Emma Grigsby Meharg Explained

Emma Grigsby Meharg
Office:Secretary of State of Texas
Governor:Miriam A. Ferguson
Predecessor:Henry Hutchings
Successor:Jane Y. McCallum
Term Start:January 17, 1925
Term End:January 17, 1927
Party:Democratic
Alma Mater:Southwestern Normal College
Birth Place:Lynnville, Tennessee, United States
Birth Date:14 August 1873
Death Place:Plainview, Texas, United States

Emma Grigsby Meharg (August 14, 1873 - September 4, 1937) was the first female Secretary of State of Texas, serving from 1925 to 1927 under Governor Miriam A. Ferguson.

Biography

Emma Grigsby was born to Jasper N. and Mary Amanda (Calvert) Grigsby in Lynnville, Tennessee on August 14, 1873. The family moved to Italy, Texas in 1883, and Emma attended public school there. She later attended Southwestern Normal College, graduating in 1895, and returned to Italy to teach.[1]

She married Samuel W. Meharg of Anniston, Alabama on June 24, 1902. The couple moved to Plainview, Texas, where Samuel became the public school principal and Emma taught.

In 1925, Governor Miriam A. Ferguson appointed her as Secretary of State. Ferguson and Grigsby were the first female governor and Secretary of State in Texas. Among her recommendations during the position was the creation of a civil service system for the state; she also oversaw the restoration and cataloguing of state historical records. She also recommended that position be modified from how it was set out in the state's 1876 constitution, including a higher salary and being changed from an appointed position to an elected position.[2]

Meharg served on the board of the Texas Technological College from 1932 to 1937. She died in Plainview on September 4, 1937, and was buried there.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MEHARG, EMMA GRIGSBY . The Handbook of Texas . Texas State Historical Association . June 15, 2010.
  2. Encyclopedia: Meharg, Emma Grigsby (1873-1937) . Encyclopedia of Women in the American West . 203–204 . Tiffany E. . Dalpe . SAGE Publications . Gordon Moris . Bakken . Brenda . Farrington . 9781452265261 . 2003.