Biography of Nellie Tayloe Ross
Nellie Tayloe was a woman of remarkable skills, responsibility and endurance. Before she became the first woman governor of the United States, Nellie was a kindergarten teacher and a presenter of informative papers at her local women’s group. She also helped her husband with his law practice as well as his governorship.
Nellie was born in Missouri in 1876. “She was the sixth child and the first daughter of James and ‘Lizzie’ Tayloe” (Scheer, 2). Nellie was very private about her childhood and little is known about the family from which she came. The only story of her childhood that she ever shared was of her home being destroyed by a fire (Scheer, 1). In 1902, she became Nellie Tayloe Ross after marrying a successful lawyer and future governor of Wyoming, William Bradford Ross. Nellie was a stay at home mother with their four sons; twins George and James Ambrose, Alfred, who died at the age of ten months, and William Bradford II (Mackey, 26).
In 1924, just one month before the general election, William Bradford Ross died of complications from appendicitis, leaving the democrats without a candidate (Thompson, 36-37). Many of Nellie’s friends, “... encouraged her to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination” (Mackey, 26). Analysis once suggested that “... women are put forward when their parties feel that they have little chance of winning and nothing to lose by nominating a controversial candidate” (Thompson, 36-37). Ross defeated Sullivan (the republican candidate) by more than 8000 votes.
During her reign as Governor of Wyoming Nellie Tayloe Ross addressed many issues including the state’s budget deficit. While looking into the mining operations, Ross found that a lot of proper...
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... A women’s dormitory, on the campus of the University of Wyoming, was named after her: Nellie Tayloe Ross Hall. In 1977, at the age of 101, Nellie died from a fall in her apartment near Washington D.C.. She was buried in Cheyenne, Wyoming (Scheer, 213-214). Her contributions to Wyoming helped pave the way for future generations of politicians as well as women and women’s rights.
Works Cited:
Mackey, Mike. "Nellie Tayloe Ross and Wyoming Politics." Journal of the West 42(2003): 25-31, 33.
Scheer, Teva J. Governor Lady: The Life and Times of Nellie Tayloe Ross. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2005.
Thompson, D. Claudia. "Governor Lady: The Life and Times of Nellie Tayloe Ross." Annals of Wyoming 78(2006): 36-37.
Van Pelt, Lori. "Discovering Her Strength: The Remarkable Transformation of Nellie Tayloe Ross." Annals of Wyoming 74(2002): 4.
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Mary became the first African-American graduate nurse in 1879. (Smith, J, & Phelps, S, 1992) She contributed to organizations such as the American Nurses Association, the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, and was an active participant in the the Women's Suffrage Movement, becoming one of the first women to register vote to in Boston, Massachusetts. The issue closest to the heart of Mary Mahoney was equality of the African-American nurse with...
The small community of Hallowell, Maine was no different than any other community in any part of the new nation – the goals were the same – to survive and prosper. Life in the frontier was hard, and the settlement near the Kennebec Valley was no different than what the pioneers in the west faced. We hear many stories about the forefathers of our country and the roles they played in the early days but we don’t hear much about the accomplishments of the women behind those men and how they contributed to the success of the communities they settled in. Thanks to Martha Ballard and the diary that she kept for 27 years from 1785-1812, we get a glimpse into...
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Cokie Roberts’ Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation examines women's role in the establishment and development of the United States of America. Throughout the book, Roberts attempts to prove that women have natural characteristics in which they use to their advantage to build a foundation for the future of all women. She examines the lives of some of the most important women in U.S. history, such as Abigail Smith Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Sarah Livingston Jay, Martha Washington and Mary White Morris. Roberts researched all of the women who “had the ears of the Founding Fathers,”. She believes that since these women lived in such a strange and wonderful time period that they must have strange and wonderful stories to tell. The book
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Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born on May 5, 1864 in Cochran Mills, Pennsylvania. She was the thirteenth child of her family and considered the most rebellious of the family. When Nellie was just six years old her father abruptly died, leaving her mother to raise fifteen children. (Around the World in 72 Days). The death of her father was a terrible financial blow to the family because her father left no will to protect the family's interests. A year after the death the family was forced to auction off the mansion and move to a more modest home. Nellie helped her mother take care of the other children, but still they came into very hard times. (Around the World in 72 Days). Elizabeth's mother desperately sought financial security so she remarried. She entered a very disastrous marriage to an abusive man. He often beat Elizabeth and her mother. Soon after the marriage began she sued for divorce and Elizabeth testified at the trial. "My stepfather has been generally drunk since he married my mother, When drunk he is very cross and cross when sober." (Around the World in 72 Days). Elizabeth soon sought an independent life and wanted a way to support her mother. She started attending the Indiana Normal School to become a teacher. While attending school Elizabeth decided to add an e' to her last name for sophistication. (Nellie Bly, Wikipedia). After one semester of schooling Elizabeth had to drop out because she didn't have enough money to continue schooling. Elizabeth then moved back to Pittsburgh with her mother. She stayed there for the next seven years but had a difficult time finding full-time work because there were only low paid jobs available to women at that time. (Nellie Bly, USA History).
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