Katherine was described as a petite 5'4" woman with blond hair, blue eyes and a soft voice. Her parents passed away when she was very young. She was reared by the Ballinger and Weems families of Houston, TX until she married the dashing war correspondent, Capt. James Francis Jewell Archibald, in 1912 following her August return with her great-aunt Elizabeth Ballinger from Europe aboard the White Star Line's "R.M.S. Oceanic". She & James resided in "The Wyoming" in Washington, D.C., an elegant apartment complex built in 1910. James was called one of the "fighting correspondents" for Harpers Magazine while he covered the Spanish American, Boer & Russo/Japanese Wars. He was educated at Ohio Wesleyan University. She traveled with him to Europe annually until he became embroiled in the 1915 "Dumba Affair". Correspondence from the Austrian Ambassador, Dr. Dumba, was found in Archibald's luggage while the couple were on their way to Europe. "Jimmy" Archibald denied knowing the contents since he could not read German. However, it was later shown that he had accepted money from the Germans for unstated purposes. His articles and lectures had been decidedly pro-Austro/German for several years; and as the psychology of the U.S. public had turned increasingly anti German after the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915, the scandal destroyed his creditability as an impartial journalist. He, Katherine and her servants were on the dutch ship Rotterdam destined for Holland, Germany and Austria when the dispatches were seized at Falmouth. Both he and Katherine were returned to New York where she was met and escorted from the ship by her cousin Dr. Allen C. Hutcheson who happened to be home on sabbatical from China while Archibald was questioned by Federal authorities. After his interrogation he was allowed to sojourn home. By Nov. of 1915 he was absorbed in a financial dispute when his & Katherine's interests in The Arlington Hotel in Washington D.C. (built in 1868 to the design of Frank Mills Andrew) were sold. The Arlington was located on Vermont Ave. and lay just a block from the White House. It was considered the most opulent hotel in Washington D.C. in the 1880s & 90s. The Veterans Affairs building replaced it in 1921.

James & Katherine separated in 1917. Her ex-husband eventually moved to Hollywood and was employed by film director, W.S. Van Dyke as a technical advisor. Archibald contracted T.B. and killed himself May 28, 1934. Kitty married naval officer Grafton A. Beall, Jr. on 7/13/1919 in New York. She spent the remainder of her life on various naval bases and in California.