First ladies and gentlemen of Texas

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First ladies and gentlemen of Texas have come from many backgrounds and have used the role in different ways. For over 75 years, the position has been shaped by the people who held it. Some enjoyed the spotlight and helped shape Texas history; others were reluctant.

Margaret Lea Houston is often called the original First Lady of Texas. Her husband Sam Houston was a governor and leader during the Republic era. She did notsee herself as a political partner, but as a homemaker focused on health, welfare, and religious education for her husband and children. The Republic had no formal governor’s mansion, so the Houstons lived in several properties. Margaret joined her husband for campaigns but preferred staying out of politics herself. Her great-great granddaughter Jean Houston Baldwin Daniel later served as First Lady of Texas from 1957 to 1963.

Frances Cox Henderson, wife of Texas’s first governor James Pinckney Henderson, was outgoing and supportive of women’s suffrage. She was multilingual and had worked as a book translator before marriage.

James E. Ferguson was the only First Gentleman Texas has had. He served as governor, was impeached for misusing public funds and not following banking laws, and resigned in 1917. When his wife Miriam A. Ferguson later won two nonconsecutive terms as governor, Ferguson became the state’s only First Gentleman.

Mildred Paxton Moody, a former newspaper columnist and university professor, used her influence to push for better oversight of the governor’s mansion. She helped create the Board of Mansion Supervisors to manage the residence’s finances.

Rita Crocker Clements helped restore the Governor’s Mansion and had been active in politics long before she married Bill Clements.

Anita Thigpen Perry, a former first lady, worked in nursing. She has nursing education endowments named in her honor.