Inaugural Impressions
Mary Alice Hearrell Murray (1875–1938)
Mary Alice Hearrell was born on January 9, 1875, near Tishomingo in Johnston County, Indian Territory. One of eight siblings, her parents were Jecomiah B. (J. B.) and Martha Hearrell. Alice, as she was known, attended Bloomfield Academy near Denison, Texas, where her uncle, Douglas Henry Johnston, was superintendent. Alice learned literature and music and discovered a passion for painting.
Alice met William Henry “Alfalfa Bill” Murray at a social gathering while teaching at Bloomfield. The couple married on July 19, 1899, after a long courtship. They wed at her uncle’s house, who by this time was governor of the Chickasaw Nation. Murray became a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation through his marriage to Alice, and the couple went on to have five children: sons Massena, Johnston, William Henry II, and Burbank, and daughter Jean.
William’s marriage to Alice brought with it access to property, wealth, and connections that enabled him to launch a political career spanning the Sequoyah and Oklahoma constitutional conventions, the Oklahoma Legislature, and the US Congress. Alice never campaigned publicly with William, but she supported his ambitions throughout his career, even accompanying him to Bolivia in 1924 to start an agricultural colony. Upon moving to the Governor’s Mansion after William’s election in 1930, Alice prepared meals for her husband, hosted social events, and grew a flower garden that included plants from seeds she brought back from South America.
Alice became ill during the summer of 1938 while her husband was campaigning in the gubernatorial primary. She died in Oklahoma City on August 28 at 63. Upon her death, Alice received an honor accorded to no other as her body was the first woman to lay in state in the Capitol building. She is buried in Tishomingo City Cemetery. A memorial book written by William in Alice’s memory is preserved in the collections of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Mary Alice Hearrell Murray
(6996, Juanita Johnston Smith Collection, OHS)
