Home > United States of America > Kentucky > Johnson County > George Wells Cemetery > Mary Gordon Ellis

Mary Gordon Ellis

Birth	:	21 Apr 1889
Death	:	9 Sep 1934
Burial	:	George Wells Cemetery, Johnson County, USA
Coordinate	:	37.8408880, -82.6865690
Description	:	First woman to serve as in the SC Senate 1929-1932. Her portrait hangs in the Senate chamber of the SC State House. Mary Gordon Ellis (1890-1934) One of ten children of Alexander M. Gordon and Mary Gamble Gordon, Sr., Mary Gordon was born in Gourdin, a community near Kingstree about a hundred miles from the South Carolina coast. She graduated from Kingstree High School in 1909 and taught locally for a year; determined to be a better teacher, she moved to Rock Hill, near the North Carolina border, where Gordon enrolled in Winthrop College. Working part-time... Read More	First woman to serve as in the SC Senate 1929-1932. Her portrait hangs in the Senate chamber of the SC State House. Mary Gordon Ellis (1890-1934) One of ten children of Alexander M. Gordon and Mary Gamble Gordon, Sr., Mary Gordon was born in Gourdin, a community near Kingstree about a hundred miles from the South Carolina coast. She graduated from Kingstree High School in 1909 and taught locally for a year; determined to be a better teacher, she moved to Rock Hill, near the North Carolina border, where Gordon enrolled in Winthrop College. Working part-time to support herself, she graduated in 1913. She then moved far south to Jasper County, near the Georgia border, where she was teacher/principal of the school at Gillisonville, an impoverished area with shockingly poor education. She married the next year; her husband, farmer and turpentine operator Junius Gather Ellis was relatively affluent. The couple had three children, Mary Elizabeth, Margaret Lee, and Junius Gather, and when they were school age, they were sent to live with relatives in Savannah, Georgia, where they could attend better schools. In 1924, seven years after marriage, Mary Gordon Ellis was appointed superintendent of schools for Jasper County. It was unusual for a married woman to hold such a position, but she was determined to improve education. She closed one-room rural schools and merged students into larger schools. Ellis also mandated a teacher-training program, something that was not necessarily popular with longtime teachers. Even more controversially, she sought to improve schools for African Americans. She provided their first bus transportation, new textbooks, and hired a black college graduate, Mary Alice Miller, to supervise the county's schools for blacks. Whites objected, and Ellis was fired. In 1928, she ran against the man who led the opposition to her educational improvements and narrowly won the state Senate race. Ellis did her usual good job, and her reelections were much easier. Unfortunately, she was forced to retire in 1934, after being diagnosed with cancer, and died later that year. Just 44 years old, she was buried at Williamsburg Cemetery in Kingstree. Mary Gordon Ellis' emphasis on education had a positive influence, and in 1995, she was honored with a portrait in the South Carolina Senate. Source: nwhm.org/online-exhibits/legislators/South_Carolina

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Mary Gordon Ellis's memorial?
Mary Gordon Ellis's memorial is located at: George Wells Cemetery, Johnson County, USA.
When did Mary Gordon Ellis death?
Mary Gordon Ellis death on 9 Sep 1934 in
Where are the coordinates of the Mary Gordon Ellis's memorial?
Latitude: 37.8408880
Longitude: -82.6865690

Family Members:

Parent

Alexander McKnight Gordon

(1855 - 1932)

Mary Lee Gamble Gordon

(1861 - 1914)

Spouse

Junius G Ellis

(1882 - 1946)

Siblings

Esther Gordon Brockington

(1886 - 1950)

Martha Elizabeth Gordon

(1887 - 1962)

Emma T Gordon

(1890 - 1971)

Pauline E Gordon

(1897 - 1976)

Ervin/Esbon D Gordon

(1901 - 1951)

William Gamble Gordon

(1903 - 1956)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. George Wells Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8408880, -82.6865690

2. Ben Branham Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8395410, -82.6882750

3. Ballard-Butcher Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8443985, -82.6819000

4. Dennie Pigg Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8301200, -82.6860400

5. Atkins Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8581009, -82.6866989

6. Barton Family Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8232860, -82.6868530

7. Greenville Ward Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8135147, -82.6840515

8. Alex Ward Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8148540, -82.6717257

9. Austin Family Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.7959580, -82.6777040

10. Meek Cemetery
Chestnut, Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8891450, -82.6773350

11. Fannin Cemetery
Chestnut, Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8929927, -82.6596960

12. Trace Fork United Baptist Church Cemetery
Davisport, Martin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8329000, -82.6151700

13. Franklin Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8156013, -82.7735977

14. Collins Wells Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.7655960, -82.6782680

15. Company Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8258018, -82.7842026

16. Hall-Davis Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.7994499, -82.7750626

17. Castle Cemetery
Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8657990, -82.7900009

18. Borders Chapel Cemetery
Lawrence County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9253050, -82.6694210

19. Lyons Cemetery
Flat Gap, Johnson County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9256730, -82.7010040

20. Delong Cemetery
Davella, Martin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.7847500, -82.5984500

21. William Chandler Cemetery
Georges Creek, Lawrence County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9251190, -82.7254100

22. Jude Bartley Family Cemetery
Debord, Martin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8279211, -82.5685072

23. Davis Cemetery
Debord, Martin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8270900, -82.5679200

24. Blankenship Cemetery
Morgan County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8115856, -82.8031289