Mahoney, Leslie Nell Savage, 1890-1986

Nell Savage Mahoney, May 1942

Leslie Nelson ("Nell") Savage was born in 1890 in Nashville, Tennessee, one of three daughters of Leslie Alice Jones and opthamologist Dr. Giles Christopher Savage. She graduated from Ward Seminary, a private girls' school in Nashville, in 1908 and began study at Vanderbilt University. After a year she transferred to Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912. Her continued interest in architectural history and design led her to take courses at the Art League in New York, the New York School of Applied Design for Women, and Cooper Union. She began study in 1916 at Ward Belmont School, completing a Certificate in Interior Decorating. In July 1918, she received an appointment as clerk in the Surgeon General's Office in Washington, D.C. She resigned in October of the same year. In 1923 she married Charles Hallum Mahoney, the first cousin of her sister Kate's husband. They were divorced in May 1925. She received full custody of their daughter Margaret Ellerbe Mahoney who was born in October 1924.

Nell entered Vanderbilt University in 1937 and received her Master of Arts degree in history in 1939. Her thesis was titled "The Building of the Tennessee State House, 1845-1854," and was written under the direction of Professor Frank L. Owsley. She worked as an interior decorator, lecturer, and writer. Her work on architect William Strickland was published in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly and various magazines and newspapers. In 1944, she worked for the Department of Military Intelligence in the Signal Corps. Although she anticipated the publication of a monograph on Strickland through McMillan & Co., the manuscript was never completed. She died January 30, 1986.

From the guide to the Leslie Nelson Savage Mahoney Papers MS 229., 1890-1986, 1942-1970, (Sophia Smith Collection)

Architectural historian; Interior decorator.

Leslie Nelson ("Nell") Savage was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1890. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goucher College in Baltimore in 1890 and an interest in architectural history and design led her to take courses at the Art League in New York, the New York School of Applied Design for Women, and Cooper Union. She also studied at Ward Belmont School, completing a Certificate in Interior Decorating in 1916. In 1923 she married Charles Hallum Mahoney. They were divorced in May 1925 and she received full custody of their daughter Margaret Ellerbe Mahoney. In 1939, she received her M.A. in History from Vanderbilt University where her thesis was titled "The Building of the Tennessee State House, 1845-1854." She worked as an interior decorator, lecturer, and writer. In 1944, she worked for the Department of Military Intelligence in the Signal Corps. Although she anticipated the publication of a monograph on on architect William Strickland through McMillan & Co., the manuscript was never completed; she did publish articles on Strickland in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly and various magazines and newspapers.

From the description of Papers, 1890-1986 (bulk 1942-1970). (Smith College). WorldCat record id: 49265421