Pauline Mackay
Pauline Mackay | |
|---|---|
 Pauline Mackay Smith, from a 1909 publication. | |
| Born | Pauline Flora Mackay 1878 |
| Died | 1958 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Pauline Mackay Smith (after first marriage), Pauline Mackay Johnson (after second marriage) |
| Occupation | Golfer |
| Known for | American women's golf champion, 1905 |
Pauline Flora Mackay Smith Johnson (September 4, 1878 – November 12, 1958) was an American golfer and winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1905.
Early life
[edit]Mackay was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, the daughter of George H. Mackay and Maria Mitchell Starbuck Mackay.[1] She was descended from Nantucket whale oil merchant Joseph Starbuck.[2][3] Her father was an avid amateur ornithologist,[4] and her mother was a graduate of Vassar College.[5] Pauline Mackay golfed on Nantucket as a young woman.[6]
Golf career
[edit]Mackay began golfing at Oakley Country Club in Watertown, Massachusetts when it opened in 1898. "She played with the steadiness and good judgment of a professional," commented one observer in 1901.[7] In 1904, she was a semi-finalist in the U.S. Women's Amateur.[8] She won the national women's title in 1905, defeating fellow Bostonian Margaret Curtis.[9][10][11][12][13] "I think golf must be a sixth sense with me," she told an interviewer after that victory, "I love it so, and it came to me so naturally; but I do thoroughly believe no woman can become a proficient player without taking excellent care of her health... and I think the spirit of competition a woman feels in playing with men is a great aid in strengthening her game."[14]
In the 1906 tournament, she was beaten in the second round but won the low-score medal.[15]
Personal life
[edit]Pauline Mackay married golfer and businessman Bruce Donald Smith, in Boston, in 1909.[16][17] They lived in Chicago and had three children together before they divorced in 1920. By 1922, both Smiths had remarried, and Bruce Smith objected to continued alimony payments of $15,000 per year. A judge ruled that their alimony agreement was a perpetual obligation, not eliminated by subsequent events.[18][19] In 1920, she inherited the "Middle Brick", a historic house on Nantucket's main street, built by her great-grandfather, Joseph Starbuck.[5]
Mackay's second husband was Herbert Linsley Johnson of New York. They married in 1921.[20][21] She was widowed when Johnson died in 1927. She died in 1958, aged 80 years, on Nantucket.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Barney Genealogical Record - Person Page 1339". Nantucket Historical Association. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "Mrs. Pauline Johnson". The Boston Globe. November 14, 1958. p. 35. Retrieved July 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Donaldson, Jazmine Hogan (January 28, 2013). "Nantucket's First Whale: Joseph Starbuck". Curbed. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ Galluzzo, John J. (April 2017). "The Famous Herring Gull of Brenton Reef". Bird Observer: New England Birding Journal. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "Histories of Persons Interred at Prospect Hill Cemetery". Prospect Hill Cemetery. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ White, Barbara Ann. "When Did Golfing Begin on Nantucket?". Nantucket Historical Association. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ Archer, Edward (June 15, 1901). "Golf". Boston Home Journal. Vol. 57. p. 7.
- ^ "Two Left in Finals". Los Angeles Herald. October 15, 1904. p. 10. Retrieved July 2, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Short Putts". The Golfers Magazine. June 15, 1908. p. 82. ISBN 9785881672041.
- ^ "Past Champions: 1905, Pauline Mackay". USGA. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ "Miss Bishop Loses in Golf" (PDF). The New York Times. October 14, 1905. p. 10. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ "To Oakley the Glory". Boston Sunday Globe. October 15, 1905. p. 178. Retrieved July 2, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Woman's Golf Title Won by Miss Mackay; National Championship Goes to Boston for First Time; Miss Curtis Runner Up". The New York Times. October 15, 1905. p. 12 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Blow to Golf Style Theory". The Pittsburgh Press. October 25, 1905. p. 14. Retrieved July 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Golf". Tribune Almanac and Political Register. 1907. p. 300. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ Hill, Bunker (February 1909). "New England Notes". The American Golfer. Vol. I. p. 195.
- ^ "Notable Golfers Married". The New York Times. January 15, 1909. p. 7 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Alimony is Alimony". Sacramento Union. October 19, 1922. p. 12. Retrieved July 2, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Rules Alimony Pact Stands". The Times-Tribune. October 27, 1922. p. 4. Retrieved July 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chicago Divorcee is to Try it Again". The Los Angeles Times. July 11, 1921. p. 3. Retrieved July 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bruce Smith's Former Wife Weds in East". Chicago Tribune. July 10, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved July 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.