Isma Dooly, from a newspaper clipping, about 1900.
Born
1870
Georgia
Died
May 11, 1921
Atlanta, Georgia
Other names
Isma Dooley
Occupation(s)
Newspaper editor, clubwoman
Known for
Editor of first "woman's page" in a Southern newspaper
Isma Dooly (1870 – May 11, 1921), also seen as Isma Dooley, was an American newspaper editor and
clubwoman, based in
Atlanta, Georgia.
Early life
Isma Dooly was born in Georgia. She was raised as the daughter of her aunt and uncle, Martin H. Dooly and Margaret "Meta" d'Laracy Dooly; both parents were born in Ireland.[1] She attended school at the
Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York.[2][3]
Dooly was one of the founders and leaders of the Atlanta Woman's Club, and of the Georgia Federation of Woman's Clubs.[13] She opposed the inclusion of "radical or sentimental" women in the federation's work, including suffragists and working-class women,[14] though she approved of charitable and educational efforts to improve the lives of poor and black Atlantans.[15] She served on the Board of Lady Visitors for Atlanta's public schools,[16] worked for the admission of women to the
University of Georgia,[17] and was active in the
United Daughters of the Confederacy.[18]
During
World War I, Dooly headed the publicity department of the Georgia division of the Woman's Committee Council of National Defense.[19][20]
Personal life
Dooly died in 1921, aged 50, in Atlanta.[4] A school auditorium in
Tallulah Falls was named in her memory.[17][21]
References
^"Martin H. Dooly is Dead". The Atlanta Constitution. 1902-03-12. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-08-26 – via Newspapers.com.