Biography of Nellie Tayloe Ross

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.