Isabella Greenway

Isabella Greenway

Isabella Selmes Greenway King (born March 22, 1886 in Boone County , Kentucky , † December 18, 1953 in Tucson , Arizona ) was an American politician . Between 1933 and 1937 she represented the first constituency of the state of Arizona in the US House of Representatives .

Early years and private environment

Isabella Greenway was born Isabella Selmes in 1886. After elementary school, she attended Miss Chapins School in New York City . In New York she befriended Eleanor Roosevelt and was the bridesmaid at her wedding to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1905 . At the age of 19 she married Robert Ferguson. Because he got tuberculosis , the family moved to Tyrone in what is now New Mexico in 1910 . The marriage to Robert Ferguson produced a son. After the death of her husband, she moved to Santa Barbara , California , where she married the wealthy businessman John Campbell Greenway . This marriage resulted in two children. Her second husband died in 1926, after which she moved to Tucson, Arizona. She later married Harry O. King.

Political and business career

Greenway became a member of the Democratic Party . In 1918, while still in New Mexico, she was chairman of the so-called "Women's Land Army of New Mexico". After moving to Tucson, she became a member of the Democratic National Committee . At that time, she was also involved in various business areas. She became the owner of a large ranch where she ran cattle. Between 1929 and 1934 she was also the owner of Gilpin Airlines in Los Angeles . She also worked in the hotel business in Tucson since 1929.

When Arizona First Constituency Congressman Lewis Williams Douglas resigned his seat in Congress in March 1933 , Isabella Greenway was elected to succeed him. After being re-elected in the 1934 congressional elections, she was able to exercise her mandate in the House of Representatives between October 3, 1933 and January 3, 1937. She was a member of the committee that dealt with the erection of the Mount Rushmore Memorial. In 1936, she did not run for another term.

After her tenure in Congress ended, Isabella Greenway retired from politics and devoted herself to her personal and business interests. She died in December 1953 and was buried in the Selmes Family Cemetery in Kentucky.

Web links

• Isabella Greenway in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Isabella Greenway in the database of Find a Grave (English)