Saturday, February 28, 2026

Today -100: February 28, 1926: Of vindications, maids, and cruel and barbarous bedtimes


Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, who ran for governor of Texas in 1924 allegedly to “vindicate” her husband, impeached former Gov. James R, announces that she’ll need a second term to finish that vindication. She wants the impeachment expunged from the record and says she wouldn’t be running again if that had happened. That’s quite a platform, especially since the state senate has already refused to do that. She says she will continue to be advised by her husband just like previous governors have been advised by their wives (I notice she never claims that she advised James when he was governor).

Mary Harrison, widow of Pres. Benjamin Harrison (by the way, she was the niece of his first wife), appears in court in Harlem to plead for mercy for her maid, who had stolen a bunch of her jewelry.

In Pittsburgh, the master (job title, not an S&M thing, probably) who reviews divorce cases and makes recommendations which the court usually rubber-stamps, agrees with Miriam Elpern that the 9:00 or 9:30 bedtime he imposed on her is cruel and barbarous.

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1 comment:

  1. "Miriam Elpern" that's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

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