Last updated: October 30, 2024
Person
Mary Doherty
Quick Facts
Significance:
Marker in the Charlestown Navy Yard during WWII
Place of Birth:
Galway, Ireland
Date of Birth:
November 22, 1907
Place of Death:
Charlestown, MA
Date of Death:
September 28, 1983
As a marker in the supply department during WWII, Mary Doherty played an integral role in shipping at the Charlestown Navy Yard.
Mary Doherty (née Conroy) was born in Ireland in 1907. She immigrated to the United States in 1926, settling in Boston. After marrying Daniel J. Doherty in 1934, Doherty and her husband moved to Charlestown, MA.
When the United States entered World War II (WWII), Mary Doherty answered the call to housewives to join the wartime workforce. These women filled jobs previously held by men who enlisted in the armed forces. At this time, she had three children, Daniel J. Doherty Jr. (7), Robert C. Doherty (5), and Joseph David Doherty (4). Doherty and her children lived with her mother-in-law and aunt, who assisted with childcare while Doherty was at work.
Doherty began her career working in the South Boston Naval Annex in 1942 where she drove jeeps and chisels (forklifts) to deliver supplies between buildings. After a few months, Doherty transferred to the Charlestown Navy Yard to be closer to home. In Charlestown, she worked as a marker in the Supply Department, where she was one of the first women to work in supply. Since men had done her job before the war, some people perceived her as a nuisance or as stealing a job from a man. This attitude led to some resentment from men in the department towards Doherty and the other women she worked with. While there were a few women supervisors within her building, Doherty herself only had male supervisors, and higher-level positions were all filled by men.
In her role as a marker, Doherty stenciled destinations on boxes that were shipped out of the Navy Yard. While stationed in Building 149, Doherty traveled to different shops and buildings to paint addresses on their packages before they were sent out, as many of the boxes were too big to be moved from their origin location. Each morning, she would receive a list of packages, which she would carefully stencil and paint with their corresponding address and destination. Accuracy was paramount in this position, as the packages had to be sent to the correct naval bases or shipyards. However, Doherty herself rarely knew where the packages were going since overseas naval bases were addressed in code.
Along with contributing to the war effort, departments throughout the Navy Yard hosted events that Doherty participated in, including a supply department Christmas party. She also attended ship launchings from the Navy Yard, which were celebratory times for workers. While Doherty herself was from Charlestown, many of the people she worked with were from other parts of Boston, and this work allowed her to build relationships with people from different areas.
In 1945, the Navy released Doherty from her employment as the military demobilized and men returned to their previous jobs. Doherty understood that her employment was considered temporary, and she expressed in an oral history with Boston National Historical Park, “I can’t say I was sorry. I was getting very tired. I was glad it was over.” Despite this, Doherty reflected fondly on being a part of the community at the Navy Yard and enjoyed the benefits of federal employment.
Though Mary Doherty’s employment at the Navy Yard ended after World War II, her family maintained roots in Charlestown and the Navy Yard, as her son David worked there as a pipe fitter until the Navy Yard closed in 1974.
Sources
Interview with Mary Doherty for the National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park Charleston Navy Yard, by Phylis Eastwood, November 1977.
1940 United States Federal Census, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: m-t0627-01659; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 15-88.
Boston Lists of Residents, 1940. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Public Library. https://guides.bpl.org/c.php?g=496866&p=3400777.
Massachusetts, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950. National Archives at Boston. Waltham, Massachusetts.
Obituary for Mary Doherty. The Boston Globe. Boston, MA. September 30, 1983, 20.