John Long Routt was born in 1826 in Eddyville, Kentucky. He married Hester Ann Woodson in 1845 in Bloomington, Illinois. They had five children. He served in the Union Army in the Civil War. Hester died in 1872 and John married Eliza Pickrell, daughter of Benjamin Franklin Pickrell and Mary Ann Elkin, in 1874 in Decatur, Illinois. They had one daughter. John was appointed territorial governor of Colorado in 1875. He also served as state governor and mayor of Denver City.

Governor Lady is the fascinating story of one of the most famous political women of her generation. Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected governor of Wyoming in 1924—just four years after American women won the vote—and she went on to be nominated for U.S. vice president in 1928, named vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee the same year, and appointed the first female director of the Mint in 1932. Ross launched her career when her husband, William Bradford Ross, the preceding governor, died, leaving her widowed with four sons and no means of supporting them. She was an ironic choice to be such a pioneer in women’s rights, since she claimed her entire life that she had no interest in feminism. Nevertheless, she believed in equal opportunity and advancement in merit irrespective of gender—core feminist values. The dichotomy between Ross’s career and life choices, and her stated priorities of wife and mother, is a critical contradiction, making her an intriguing woman. Exhaustively researched and powerfully written, Governor Lady chronicles the challenges and barriers that a woman with no job experience, higher education, or training faced on the way to becoming a confident and effective public administrator. In addition to the discrimination and resentment she faced from some of her male associates, she also aroused the enmity of Eleanor Roosevelt, whom she displaced at the DNC. Born exactly one hundred years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Ross lived to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial, so her long and remarkable life precisely spanned the second U.S. century. She was reared in the Victorian era, when upper- and middle-class women were expected to be domestic, decorative, and submissive, but she died as the women’s movement was creating a multitude of opportunities for young women of the 1970s. Nellie’s story will be of great interest to anyone curious about women’s history and biography. The contemporary American career woman will especially identify with Ross’s struggle to balance her career, family, and active personal life.

Cooper Lanier has been surrounded by politics her entire life. Her late father, Cleve Spainhour, was a beloved two-term Southern governor, as was her husband, Pickett Lanier. Now, Cooper is taking office as governor herself, succeeding Pickett as he campaigns for president.On her first day, as the state is blindsided by a blizzard, Cooper quickly realizes she is surrounded by leftovers from her husband¿s administration and that Pickett intends to manage the state¿s affairs from the campaign trail, even if it means undermining her every command. Cooper is faced with the stark choice of seizing control or becoming a phony, irrelevant figurehead.Smart, feisty, and independent, Cooper follows her instincts and takes charge.Her political rift with Pickett mirrors their unraveling relationship. Pickett¿s obsession with politics has pulled him farther and farther from her. Since childhood, Cooper has thought of politics as a thief that steals everyone she loves. She has mostly blamed her mother, Mickey Spainhour, a once-prominent political mastermind. When Cooper discovers the breadth of Pickett¿s back-room dealings, and just how far he¿s willing to go to become president, she realizes she must learn to use her political pedigree and instincts to serve her state.Struggling to chart a course through the treacherous shoals of male-dominated politics, she finds unexpected allies in the ailing Mickey, from whom she has been estranged for years, and Wheeler Kincaid, a crusty, aging newspaper reporter.The Governor¿s Lady shows how politics brings out the best and worst in people and how the public arena affects politicians¿ values and relationships. The novel will appeal to those interested in a deeper understanding of the subtexts and complexities of American politics and the growing role of women in the political landscape.

Set in an off-the-map British Colony in Central Africa in the early 1930's, The Governor's Lady portays a host of interesting characters: young Harold Stebbs, bachelor, newly appointed to the Governor's secretariat in Amimbo; the Governor, Sir Gardnor Hackforth, already something of a Pro-consular legend in the Service, and tipped by The Times for the next Viceroyship; Mr. Frith, the passed-over Acting Chief Secretary, a rather too familiar figure at the bar in the Milner Club; Tony Henley, the A.D.C., who has ultimately to be disowned; Old Moses, the trusted Mimbo butler and key figure in the Residency; the socially irresistible Mr. Ngono; Mr. Talefwa, left-wing editor of the African Independence newspaper, War Drum; and Mr. Das, itinerant legal Counsel called in by the Defence. Then there is the Governor's Lady herself; twenty years younger than Sir Gardnor; somewhat withdrawn from Government life because of an incident that occurred before Harold Stebbs arrived; and already the subject of gossip in European, African and Asian circles alike. There is also Lady Anne's lady-in-waiting, Sybil Prosser, who has her own reasons for discretion.

Miriam Ferguson was a quiet, private person who preferred to stay home in her big house in Temple, Texas, and take care of her husband, raise her two daughters, and tend to her flower garden. But in 1924 she was elected governor of Texas, the first woman governor elected in the United States. Her husband, Jim Ferguson, served two terms as governor, but during his second term he was impeached, which meant he could not run again for public office. So Miriam agreed to run to clear his name and restore the family's honor. She served two terms as governor: from 1925 to 1927 and from 1933 to 1935. She and her husband became known as "Ma" and "Pa" Ferguson. Her campaign slogan was, "Two Governors for the Price of One."

Wife of Gov. George Wallace who agreed to run for governor as George's stand-in, but who developed an agenda of her own and was named as one of the 10 Most Admired Women in the World. (Tuscaloosa County native, Montgomery resident)