List of first ladies of Mississippi

Last updated

The First Lady of the U.S. state of Mississippi is a role held by the wife of the Governor of Mississippi. Mississippi has never had a female governor.

PictureNameWhenSpouse of
1 David Holmes
2Agatha Ball Chinn Poindexter [1] 1820–1822 George Poindexter
3 Walter Leake
4Betsy Stanton Chambers (second wife after Margaret Chambers Brandon) Gerard Brandon
5David Holmes
6 Gerard Brandon
7 Abram M. Scott
8 Charles Lynch
9 Hiram Runnels
10Eliza Turner Quitman [2] John A. Quitman
11Charles Lynch
12Elizabeth Lewis Cameron McNutt, widow of his law partner Alexander G. McNutt
13 Tilghman Tucker
14Roberta Y. Brown (Roberta Eugenia Young Brown) Albert G. Brown, his second wife after first died
15 Joseph W. Matthews
16 John A. Quitman
17 John Isaac Guion
18 James Whitfield
19 Henry S. Foote
20Susan Hewell Pettus John J. Pettus
21 John J. McRae
22 William McWillie
23John J. Pettus
24 Charles Clark
25 William L. Sharkey
26 Benjamin G. Humphreys
27 Blanche Butler Ames.jpg Blanche Butler Ames 1868-1870 Adelbert Ames
28Amelia Walton (Glover) Alcorn James L. Alcorn
29 Ridgley C. Powers
301874–1876Adelbert Ames
31Mary G. Coman Stone John Marshall Stone
32Robert Lowry
33John Marshall Stone
34 Anselm J. McLaurin
35Marion Buckley Longino [3] Andrew H. Longino
36 James K. Vardaman
37 Edmond Noel
38 Earl L. Brewer
39Linda Gaddy Bedgood Bilbo [4] [5] Theodore G. Bilbo
40 Lee M. Russell
41 Henry L. Whitfield
42 Dennis Murphree
43 Theodore G. Bilbo
44 Martin Sennet Conner
45 Hugh L. White
46 Paul B. Johnson Sr.
47 Dennis Murphree
48 Thomas L. Bailey
49 Fielding L. Wright
48 Hugh L. White
49 James P. Coleman
50 Ross Barnett
51 Paul B. Johnson Jr.
52 Nellah Massey Bailey campaign ad photo.png Nellah Massey Bailey 1944 - 1946 Thomas L. Bailey
52Nan Kelley Wright [6] [7] Fielding L. Wright
51Judith Wier Sugg White Hugh L. White
52Margaret Coleman James P. Coleman
53Mary Pearl Crawford Barnett Ross Barnett
54Dorothy Power Johnson [8] Paul B. Johnson Jr.
55 John Bell Williams
56 Ava Carroll Waller 1972 - 1976 Bill Waller
57Zelma Finch [9] [10] Cliff Finch
58 Elise Winter.jpg Elise Varner Winter [11] 1980 - 1984 William F. Winter
59Divorced William Allain
60Julie Hines Mabus [12] Ray Mabus
61 Pat Fordice 1992 - 1999 Kirk Fordice
62 Melanie Musgrove [13] Ronnie Musgrove
63 Marsha Barbour 2004 - 2012 Haley Barbour
64 Deborah (Hays) Bryant [14] Phil Bryant [15]
65 Elee Williams Reeves [16] Tate Reeves

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choctaw County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Choctaw County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,246. Its northern border is the Big Black River, which flows southwest into the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg. The county seat is Ackerman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medgar Evers</span> African-American civil rights activist and NAACP field officer (1925–1963)

Medgar Wiley Evers was an American civil rights activist and the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi, who was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith. Evers, a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran who had served in World War II, was engaged in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi, end the segregation of public facilities, and expand opportunities for African Americans including the enforcement of voting rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirk Fordice</span> American politician and businessman (1934–2004)

Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice Jr. was an American politician and businessman who served as the 61st governor of Mississippi from 1992 to 2000. He was the first Republican governor of the state since Reconstruction, and the state's first governor elected to two consecutive four-year terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Mabus</span> American politician

Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State auditor of Mississippi from 1984 to 1988, as the 60th governor of Mississippi from 1988 to 1992, and as the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodore G. Bilbo</span> American politician (1877–1947)

Theodore Gilmore Bilbo was an American politician who twice served as governor of Mississippi and later was elected a U.S. Senator (1935–1947). A demagogue and lifelong Democrat, he was a filibusterer whose name was synonymous with white supremacy. Like many Southern Democrats of his era, Bilbo believed that black people were inferior; he defended segregation, and was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, the United States' most notable white supremacist terrorist organization. He also published a pro-segregation work, Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fielding L. Wright</span> American politician (1895–1956)

Fielding Lewis Wright was an American politician who served as the 19th lieutenant governor and 49th and 50th governor of Mississippi. During the 1948 presidential election he served as the vice presidential nominee of the States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats) alongside presidential nominee Strom Thurmond. During his political career he fought to maintain racial segregation, fought with President Harry S. Truman over civil rights legislation, and held other racist views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Kean</span> Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990

Thomas Howard Kean is an American politician, statesman, and academic administrator from the state of New Jersey. A Republican, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen J. Ellender</span> American politician (1890–1972)

Allen Joseph Ellender was an American politician and lawyer who was a U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1937 until his death. He was a Democrat who was originally allied with Huey Long. As Senator he compiled a generally conservative record, voting 77% of the time with the Conservative Coalition on domestic issues. A staunch segregationist, he signed the Southern Manifesto in 1956, voted against the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and opposed anti-lynching legislation in 1938. Unlike many Democrats he was not a "hawk" in foreign policy and opposed the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drumthwacket</span> Historic house in New Jersey

Drumthwacket is the official residence of the governor of the U.S. state of New Jersey at 354 Stockton Street in Princeton, New Jersey, near the state capital of Trenton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Governors Association</span> Organization of U.S. Democratic governors

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party support to the election and re-election of Democratic gubernatorial candidates. The DGA's Republican counterpart is the Republican Governors Association. The DGA is not directly affiliated with the non-partisan National Governors Association. Meghan Meehan-Draper is currently the executive director of the DGA, while Tim Walz is the current chair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Southern Mississippi</span> Public university in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, US

The University of Southern Mississippi is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evelyn Gandy</span> American politician

Edythe Evelyn Gandy was an American attorney and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980. A Democrat who held several public offices throughout her career, she was the first woman elected to a statewide constitutional office in Mississippi. Born in Hattiesburg, she attended the University of Mississippi School of Law as the only woman in her class. Following graduation, she took a job as a research assistant for United States Senator Theodore Bilbo. She briefly practiced law before being elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, where she served from 1948 to 1952. Defeated for re-election, she worked as director of the Division of Legal Services in the State Department of Public Welfare and Assistant Attorney General of Mississippi until she was elected State Treasurer of Mississippi in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Dowdy</span> American politician (born 1943)

Charles Wayne Dowdy is an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Mississippi. He was first elected in a 1981 special election and served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1989. He later served as chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party.

James Eldon Swan was an American country musician and later, a segregationist political candidate.

The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law offers the only dedicated aerospace law curriculum in the United States from an ABA-accredited school. The University of Mississippi School of Law is also the only school in the United States, and one of only a handful in the world, to offer a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Air and Space Law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of Mississippi

The 2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to choose the next Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Governor Phil Bryant was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits. The Democratic Party nominated incumbent Attorney General Jim Hood, the only Democrat holding statewide office in Mississippi; the Republican Party nominated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves. In the general election, Reeves defeated Hood by a margin of 5.08%, with Reeves significantly underperforming Trump who won the state by 17 points, 3 years prior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shad White</span> 42nd Auditor of Mississippi

Shadrack Tucker White is an American politician and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) serving as the 42nd State Auditor of Mississippi. He previously served as Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute. A Republican, White was appointed by Phil Bryant and was sworn in on July 17, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellah Massey Bailey</span> American politician (1893–1956)

Nellah Izora Massey Bailey was an American politician and librarian. She was the first lady of Mississippi from 1944 to 1946 and the Mississippi state tax collector from 1948 to 1956. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected to statewide office in Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of Mississippi

The 2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2023, to elect the governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Governor Tate Reeves won re-election to a second term, defeating Brandon Presley. Primary elections were held on August 8. Reeves won the Republican nomination, while Presley won the Democratic nomination unopposed.

References

  1. "Letter to the Editor for May 20". NewsAdvance.com. May 19, 2021.
  2. "Quitman Family Papers, 1784-1978". finding-aids.lib.unc.edu.
  3. "NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM" (PDF). www.apps.mdah.ms.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  4. https://vicksburgnews.com/mrs-bilbo-and-mississippi-politics/
  5. https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/theodore-gilmore-bilbo/
  6. Capace, Nancy (January 1, 2001). Encyclopedia of Mississippi. Somerset Publishers, Inc. ISBN   9780403096039 via Google Books.
  7. "Wright, Nannie Kelley | Briggs Lawrence County Public Library". www.briggslibrary.com.
  8. "Johnson, Dorothy (Dot) Power | University of Southern Mississippi McCain Library & Archives". specialcollections.usm.edu.
  9. Staff Report (July 12, 2007). "Former first lady Zelma Finch dead at 81". Picayune Item.
  10. "Former Mississippi Gov. Charles C. 'Cliff' Finch dies - UPI Archives". UPI.
  11. Hathorn, Taylor McKay (July 19, 2021). "Former First Lady Elise Winter Dies at 95 After Life of Work for Equity, Acceptance, Compassion".
  12. "MABUS v. MABUS (2003) | FindLaw".
  13. "Melody Bruce Musgrove, wife of former Governor, dies". MPB — Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
  14. Bonner, Elizabeth (April 5, 2016). "Meet Mississippi First Lady Deborah Bryant". Southern Lady Magazine
  15. "Deborah Bryant". National Governors Association
  16. "Elee Reeves". National Governors Association