Biography
A former Maryknoll sister and peace activist shaped by years of work in Guatemala, Melville joined the Catonsville Nine shortly after marrying Thomas Melville. During the May 17, 1968 action, she and Mary Moylan went into the draft board office first, helping restrain staff long enough for records to be gathered, then participating in the public burning of the files and the group’s planned arrest.
Melville was convicted in federal court and sentenced to two years, serving time at the federal women’s prison camp in Alderson. After prison, she continued public advocacy on Latin America and later pursued an academic career that included teaching and university leadership roles. Marjorie Melville was a former Maryknoll missionary who had been expelled from Guatemala along with her future husband Thomas Melville for solidarity with Indigenous peasant land struggle. Both joined the Catholic Left in the United States and were among the Catonsville 9 — the May 17, 1968 raid on the Catonsville, Maryland draft board in which 378 draft files were burned with homemade napalm. She was convicted in October 1968 and sentenced to 2 years in federal prison. She and Thomas Melville married after the action.
Former Maryknoll nun who had served in Guatemala, where she was expelled in 1967 for supporting indigenous campesinos and alleged ties to guerrilla movements. Married former Maryknoll priest Thomas Melville. One of the Catonsville Nine; convicted and sentenced to two years for the May 17, 1968 draft-record burning.
