Isabel Mallon

When her husband William Mallon became ill (and later died), she pursued journalism for income, starting by writing about fashion.

[6] The "Ruth Ashmore" column was conceived of by Edward W. Bok, who after taking over the Journal in 1889, sought a motherly columnist who could provide advice to young girls.

Unable to find one, he penned a sample column of "Side Talk with Girls" as "Ruth Ashmead" to show a female writer a demonstration of what he was looking for.

Bok mislaid the draft copy, and his staff found it and urged that it be run in the magazine, as the "best stuff for girls they have ever read."

Although Bok recalled in his autobiography that Mallon wrote as Ashmore for 16 years, it appears to have been closer to nine.