Heritage Museum Picture of the Month  

Portrait of Mary Booth, 1791–1875 

by Rob Jeffery   

We are blessed in our museum archives to have many personal family heirlooms that belonged to the Booth family. One such treasure is this small painted portrait of Mary Booth (1791–1875), the mother of Salvation Army Founder William Booth. Mary Moss married Samuel Booth, a onetime nail maker, in 1824. Together they had five children: Henry, Ann, William, Emma, and Mary. Though no picture exists of father Samuel Booth, one can perhaps surmise that William inherited his distinctive–looking nose from his mother.