Nellie Tayloe Ross
"How fitting it was that the Equality State be the first to elect a woman governor." - U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick
Family Life ~ Nellie Tayloe Ross was born in Missouri, but soon after that, her family moved to Kansas. After high school Nellie became a Kindergarten teacher. Nellie met William Ross a politician and later Governor, while she was visiting family. The two were married two years after they met. Nellie Tayloe Ross, second from right, in Washington D.C., Eula B. Kendrick, left, and Grace Coolidge, center, wife of president Calvin Coolidge. 1925, Wyoming State Archives.
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Nellie Tayloe Ross, second from left, with her two brothers, Alfred left, George, second from right and her father, right.
Political
When William died, the people looked to Nellie Ross to continue her husbands term. Ross was elected as the Democratic delegate, running against Eugene J. Sullivan. Ross won the election by 8,000 votes. Ross became the first woman Governor in the United States. While in office, she continued to support policies created by William, but had additional proposals of her own. Ross was invited to give a speech in Washington D.C. to the Woman's National Democratic Club. She continued to give speeches about women's rights around the nation. |