Women's History Month

Women have always played a part in Texas History whether she remained in the background as the "woman behind the man or the wind beneath his wings", or more prominently. To celebrate Women's History Month, here are a few prominent women from Texas history.

Sarah Cockrell (1819-1892) A business woman who built the first iron bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas in 1872. She thought big and invested wisely and set up her own corporations. When she dies in 1892, her properties were so extensive that her will had to be published in pamphlet form.

Mollie Goodnight

Mollie Goodnight (1839-1926) established the first ranch household in the Texas Panhandle in 1877. she rescued orphaned buffaloes, had her own cattle brand, the Flying T, and helped establish the Goodnight College in 1898.

Elizabet Ney

Elizabet Ney (1833-1907) was a renowned sculptor from Bavaria. She moved to Texas with her husband in 1872. She secured a commission to create statues of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston for the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. She became the outspoken advocate of the teaching of fine arts in the state's schools and was instrumental in the founding of the Texas Fine Arts Association.

Minnie Fisher Cunningham

Minnie Fisher Cunningham (1882-1964) was president of the Texas Equal Suffrage Association from 1915-1920 and became the first executive secretary of The National League of Women Voters. She was an important leader in the campaign for votes for women on the state and national levels. Graduating in 1901, she was one of the first women in Texas to receive a pharmacy degree from the University of Texas Medical School. She ran for but lost races for the U,S. Senate in 1928 and for governor in 1944.

Sarah T. Hughes

Sarah T. Hughes was an attorney, legislator, women's rights activist, United Nations supporter, and Texas' first state and federal judge. A member of a Dallas law firm from 1923-1935, she was elected to her first term in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1930 and voted "Most Valuable Member" her second term. In 1935, she became Texas' first female district judge and was re-elected seven times. She was Dallas county co-chair of the Kennedy-Johnson campaign in 1960, and in the following year, President John F. Kennedy appointed her Texas' first female federal judge. After Kennedy's assassination in 1963, she administered the Presidential oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson.

These are but a few of the women who have influenced me and I hope by reading about them you'll be inspired to read more about them or look up other influential women across our great nation. Thank you for stopping by today. Please leave a comment about women who may have inspired you.

Hugs, Carra