Ruth Edna Kelley (8 April 1893 – 4 March 1982) was an American librarian and writer. She is chiefly remembered for ''The Book of Hallowe'en'' (1919), the first book-length history of the holiday.
Biography
Kelley was born in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, the only child of Charles F. Kelley, a carpenter, and his wife Mary. She grew up in
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
, and received a master of arts degree.
''The Book of Hallowe'en'' was Kelly's first book. Her second book, ''A Life of Their Own'' (1947), dealt with immortality and spirituality.
Kelley died in
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attache ...
at the age of 88.
Further reading
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* ''Who Was Who Among North American Authors, 1921-1939''. Detroit: Gale Research, 1976.
* ''Who's Who in Library Service: A Biographical Directory of Professional Librarians of the United States and Canada''. Third edition. Edited by Dorothy Ethlyn Cole. New York: Grolier Society, 1955.
References
External links
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1893 births
1982 deaths
American librarians
American women librarians
20th-century American historians
People from Marblehead, Massachusetts
American women historians
20th-century American women writers
Historians from Massachusetts
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