Marion Clyde McCarroll


Marion Clyde McCarroll was a writer and journalist. McCarroll was the first woman issued a press pass by the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. She attained the press pass during the 1920s while writing for The Commercial, a daily business newspaper. McCarroll also penned the "Advice for the Lovelorn, a nationally syndicated column, after she inherited it from Dorothy Dix.

Early Life and education

McCarroll was born in East Orange, New Jersey on May 8, 1891, to James Renwick Thompson and Helena Fredericka Stoughton McCarroll. She graduated from the Beard School in Orange, New Jersey in 1910. McCarroll then completed her bachelor's degree at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 1914. After graduating from college, McCarroll worked as a social worker for a year.

Journalism and writing career

McCarroll began her journalism career as a reporter for The Ridgefield Weekly of Ridgefield, New Jersey. She then joined The Commercial as a columnist for its "Women in Business" column. McCarroll served as the woman's page editor for King Features Syndicate, which distributed her column. She also served as the women's editor at the New York Evening Post.
During the 1930s, McCarroll wrote for both The New York Evening Post and the Sunday edition of The New York World. Her stories during this period included a feature article about a flight she took with pioneering aviator Ruth Rowland Nichols. McCarroll also worked as a publicity writer for Rockefeller Center. She served as president of the New York Newspaper Women's Club from 1930 to 1931 and from 1949 to 1950. During her tenure of service at the club, Franklin Roosevelt visited.
McCarroll earned notoriety for penning the "Advice to the Lovelorn", a syndicated column. After initial reluctance, she started writing the column for the Hearst newspaper chain at the request of Ward Greene. McCarrool continued writing the column under the pen name of Beatrice Fairfax for the next 21 years.. In 1952, the New York chapter of Theta Sigma Pi, a journalism honor society, awarded her their Women of Achievement Award.

Marriage

McCarroll married journalist Lynn Booth in 1926. They divorced in 1935.

Death

Previously a resident of Manhattan and Ridgewood, New Jersey, McCarroll died on August 1, 1977 at a nursing home in Allendale, New Jersey, where she had resided for the last seven years of her life.

Works