Miriam A. Ferguson
| Ma Ferguson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 29th & 32nd Governor of Texas | |
|
In office January 17, 1933 – January 15, 1935 |
|
| Lieutenant | Edgar Witt |
| Preceded by | Ross Sterling |
| Succeeded by | James Allred |
|
In office January 20, 1925 – January 17, 1927 |
|
| Lieutenant | Barry Miller |
| Preceded by | Pat Neff |
| Succeeded by | Dan Moody |
| First Lady of Texas | |
|
In role January 19, 1915 – August 25, 1917 |
|
| Governor | James Ferguson |
| Preceded by | Alice Colquitt |
| Succeeded by | Willie Hobby |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Miriam Amanda Wallace Ferguson June 13, 1875 Bell County, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | June 25, 1961 (aged 86) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | James Ferguson (1899–1944) |
| Alma mater |
Salado College University of Mary Hardin |
Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson (June 13, 1875 – June 25, 1961) was the first female Governor of Texas, serving from 1925 to 1927 and 1933 to 1935.
Ferguson was born Miriam Amanda Wallace in Bell County, Texas. She studied at Salado College and Baylor Female College. When she was 24, she married James Edward Ferguson, who was then a lawyer.
She got her nickname "Ma" partly from her initials "M. A.", and also because her husband was known as "Pa" Ferguson. They had two daughters, Oudia and Dorris.
James Ferguson served as Governor of Texas from 1915 to 1917. However, he was impeached, convicted, and removed from office during his second term. As part of his conviction, he was not allowed to hold state office in Texas again.
After her husband's impeachment and conviction, Ma Ferguson sought the Democratic nomination for governor, and was elected to office. She told voters that she would follow the advice of her husband and Texas thus would get "two governors for the price of one." A common campaign slogan was, "Me for Ma, and I Ain't Got a Durned Thing Against Pa." Against the odds, Ma Ferguson was elected governor, becoming the first female chief executive of Texas. Ferguson was elected with the help and support of her campaign manager, Homer T. Brannon of Fort Worth, Texas.
After her victory in the Democratic primary, she defeated George C. Butte, a prominent lawyer and University of Texas dean who emerged as the strongest Republican gubernatorial nominee in Texas since Reconstruction in 1869. Ferguson received 422,563 votes (58.9 percent) to Butte's 294,920 (41.1 percent). Butte had been supported by former Governor William P. Hobby, who had succeeded James Ferguson in 1917. Ma Ferguson was the second female state governor in the United States, and the first to be elected in a general election. Just two weeks before her inauguration, Nellie Tayloe Ross had been sworn in as governor of Wyoming to finish the unexpired term of her late husband.
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