Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:
It's Saturday Night again -
time for some more Genealogy Fun!!
Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing
has another assignment for us. Here is our assignment:
1) Which of your ancestors had an unusual occupation? 2) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, in a comment on this blog, or in a Facebook post.
I’m getting a late start, but here it is:
Most of my ancestors and their collateral relatives had
regular, not so unusual, jobs. They were farmers, carpenters, tailors,
mechanics, housekeepers, teachers, secretaries, and ministers.
However, I do have an great-grandaunt, Coreta Hutson Speed (my maternal great-grandmother's sister), who
ran for Tax Collector in Comanche County, Texas in 1928 and won.
It started out a sad story. Coreta’s husband, Bert Weaver
Speed, was the Tax Collector until he ran for County Superintendent of Schools
in 1924. He had to resign shortly afterwards due to illness, and he passed away
on 7 September 1925 from tuberculosis.[1]
Bert left his wife, Coreta, who was just thirty, and three young children, Bert
Jr., almost 8, Pollyanna, 5, and Sulena, who was born 22 August 1925, just two
weeks before the death of her father.[2]
She was listed in 1930 as Collector of tax for the county
& state in Comanche County.[3] It is uncertain when she started as tax
collector. From newspaper articles, she was in the 1928 primary for the
Democratic party unopposed and became tax collector that year.[4]
She ran against W.C. Mixon in 1930.[5]
In 1932, she had opposition against W.D.
(Will) Sturkie and Joe Marshall.[6]
She did not run in 1934.[7]
It is interesting that the newspaper on reporting the election, only covered
state and national elections, so I was not able to find a confirmation on her election each time.
Some newspaper items found during Coreta’s terms
as Tax Collector:
[1] “B.W.
Speed Dies at San Angelo; Funeral Services and Burial Here Wednesday,” The Comanche (Texas) Chief, 11 September
1925, p. 1; digital image, The Portal to
Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu).
[2] Tom
Green County, Texas, County Clerk records, digital image, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org), Birth & Death Records, v. 4, p. 74, no. 161,
Sulena Speed; FHL dig film 4234150, image 151 & 152.
[3] 1930
U.S. census, Comanche Co, Texas, pop. sched., Comanche, ED 1, sht 6b, dwelling
157, family 177, Coreta Speed, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 Nov 2016), NARA
T626, roll 2311.
[4] “Announcements,”
The Comanche (Texas) Chief, 17 Feb
1928, p. 4.
[5] “Announcements,”
The Comanche (Texas) Chief, 30 May
1930, p. 3.
[6] “Announcements,”
The Comanche (Texas) Chief, 11 Mar
1932, p. 5.
[7] “Announcements,”
The Comanche (Texas) Chief, 15 Jun
1934, p. 7.
Copyright © 2019 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.
Even if tax collector was not an unusual occupation, I think it was unusual for a woman to be doing it. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteYes, I need to research whether women held offices before this. She definitely was the only one at the time of her election.
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