrick to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
30 Jun 1914
16
Forbes-Robertson, Gertrude to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
24 Jan 1915
17
Grand, Sarah to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
25 Jan 1915
18
MacDonald, James Ramsey to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
12 Jul 1915
19
Hinksen, Katherine to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
16 Jul 1915
20
Limerick, Mary to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
20 Jul 1915
21
Weil, George to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
16 Aug 1916
22
Dmowski, Roman to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
16 Mar 1916
23
McGill, Margaret to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
21 Mar 1916
24
Lipton, Thomas to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
17 Apr 1916
25
Courtney, Leonard to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
17 Apr 1916
26
Viscount Bryce to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
21 Apr 1916
27
Shorter, Clement King to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
29 Jun 1916
28
[O’Connor, Thomas ?] to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
27 Aug 1916
29
Roosevelt, Theodore to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
6 Jul 1917
30
Roosevelt, Theodore to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
14 Nov 1917
31
Rideing, William to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
10 Dec 1917
32
Roosevelt, Theodore to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
11 Dec 1917
33
Lipton, Thomas to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
21 Aug 1918
34
Lodge, Henry Cabot to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
15 Mar 1919
35
Lipton, Thomas to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
3 Apr 1919
36
Walsh, David to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
18 Sep 1919
37
Lodge, Henry Cabot to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
5 Nov 1919
5
38
Shaw, George Bernard to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
11 Aug 1920
39
Gibson, Hugh to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
7 Feb 1921
40
Duffy, Francis to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
5 Mar 1921
41
Morgan, James to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
9 Mar 1921
42
Sheahan, Henry Beston to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
28 Mar 1921
43
Irwin, William to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
13 Feb 1924
44
Dohney, Edward to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
14 Apr 1924
45
Gibson, Hugh to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
18 Feb 1927
46
Walsh, Thomas to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
5 Mar 1929
47
Kellogg, Paul to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
18 Nov 1929
48
O’Connor, Thomas to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
17 Aug 1929
49
Lipton, James to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
10 Sep 1929
50
MacDonnell, Manning to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
4 Feb 1930
51
Bernstein, Walter to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
15 Feb 1930
52
Lippman, Walter to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
3 Feb 1932
53
Richards, Laura to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
13 Mar 1935
54
Richards, Laura to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
22 Oct 1936
55
Colby, Bainbridge to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
17 Dec 1936
56
Richards, Laura to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
[4 Mar 1937]
57
Richards, Larua to Mary Boyle O’Reilly
22 Sep 1937
6