Beatrice Hancock Mullaney

Beatrice Hancock Mullaney (died on June 24, 1990) was an American jurist who served as the first female judge of the Massachusetts Probate Court.[1]

Early life

Mullaney was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. She graduated from the Boston University School of Law in 1928 and opened her first law office in 1929. The following year she married Joseph Mullaney, a private investigator. They had five children.[2]

Government service

In 1942, Governor Leverett Saltonstall appointed Mullaney to the position of public administrator. She was the first woman to hold this office.[2] From 1945 to 1949 she was an assistant state attorney general, specializing in violations of the corrupt practices act as well as mental health and public welfare.[1][2] In 1952 she was the Republican nominee for Secretary of the Commonwealth. She lost to Democrat incumbent Edward J. Cronin 51% to 48%.[3] In 1953 she was elected vice chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party.[4] In 1955 she was appointed to the Probate Court in Bristol County, Massachusetts.[5] She retired in 1975.[6]

Death

Mullaney fell ill during the 67th reunion of the B.M.C. Durfee High School class of 1923. She died on June 24, 1990 at St. Anne Hospital in Fall River. She was 84 years old. At the time of her death she was a resident of Westport, Massachusetts.[7]

References
  1. "Beatrice Mullaney, First Woman to be Mass. Probate Judge; At 84". The Boston Globe. June 26, 1990.
  2. Nelson, Trudy (March 30, 1947). ""5 Children Make Things Easier," a Working Mother Insists: Asst. Atty. Gen. Beatrice Mullaney Tells How She Runs a Home and Collects for Damages Done to State's Bridges". The Boston Daily Globe.
  3. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1952. p. 5.
  4. "State GOP Elects Mrs. Mullaney Vice Chairman". The Boston Daily Globe. May 3, 1953.
  5. "Mother of Five to Be Judge". The New York Times. August 27, 1955.
  6. Sales, Bob (November 18, 1975). "Senate favors chief justice as head of all state courts". The Boston Globe.
  7. "Judge Beatrice Mullaney, 84, dies; served in Probate Court for 20 years". The Providence Journal. June 26, 1990.
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