Mary Moseley (1878 – 1961) was a newspaper editor, and then owner of the ''

Nassau Guardian Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas * Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg ...

'' for 48 years in

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. At the time the island was a British colony. The daughter of Alfred Edwin Moseley, Mary was also the granddaughter of Edwin Charles Moseley, who founded the ''Nassau Guardian''. She was educated at the Church High School in

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

and by private tutor.

Editor

The ''Nassau Guardian'' first appeared on 23 November 1844 to support the anti-slavery views of its founder. Mary Moseley became editor and manager of the ''Nassau Guardian'' following the deaths of her father, Alfred Edwin Moseley, and shortly thereafter her brother Percy in 1904. Reportedly, she had been appointed to the editor's post "on a 'temporary basis' until a suitable male could be found to edit and manage the publishing business." In 1907, she officially became owner of the business and served as the publication's editor and owner for 48 years. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Moseley went to England to advocate for war survivors from the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and The Bahamas. During her time abroad, Mary's brother Daniel ran the enterprise so she could return to her editorial duties on her return. Readership wasn't large, averaging only about 300 readers a day with topics primarily covering social and legislative issues. For example, she was rigorous in covering the House of Assembly issues. In fact, the paper's day-to-day financial foundation was largely built on the government printing contracts that Moseley was able to win using her influential contacts. While looking for an editorial successor, Moseley identified a nephew, Australian Doyle Moseley, to take her place. Before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Doyle traveled to Nassau and joined the staff for a short time before enlisting in The

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

to fight. Unfortunately, Doyle was killed in the war during a raid over France. Mary Moseley continued her work at the paper until 1952 when she sold the enterprise to a group of Nassau businessmen. From that time on, she continued to serve as an editorial adviser. According to the ''Nassau'' ''Guardian'', she died on 19 January 1961, at the age of 81. Other sources say she died in 1960.

Other activities

In 1926, Moseley published the first edition of ''The Bahamas Handbook'' featuring the island's history, geography and society. She served as a trustee for the Nassau Public Library and Museum; she later became chair of the trusteeship committee.

Honours

She was named a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moseley, Mary 1878 births 1960 deaths Bahamian newspaper editors Women newspaper editors Bahamian newspaper publishers (people) Members of the Order of the British Empire